from 22nd to 27 April 1958 at Teatro Paramount on Rua Brigadeiro Luiz Antonio.
Bill Halley (right red arrow) & His Comets - the rock'n'roll sensation arrive in São Paulo and are greeted by Paulinho Machado de Carvalho (left red arrow) who was instrumental in bringing big foreign acts to Brazil. In 1959, Paulinho signed Nat King Cole who turned out to be the most sucessfull of all foreign acts who ever visited the country.
Buenos Aires' Metropolitan play-bill with Bill Haley in its cover.
Bill Hayle's & His Comets' South American tour
by Señor Rudy Pompilli
One fine morning in April 1958, Bill called the Comets into his lavishly furnished office and said, "Boys, South America is calling!" So off we went to our attics and dens, dusting off the old high school Spanish books and began practicing Habla Español's with the wives and Junior Comets.
We did the American Bandstand show, April 16, journeyed to Wilmington, Delaware where we were given a gigantic send-off by our Fan Club president Shirley Lisowski, and 3,000 strong cheering us on. Next stop, Miami, where president Loren Shayne gave us an official club welcome - then to the airport, where after a careful inspection of the motors and fuselage by 'calm' Bill Williamson, we boarded the Super H Constellation - the huge Real Aerovias Brazilian luxury liner and off we went to Caracas, Venezuela - off again - then a glamorous feeling took place as we were "flying down to Rio." Upon our arrival in Rio, thousands of Comet fans screamed and chanted for hours - what a tremendous thrill!
Our first engagement took place in São Paulo, a city of four million, where we appeared at the Paramount Theater. What a hassle trying to enter for our first show! Bill's clothing were torn to bits and over 100 policemen had to lead the way into and out of the theater. Our lovely president, Liliana Bissi, presented the Comets with a beautiful bouquet of roses.
From São Paulo on to beautiful Rio de Janeiro, the garden spot of the world. The saying goes that people earn their money in their respective cities in South America, but all spend it in Rio, and it's no wonder. 200 miles of beach, the beautiful Copacabana, Sugar Loaf Mountain, the breath-taking statue of Christ the Redemptor overlooking Rio and more beauty than one can imagine. The crowds in Rio were "fantabulous." We played "standing room only" every night. Our Fan Club president, Jimenez, did the interpreting, which were badly in need of. After all the Spanish brushups, we found that only Portuguese is spoken in Brazil.
We did shows for TV, radio, night clubs and remote towns way out in the jungle. What a thrill, riding for hours and hours through the jungle, then coming upon a little village and all the population knew Bill and each one of the Comets by name! What a small world, indeed!
After Rio and two beautiful weeks, we flew to Buenos Aires, Argentina - a six-hour flight. And then, again, the Fan Club president, José Levy and thousands of Comet fans presented us with a very warm welcome. We found the Latins highly demonstrative, and man, they are warm hearted from the word 'warm.'
The two weeks in Buenos Aires were sensational and Johnny Grande went wild over the steaks. Well, not only Johnny, but all the Comets added a few pounds around the middle. The food was way out in 'orbit'.
The Argentine king of rock'n'roll, Eddie Pequenino, played "The Saints Go Marching Home,' as we boarded the plane for our journey home. Our South American fans really left a place in our hearts. There's an awful lot of coffee in Brazil - Mucho obrigado!
Article scanned and sent from Germany by scholar Klaus Kettner to Argentine historian Victor Tapias, who's been researching the origins of Argentine rock. Eddie Pequenino's band played 'When the saints go marching home' as farewell to the Comets while they boarded the airplane that took them back to the USA.
Even though there are a few mistakes like saying The Metropolitan Theatre was in São Paulo when it was in Buenos Aires - this is a great article about Hayle & His Comets' tour of South America. Written by saxophonist Rudy Pompilli, after the tour was over and they were back in the USA it is natural for the author to mix up some of the names, but overall it's an awsome piece of information about those pioneering times. Especially when narrated by one of the members of the band. Thanks to Klaus Kettner and Víctor Tapias for allowing its reproduction on this blog.
2nd November 1958 - On Sunday, Johnnie Ray had two recitals: one at 4:00 pm and an evening one at 9:00 pm. The opening show was more impressive than the foreign attraction himself: popular clowns Arrelia & Pimentinha would introduce hot acts like Betinho & his combo; Sylvio Mazzucca & his big band; multi-instrumentalist William Forneaud; witty stand-up comedian Pagano Sobrinho; sassy & sexy singer Dircinha Costa; happy-go-lucky Gasolina; Neide Salgado; blonde young-thing Cinderela; Ellen de Lima; saxophonist virtuoso Bolão & many others. Only Radio-TV Record could afford such a millionaire cast.
