Johnny Kay

Johnny Kay (born John Kaciuban, June 23, 1940 – July 9, 2022) was a guitarist from Chester, Pennsylvania. He is most widely known as one of the guitarists for the early rock 'n' roll group Bill Haley & His Comets from 1960-1968.

Background

Bill Haley first heard John and his band at a gig at an Italian social club in West Chester, PA. A few days later John was walking up the sidewalk to his house when he heard the phone ring. Debating whether he should answer it John started running and answer it. Bill Haley told him later if he hadn't answered it he was going to cross off John's name and call the next one on the list. After a brief audition where band members heard him play the guitar solo to the song "Rock Around the Clock", Kay was asked by Bill Haley to join his band, the Comets, in June 1960 when he was only 19 years old. Kay replaced previous guitarist Franny Beecher, who had quit the band in order to launch his own record label with sax player, Rudy Pompilli. Franny returned to the Comets a few years later. Haley kept John in the band along with Franny.

Kay left the band in 1966 as Haley's brand of rock and roll continued to decline in popularity. John taught guitar and played local clubs as a guitar for hire. Local bar, Hurley's, Aston, PA, had name country acts. John played with acts like Little Jimmie Dickens and Crystal Gayle. Gayle even offered him a job in her band, but John turned it down as he was tired of traveling. John returned in the early 1970s for an aborted world tour. Bill had promised some gigs in Japan which interested John. Haley ended up canceling much of the tour. John did appear in the performance of Bill Haley & His Comets at the London Rock and Roll Show at Wembley Stadium, Wembley Park, London, England on 5 August 1972. In the film of the concert, Kay can be seen playing while wearing a pirate-like eye patch (he was trying to strengthen his "weak" eye by covering his good eye).

Releases

In 2009, the German Hydra Records label released the album Bill Haley & Friends, Vol.4 - Johnny Kay - Tale Of A Comet as 27139.

Sources

• Jim Dawson, Rock Around the Clock: The Record That Started the Rock Revolution! (San Francisco: Backbeat Books, 2005).
• John W. Haley and John von Hoelle, Sound and Glory (Wilmington, Delaware: Dyne-American, 1990).
• John Swenson, Bill Haley (London: W.H. Allen, 1982).