From:   "Dik de Heer" 
Date:  Tue Apr 16, 2002  1:15 am
Subject:  Born To Be With You : Rudy Pompilli
 
RUDY POMPILLI

Born Rudolph Pompilli, 16 April 1924, Chester, Pennsylvania
Died 5 February 1976

Saxophone player, also flute, clarinet / vocalist.
Pompilli joined Bill Haley's band in the fall of 1955, replacing Joey
Ambrose, who had left to form The Jodimars. Pompilli came to the Comets
after working with the Ralph Marterie Orchestra. During his time with
Marterie, Pompilli had even played sax on an early cover version of
Haley's "Crazy Man, Crazy." But he was originally hesitant to join the
Comets, Haley later recalled. "The saxophone players ... at the beginning
used to call us hillbillies -- this guy (Pompilli) was one of them," Haley
told an audience at The Bitter End club in New York in 1969. When we
started, Rudy was high class. I was the hillbilly singer. We were both
from this little town though, and he wouldn't even talk to the hillbilly
at that time!" Ultimately, the "high class" Pompilli became the
"hillbilly's" right hand man for the next 20 years. He even allowed Haley
to change the spelling of his name from Pompilii (with two i's) when it
was felt the original spelling looked too much like a typographical error.
According to recording session data collected by Haley historian Chris
Gardner, Pompilli was only absent from a scant few studio and live dates
between late 1955 and 1975. These exceptions include a brief period in
1957 when Pompilli was sidelined by illness and had to be replaced for a
time by Frankie Scott. Later, Pompilli and Scott would often team up on
stage for blazing sax duos. In 1960 Pompilli briefly quit the Comets along
with guitarist Franny Beecher to form the Merri-Men, a short-lived
spinoff, during which time Al Dean attempted to fill Rudy's shoes. During
the 1950s, Pompilli became good friends with legendary guitarist Chuck
Berry. According to Sound and Glory by John Haley and John von Hoelle, the
two buddies would often go on double dates that became legendary in their
own right. Pompilli was one of the greatest saxophone players in the
history of rock and roll music. Renowned for his acrobatics on stage,
especially during his trademark instrumental "Rudy's Rock," it was
Pompilli who often got the loudest applause when the Comets were
introduced. And while his vocal abilities were fair, Haley could always
rely on Rudy to get the crowd moving with songs like "New Orleans" and
"Big Daddy's Alabamy Bound." Pompilli also added new dimensions to
Haley's recordings, often switching to clarinet and even flute for many
instrumental performances. In 1958, when bass player Al Rex quit the
band, Pompilli helped recruit his cousin, Al Pompilli, to fill the spot. In
later years, it fell upon Pompilli to work as the band's manager, hiring
and firing musicians as necessary, distributing pay, and dealing with
other personnel matters. In 1974, around the time of the famous London
Hammersmith Palais concert which was recorded by Antic records, Pompilli
learned he had lung cancer. Despite this -- and the incredible pain
blowing a saxophone and clarinet must have caused him -- Pompilli
continued to perform. In 1975, Sonet Records gave Rudy a chance to record
a solo album backed by a mixture of Comets and session musicians. The
resulting record, Rudy's Rock: The Sax that Changed the World, was a
masterpiece, particularly a moving rendition of the Gordon Lightfoot
ballad "Same Old Loverman." According to some reports, Haley pulled out
of the recording session, not wanting to see his friend in such poor health.
But it's just as likely Haley wanted Pompilli to have the spotlight by
himself for once. In any event, the LP is undeservedly obscure today, and
will hopefully be revived in a CD re-release or future box set. Pompilli
continued to tour with Haley through 1975, eventually being forced to
sport a wig to disguise his hair loss. During a tour of Brazil, he was too
tired to attend press conferences. Only a few months before he died,
Pompilli performed in a Philadelphia-area jazz club called the Nite Cap
along with Comets guitar player Bill Turner. For a few sets, he was even
reunited with former bandmate Franny Beecher. A very low-fidelity
recording of this performance exists, and while you can tell Pompilli is
fading fast, there is no denying a saxophone (and clarinet!) master at
work. The sax players who followed Pompilli were in a no-win situation.
No one could replace Rudy Pompilli. The first blower hired, Mike Zampini,
never even got to perform with the band because Haley cancelled a tour.
George Baker drew criticism for a poor performance of "Rudy's Rock" in
1976, and Haley went through several more players before his own death in
1981. It's sad that Rudy Pompilli did not survive to see the Original
Comets reunite in the late 1980s -- one can only imagine what a Rudy
Pompilli-Joey Ambrose duet would have sounded like!

(Source: http://www.rockabillyhall.com/Extra3.html)