Bassobit: Marshall Lytle

Marshall Lytle, Bill Haley's bassist, has died.

Lytle wasn't Haley's original bassist; he wasn't even a bassist when Haley recruited him - although Bill chucked in a thirty minute lesson in how to play.

He left The Comets after a row about pay, forming a new act, The Jodimars; on the advice of an agent he changed his name to Tommy Page to avoid being associated with Haley at all. The split was acrimonious and deep - the Comets had to wait a quarter of a century to follow Bill Haley into the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame.

The Jodimars landed a residency in Las Vegas - a first for a rock band - but never quite hit; eventually Page would make the bulk of his living from real estate.

The original Comets reunited in 1987; they started to spin a career out being wry about being older:

In 2003, Lytle predicted that he'd "rock till he dropped"; although he officially retired in 2009, he did keep playing.

Marshall Lytle died from lung cancer May 25th; he was 79.