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The World's Oldest Rock Band Will Salute NASA Hitting One Of The Universe's Oldest Comets - With A Rock Concert And Music Video! NASA and JPL is to celebrate the success of its "Deep Impact" mission to collide with a comet (age approximately 4.5 billion years) with a special concert by the World's Oldest Rock Band (cumulative age 381 years!) - The Comets. The Comets are the five surviving members (now in their 70's & 80's) of the original lineup of Bill Haley & The Comets - considered among the leading pioneers of rock 'n' roll. The group - which first formed in 1952 - was famous for "Rock Around The Clock," "Shake, Rattle And Roll," "See You Later Alligator" and many other hits from rock's earliest days. By coincidence NASA's triumphant hit with a comet comes in the week of the 50th anniversary of the band's "Rock Around The Clock" becoming the first-ever rock 'n' roll song to top the charts - an event that historians regard as the "Deep Impact" that started the rock era. So NASA will present The Comets to perform a special celebration concert for the NASA and JPL's "Deep Impact" team. It will take place at 12 noon on TUESDAY (July 5th) at the NASA/JPL facility in Pasadena. The Comets (all five surviving members of the original lineup) are still alive and rockin'! They are now in their 70's and 80's (the lead guitarist is 84!) but point out "we're still a bit younger than that Comet they just hit!" When the group heard about the "Deep Impact" mission they contacted JPL, expressed their support for the mission and offered to perform free for the NASA team if a celebration was appropriate. This hastily-arranged concert will be the result of that pledge. The group has also collaborated on another celebration of the "Deep Impact" success. It has helped put together a new music video that blends footage of the band performing "Rock Around The Clock" (in 1955 and 2005) - together with historic photos and imagery from the "Deep Impact" mission including the latest images from outer space of the comet collision. The new music video will be seen throughout the world on the websites of NASA and JPR.
For The Comets: MARTIN LEWIS
tel: 323-654-7755 For NASA & JPL: VERONICA McGREGOR
tel: 818-354-9452
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