Original Comets rocking Rampart

Joe D'Ambrosio used to live a double life.

He was a Caesars Palace floor boss who would disappear for European vacations to play in a band.

Gradually, the secret came out. The band was Bill Haley's Original Comets and D'Ambrosio was a rock 'n' roll pioneer who played saxophone on "Rock Around the Clock" and "Shake, Rattle and Roll."

"I never talked about it and nobody asked," he explained a few years back.

The Philadelphia native was 19 when he joined Haley's band. Haley's group had just turned the corner from country swing to the new sound that would be called rock. "Bill wasn't too hip on that stuff. Bill was a hillbilly. But he had an ear," he said of the late bandleader.

The group still plays far and wide, but tries to work in front of a Las Vegas audience at least once a year. They play at 8 p.m. today and Saturday and 4 p.m. Sunday in Addison's Lounge at Rampart Casino, 9090 Alta Drive. Tickets are $15 at the cage, $20 at the door; call 507-5900.

Contact reporter Mike Weatherford at mweatherford@ reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0288.