Joey Welz

Joey Welz (born 1940) is an American musician born in Baltimore, Maryland who is best known for his tenure as pianist with Bill Haley and His Comets. He was born Joseph Welzant on March 17, 1940 to Melba, a teacher and concert pianist and Joseph, a Baltimore city police officer. Welz started his music career with his group The Jay Rockers in the 1950s. Welz was amongst the first group of rock and roll pianists to start using the boogie-woogie style with his left hand. He attributes this to the lack of a bassist in his band, forcing him to play basslines using his left hand. In interviews he has stated that it also came in handy when he joined the Comets because the notes coming from the upright bass were often inaudible due to the limits of amplification at that time.

He attracted the attention of Bill Haley when The Jay Rockers opened for The Comets. While serving as a recording engineer for the Armed Forces Network in Berlin, Welz recorded and co-produced a live session for Bill Haley and His Comets for AFN Frankfurt. This was the first occasion that Welz played on a Bill Haley and His Comets record, providing backing vocals on "Shake, Rattle and Roll" and playing on "Honky Tonk". This session was released years later on Hydra Records. Upon exiting the military in 1963, Welz joined the Comets as pianist following the departure of Johnny Grande. It was also during this time that Welz signed a record deal with Canadian-American Records and released the single "Hey Little Moonbeam" which he co-wrote with Steve Lawrence. He would continue to play with The Comets until 1966.

In 1969, Welz recorded an album entitled "Listen To The Voices" with Link Wray which was released on Music City Records. Welz also recorded an album called "Revival Fires" with Roy Buchanan in the late 1960s. After Haley's death in 1981 Welz organized a Comets reunion which performed on The Tomorrow Show with Tom Snyder on NBC. This was followed by a tour of America and a single penned by Welz, Al Rappa and Franny Beecher entitled "Bring Back the Music" in 1982.

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