Blood, Sweat & Tears drug overdose in Amsterdam on January 31, 1978. Rocked by this shocking turn of events, the group returned home and temporarily ceased activity. In 1979, with the encouragement of longtime BS&T manager Fred Heller, who had numerous requests for the band to play more shows, David Clayton-Thomas decided to continue Blood, Sweat & Tears with an entirely new lineup that consisted of himself and other Canadian musicians (Kenny Marco – guitar, David Piltch – bass, Joe Sealy – keyboards, Bruce Cassidy – trumpet, flugelhorn, Earl Seymour – sax, flute, Steve Kennedy – sax, flute and Sally Chappis – drums, with
Rock with Bill Haley and the Comets by Haley himself, as he and his band later went on to Decca Records and recorded "Rock Around the Clock". All the songs on "Rock with Bill Haley and the Comets" were previously released as singles under the Essex banner, including several that were originally released when the band used the name Bill Haley and the Saddlemen. The album does not include any of the tracks Haley and the Comets recorded in 1954 before moving to Decca, nor are any of the tracks from 1951-52 included that Haley recorded for Essex's sister label, Holiday Records (although later releases of Haley's