Marshall Lytle | Bill Haley bassist, 79

Marshall Lytle, 79, the original bass player for Bill Haley & His Comets, one of the first bands to take rock 'n' roll mainstream, died Saturday at his home in New Port Richey, Fla., said a niece, Shayna Golda. He was diagnosed with lung cancer this year.

Mr. Lytle recorded hits like "Rock Around the Clock" and "Shake, Rattle and Roll" with Haley in the 1950s. He was known for his percussive bass style, slapping the strings as he played. He would sometimes take the bass over his head or ride it like a surfboard.

"He's known as the father of rock bass by some people," said Michael Jordan Rush, who published a memoir by Mr. Lytle, Still Rockin' Around the Clock, in 2011. "He certainly influenced rock bass more than any other individual."

In 1951, Mr. Lytle, still a teen, joined Bill Haley's band. At the time, Haley had a radio show in Chester.

Mr. Lytle and two other members of the band quit in 1955 over a money dispute and formed a group called the Jodimars. The group had limited success, and Mr. Lytle temporarily changed his name and later went into real estate.

He returned to music in 1987, playing in a Comets reunion band, and performed until the weeks before his death. - AP