Gina Haley's comet-like success in Japan has headed towards the United States this past year. This exotic, 26 year old musical muse, who was born in Vera Cruz, Mexico is following in her father's footsteps. Her father broke into rock and roll via country music while working as a musical director at a Chester, Pennsylvania radio station and "Rock Around the Clock" was written and first performed in the "City of Brotherly Love".
Over forty-five years ago, while performing with his group and working at the radio station, Gina Haley's father, Bill, first started to hear what was then called "race" music on a program called "Judge the Rhythm's Court." Gina's father, not knowing it at the time, recorded the first "race record" called "Rocket 88" where Haley made no attempt to turn the song it into a white record. The label issued no publicity photos of the band because they wanted the audience to believe they were black. He then followed this success with "Rock Around the Clock", the first song ever with the word "rock" in the title and, according to the Guinness Book of World Records, the highest selling single of all time. It is said that at any given minute the song is playing or being played somewhere in the world.
In terms of diversity, creativity and sheer talent, Gina Haley is a new breed of artist, a renaissance woman born with the rare genetic genius that embodies only the few, who like her father Bill, dare to be different. Gina can musically morph herself into any style or sound. Her music and singing styles crisscrosses genres effortlessly.
In her sophomore release entitled Gina Haley (Nipon, Columbia), Gina demonstrates what a true "Musical Fusionary" is all about. Her range of musical motion is truly staggering from her taunting teasing vocal performances on the first cut "Strange Games" to the last track "Mountain Top", Gina is a serious climb thru many musical geographic terrains. Easily at home at the console, in the studio or programming her music on her computer, Gina Haley is a triple threat. In her first album she recorded, sang, wrote and played 90% of the material.
Unable to be the apple of her Dad's eye, Gina Haley has certainly captured the attention of some of the most notable producers in the business such as Michael Sembello and Dick Rudolph. Michael Sembello, Grammy award winning, writer, producer and performer of such hits as "Maniac" from the movie "Flashdance", discovered her when she was only 20 years old.
Gina Haley's first encounter with world grooves occurred while performing in the two "Friendship Festivals" in California. Gina was able to display her many musical and vocal gifts of singing in other languages. She opened the show singing a Hindu song called "Ragu Pâté" which was claimed to be Gandhi's favorite song. Within the first few seconds of singing, an old Hindu woman ran up to the stage with tears in her eyes as she solo applauded Gina through the entire song shouting how perfect she sang in her language, according to the local newspaper's review of the concert.
Since Michael Sembello's ultimate dream has always been to join world musical forces, he insisted that Gina join him in creating the "Bridge" project. Being able to sing in over six languages, Gina Haley united with Michael Sembello, Stevie Wonder, Daniel Jobimthe grandson of Antonio Carlos Jobim, the father of the Bossa Nova, along with Vinnie Colaiuta, Sting's drummer, Paulinho De Costa, world famous percussionist, Brazilian singer Edu Falcao, Nathan Watts, Stevie Wonder's bassist, and Lionel Cole, Natalie Cole's nephew. Together, this cross cultural group created a multi-lingual world beat whose main intention was to facilitate the construction of cultural bridges and erase boundary lines in music. For Gina Haley, she had crossed the same cultural and racial bridge as her father, only in a more global and daring manner.