 As of the end of 2014, four such groups were still performing in the United States and internationally.In the mid-1940s, Bill Haley performed with the Down Homers and formed a group called the Four Aces of Western Swing.The group that later became the Comets initially formed as "Bill Haley and the Saddlemen" c. 1949–1952, and performed mostly country and western songs, though occasionally with a bluesy feel.