A handful of the earliest ones (like Bill Haley) were just barely old enough to have been in WWII, but can anybody think of any early rockers who served in that war?
Johhny Cash just missed WWII by 4 years. I can’t think of any Rock N Roll stars born early enough for WWII. Johnny Cash was born in 1932. Most WWII vets were born by at least 1925 or 26.
Chuck Berry was the right age – he was seventeen in '43 – but he was behind bars in '44 and '45 (and '46, and most of '47).
Bill Haley was blind in one eye and thus exempt from service, but several of his band members were old enough for service: Billy Williamson and Rudy Pompili were born around '25 and Franny Beecher in '21. I don’t know their service records, but some googling would probably bring up bios or obituaries that might mention.
Doo-Wop instead of Rock, but so close to the transition I’ll mention anyway: Bill Pinkney of The Drifters (‘Save the Last Dance For Me’, ‘This Magic Moment’, ‘Under the Boardwalk’) was a WW2 Army veteran.
Not a rocker himself, but DJ Alan Freed served in the Army in WWII.
Not early but late 1960s Los Angeles group Spirit drummer Ed Cassidy served in the Navy in WWII
Jimmy Reed served in the Navy during WWII, and earned a posthumous induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
I don’t think many of the early Rock and Roll stars were WWII vets. All the Rockabilly stars I could think of were born in the 1930s. I think if you were to look into the backing bands of some of the stars, you might find some WWII vets, though. like, maybe young Ricky Nelson’s band. Ozzie was a band leader and maybe some of the musicians he hired to back his son were vets.
Not early, but Christopher Lee has just released his second heavy metal album; he was in the SAS in WWII.
All of the musicians in the first Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction class were too young. Fats Domino was the oldest, being born in 1928, meaning in theory he COULD have seen some action at the tail end of WW2… but he didn’t.
So, no early “rock” stars were WW2 vets… though some of the blues and R & B acts that the early rockers idolized WERE WW2 vets.
For example, Elmore James was a big influence on a lot of the British blues rockers of the Sixties, and he served in the US Navy during WW2.
Another guy who wasn’t really a rock star but who certainly influenced countless rock stars: Chester “Howlin’ Wolf” Burnett, who served in the US Army during WW2.
How 'bout Korea?
A little bit of googling indicates that guitarist Link Wray (pioneer of the “power chord”) and Motown founder Berry Gordy Jr. served in the U.S. Army during the Korean War, but it’s not clear if Wray was actually in Korea.
Les Paul was a WWII veteran. Although like others he was more of an influence on rock and roll rather than a participant.
John Mayall served in Korea (he was a company clerk).
For symmetry, there’s Jason Everman, a rock guitarist who was booted out of two bands that went on to major success (Nirvana and Soundgarden), then went on to a military career that involved the Army Rangers and Special Forces.
Radar!
There’s also George Babbitt, the original drummer for The Ventures (“Walk, Don’t Run”), who went on to enlist in the Air Force and eventually became a four star general.
Knowing Mayall, he got slaked a lot more than Radar did.