Rockabilly

Rockabilly is one of the earliest and most important styles of rock n’ roll music to emerge during the 1950s. Rockabilly epitomized the worst fears of many conservatives at the time: that white boys and girls would begin to dance and sing in the wild ways associated with African-American culture, breaking down social barriers. The music was dominated by its original exponent, Elvis Presley, and has had an important influence on rock music and popular culture, despite having flourished for only a short time during the 1950s. During the late 1970s and early 1980s, rockabilly enjoyed a major revival of popularity and has remained an important subculture since.

Forebears

"Rockabilly" by Harlan Ellison. Originally published in 1961, this novel was based on the life of Elvis Presley

There was a close relationship between the blues and country music from the very earliest country recordings in the 1920s. Jimmy Rogers, the first true country star, was known as the “Blue Yodeler” and most of his hits were in the blues format, although with very different instrumentation and sound than the recordings of his black contemporaries like Blind Lemon Jefferson and Bessie Smith. ^[1]During the 1930s and 1940s, two new sounds emerged that mixed country with current black musical styles. Bob Wills and his Texas Playboys were the leading proponents of Western Swing, which combined country singing, steel guitar, and big band jazz, selling lots of records in the process. After rhythm and blues artists like Meade Lux Lewis and Pete Johnson launched a nationwide boogie-woogie craze in the forties, several country artists began recording what was known as “Hillbilly Boogie,” tacking down-home vocals and lyrics onto a boogie bass line. ^[2]

Bill Monroe was the originator of Bluegrass, a new style of country that sounded very old-fashioned. Many of his songs were in blues form, while others took the form of folk ballads or parlor songs. Earl Scruggs, the banjo player in Monroe’s most influential band, created a fast-picking style that gave this music tremendous drive and energy.^[3] The fast tempo would be a key influence on Rockabilly, along with the focus on instrumental pyrotechnics.

Finally, the Honky Tonk sound of Hank Williams and Lefty Frizell dominated jukeboxes in the early 1950s, filling them with blues-influenced songs of partying, loss, and lowdown living. This was music for the Saturday night crowd looking for love, a drink, or a fight. Rockabilly would pick up right where these songs left off, infusing the risqué party atmosphere with even stronger rhythms and totally uninhibited emotional displays. Hank Williams died in his Cadillac on New Year’s Eve 1953, just a few months before Elvis Presley first walked into the Sun recording studio. ^[4]

Stylistically, the development of rock ‘n’ roll music was inevitable. However, the huge cultural impact of the music was anything but inevitable. This impact was due to rockabilly’s first and most important performer, Elvis Presley, who combined the musical excitement and rebellion of Hank Williams with the adolescent charisma of James Dean. Presley’s good looks, scandalously sexy concerts, and innovative music would make him the hero of an emerging demographic group: teenagers. As a result, his music and that of his successors would become the central unifying feature of youth culture during the second half of the 20th Century.

Rockabilly music cultivated an attitude that assured its enduring appeal to teenagers. This was a combination of rebellion, sexuality, and freedom—a sneering expression of disdain for the workaday world of parents and authority figures. It was the first rock ‘n’ roll style to be performed primarily by white musicians, thus setting off a cultural revolution that is still reverberating today. ^[5][6]

Birth

Elvis Presley at the Mississippi-Alabama State Fair, 1956

Sun Records was a small independent label run by Sam Phillips in Memphis, Tennessee. For several years, Phillips had been recording and releasing performances by blues and country musicians in the area. He also ran a service allowing anyone to come in off the street and (for a fee) record himself on a one-off souvenir record. One young man who came in to record himself this way was Elvis Presley. Phillips is often quoted as saying “If I could find a white singer with the Negro sound and the Negro feel, I could make a million dollars.” In Elvis, Phillips thought he had found what he was looking for.

Elvis was paired with two musicians from a local country band, guitarist Scotty Moore and bassist Bill Black. The trio rehearsed dozens of songs, from hardcore country to Dean Martin hits to gospel. While recording for Phillips in the Sun studio, the group felt frustrated and took a break. Elvis began goofing around with an old blues song and Scotty and Bill joined in the fun. Excited, Phillips told them to “back up and start from the beginning.” They did, Phillips recorded it, and he had “That’s All Right,” which would be Elvis’s first single and the first rockabilly record.

The sound of “That’s All Right” was entirely new, even though it brought together many familiar elements. Carl Perkins has described rockabilly as “the blues with a country beat.” That’s All Right” was certainly a blues song played at a fast bluegrass tempo. It also featured Bill Black’s percussive slapped bass and Scotty Moore’s eloquent lead guitar. But what really sets this recording apart is Elvis’s vocal, which soars across a wide range and expresses both a youthful humor and a boundless confidence. The overall feeling the song communicates is one of limitless freedom—the very thing rebellious teenagers desire most. The energy and charisma pour off the record, and teenagers would be compelled to respond. The trio recorded a bluegrass number, “Blue Moon of Kentucky” in the same style for the flip side and Phillips rushed the record into stores a few weeks later. ^[7]

When the song was played on Memphis radio, it became a sensation and it soon topped local charts and began to receive airplay across the South. Many listeners were unsure whether the singer was black or white, but the strongest support came from country radio stations. Nobody was sure what to call this music, so Elvis was described as “The Hilbilly Cat” and “King of Western Bop.” Later, the name “rockabilly” was introduced, and it stuck. Over the next year, Elvis would record four more singles for Sun, each mixing the blues and country into the same winning formula. Together, they would define the rockabilly style: “nervously uptempo” (as Perter Guralnick describes it), with slap bass, fancy guitar picking, lots of echo, constant shouts of “go man go,” and vocals full of histrionics such as hiccups, stutters, and swoops from falsetto to bass and back again. ^{[8] [9]}

Important Performers

Once Elvis’s first couple of singles on Sun started getting airplay across the south, he attracted attention. Large crowds turned out to see his concerts, and in every audience were young men who had previously hoped to become country singers, but now wanted to become rockabilly singers. Soon these musicians began beating a path to Sam Phillips’s door, hoping to record for Sun and capture their own piece of the success Elvis was enjoying. Luckily for Sam, many of these young singers had very real talent and enjoyed some measure of commercial success.

By late 1955, Elvis had gotten too big for an independent label like Sun to keep up with his sales. So Phillips sold Presley’s contract to RCA Victor for $40,000 and plowed the money back into making Sun a bigger and better place for his remaining stable of performers. These included such stars as:

• Carl Perkins—Who would score Sun’s first million-seller with his classic composition “Blue Suede Shoes.” Carl’s career was sidetracked by a terrible auto accident he suffered on his way to New York to appear on television. He and his band members were in the hospital for months, recovering, as “Blue Suede Shoes” stormed up the charts and slowly worked its way back down. Although Carl’s body recovered from the wreck, his career never did. Despite producing many of the wildest and most heartfelt rockabilly records of the 1950s, he never had another hit.
• Jerry Lee Lewis—“The Killer,” as he was known, sold all the eggs on his daddy’s farm in Ferriday, Louisiana to afford to travel to Memphis and audition for Sun. Jerry Lee had a piano sound like no one else and a stage presence somewhere between an explosion and a riot. He attacked the piano with his feet, threw the piano stool across the stage, charged at the audience with the mike in his hand, and even set pianos on fire in his quest to thrill and astonish his listeners. His musical approach was similarly anarchic and exciting. Jerry Lee would enjoy four million-selling records in a row on Sun, before the news broke that he had married his 13 year-old cousin. America’s conservative establishment was horrified and the Killer was quickly blacklisted. His records disappeared from the charts and he struggled in obscurity for a decade.
• Roy Orbison—Although Roy is best known for the beautiful ballads he recorded during the early 1960s on Monument Records, he began his career singing rockabilly at Sun. Some of his Sun recordings, such as “Ooby Dooby” were regional hits and many of them have remained popular with later rockabilly artists and listeners.
• Johnny Cash—Cash was a pretty straight country singer, but he was a solid hitmaker for Sun in this period and is credited with writing the rockabilly song “Rock ‘n’ Roll Ruby” for labelmate Warren Smith.

Sun also hosted a number of lesser performers such as Billy Lee Riley, Sonny Burgess, Charlie Feathers, and Warren Smith. Although these and several other more obscure singers recorded one or two good rockabilly sides for Sun, none of them had the talent or charisma of the artists listed above. During the late 1970s and 1980s, these artists were unearthed to perform on package tours for European rockabilly fans and began to be described as “masters” or “living legends,” mainly because they were still alive and available to perform, unlike Elvis and so many others. Their work can be quite enjoyable, but these guys are not in the same league with Elvis, Jerry Lee, Buddy Holly, etc. They were minor artists, witnesses to an important period in music history, but were not the ones making that history. ^[10]

Presley in his 1957 film “Jailhouse Rock”

There were several important rockabilly performers who did not record for Sun Records, but who enjoyed major chart success and were important influences on future rock musicians. For some reason, most would meet tragically young deaths in accidents.

• Buddy Holly—From Lubbock, Texas, made several records for Decca’s Nashville division before finding success recording for Decca’s Coral dn Brunswick subsidiaries in New Mexico with Norman Petty. Holly was a gifted songwriter and guitarist, as well as a unique vocalist. Most of his big hits, including “That’ll Be the Day” and “Peggy Sue,” were his own compositions. Holly’s band, the Crickets, were first-rate and quite influential themselves. Holly died in a plane crash in 1959, but his recordings remained popular, especially in England, and would inspire many later artists. ^[11]
• Johnny Burnette—and his Rock ‘N’ Roll Trio were from Memphis. When Elvis starting having success in music, Burnette and his cohorts landed a slot on Ted Mack’s TV talent show. They went on to make some of the wildest rockabilly records of the 1950s. Unfortunately, none of these records were chart hits. Burnette would have a few big hits with more teen-oriented pop songs a few years later, such as “You’re Sixteen.” His career was cut short by a boating accident in 1964.^[12]
• Gene Vincent—Clad in black leather and singing uncontrolled songs of sex and menace, Vincent would establish the crucial image of what a rock musician looks like. His band, the Blue Caps, were extremely talented and contributed to the great power of his rockabilly recordings. Although his sales declined in the USA after his initial million-seller “Be-Bop-A-Lula”/ “Woman Love,” he remained very popular in Europe and helped inspire the next generation of musicians there. Vincent died of a ruptured ulcer in 1971.^[13]
• Eddie Cochran—Humorously captured the details of teen life in his songs, much like Chuck Berry. Cochran was a gifted guitarist and songwriter, best known for hits like “Summertime Blues,” “C’mon Everybody,” “Sittin’ in the Balcony,” and “Something Else.” His slow songs generally showed a light touch and his rockers were exciting. He toured England to great success with Gene Vincent in 1960, but died in a car crash on his way to the airport to return to the USA. ^[14]
• Rick Nelson—Although Rick Nelson’s career was launched on his parents’ TV show, his recordings show a very real talent and enthusiasm for rockabilly music. He had dozens of hits during the late 1950s and early 1960s, including “Hello Mary Lou,” “Lonesome Town,” “Travelin’ Man,” and “Poor Little Fool.” On these records, Nelson worked with major rockabilly musicians, such as Johnny Burnette and James Burton. He had only two hits after 1964 and spent the last two decades of his career struggling for audience acceptance, as he was unwilling to become just a nostalgia act. Nelson died in a plane crash in 1985. ^[15]

There were also several female performers like Wanda Jackson, Janis Martin, Jo-Ann Campbell, and Alys Lesley who were touted as rockabilly performers and who enjoyed a couple of minor hits and performed on tours. However, none of these artists had any major hits and their influence would not be felt until decades later, when artists like Becky Hobbs, Rosie Flores, and Kim Lenz would join the Rockabilly Revival. ^[16]

Rockabilly music enjoyed great popularity in the United States during 1956 and 1957, but it was pretty much shunted off the radio after 1960. The style remained popular longer in England, where it attracted a fanatical following right up through the mid 1960s.

Influence on the Beatles and the British Invasion

The first wave of rockabilly fans in Britain were called “Teddy Boys” because they wore long, Edwardian-styled frock coats, along with tight black “drainpipe” trousers and brothel creeper shoes. By the early 1960s, they had metamorphosed into rockers and had adopted the classic “[[greaser]” look of T-shirts, jeans, and leather jackets to go with their heavily slicked pompadour haircuts. The rockers loved Gene Vincent and became famous for a series of beachfront fights against the “Mods,” who admired the sounds of American soul music and the new British bands like The Who and Small Faces. But not all British rockabilly fans were fighting on the beach. Quite a few were forming bands and playing their own version of the music.

The most important of these groups were the Beatles. When John Lennon first met Paul McCartney, he was impressed that Paul knew all the chords and the words to Eddie Cochran’s “Twenty Flight Rock.” As the band became more professional and began playing in Hamburg, they took on the Beatle name inspired by Buddy Holly’s Crickets and they adopted the black leather look of Gene Vincent. Musically they combined Holly’s melodic pop sensibility with the rough and rocking sounds of Vincent and Carl Perkins to create their own style. When the Beatles became worldwide stars, they released versions of three different Carl Perkins songs—more than any other songwriter outside the band. Long after the group broke up, the members would continue to show their interest in rockabilly. In 1975, John Lennon would record an album called “Rock ‘n’ Roll” featuring his versions of rockabilly hits, with a cover photo showing him in full Gene Vincent leather. About the same time, Ringo Starr would have a hit with a version of Johnny Burnette’s “You’re Sixteen.” During the 1980s, Paul McCartney recorded a duet with Carl Perkins and George Harrison played with Roy Orbison in the Traveling Willburys. In 1999, McCartney would release “Run Devil Run,” his own record of rockabilly covers. ^[17]

But the Beatles were not the only British Invasion artists influences by rockabilly. The Rolling Stones recorded Buddy Holly’s “Not Fade Away” as their first single. The Who, despite being darlings of the Mods, covered Cochran’s Summertime Blues” on their “Live at Leeds” album. Even heavy guitar heroes like Jeff Beck and Jimmy Page idolized the rockabilly artists. Beck would eventually record his own tribute album to Gene Vincent (“Crazy Legs”) while Page’s band, Led Zeppelin, actually offered (during the zenith of their popularity in the early 1970s) to work as Elvis Presley’s backing band. Unfortunately, the King never took them up on this tantalizing offer.^[18]

Elvis’s Comeback and 1970s Nostalgia

By 1968, the British Invasion had largely chased the older American rock artists off the charts. Most of the 1950s rockabilly performers who were still alive, such as Jerry Lee Lewis and Carl Perkins, had taken refuge in country music. A young band from San Francisco, Creedence Clearwater Revival, was beginning to gain popularity playing old rockabilly songs and new songs written in the same style. And Elvis Presley was mired in an endless series of lousy movies, seemingly a has-been in his thirties.

In December 1968, Elvis appeared on an NBC-TV special. Clad in black leather, he sang his heart out, proving not only could he rock, but that he had far more emotional depth to share than he had ten years earlier. The so-called “comeback special” created tremendous excitement among the record-buying public, and Elvis’s newer, harder-hitting songs soon began enjoying major chart success. Songs like “Suspicious minds,” “Promised Land,” and “Burning Love” were all cut from Presley’s classic mold and they enjoyed huge international sales. The King returned to live performances, setting attendance records across the USA. ^[19]

In the wake of Elvis’s return, a renewed interest developed in 1950s music. Don MacLean had a giant hit with “American Pie,” a song about the death of Buddy Holly. Then, in 1973, George Lucas released his film “American Graffiti.” This movie, and its chart-topping oldies soundtrack, launched a major 1970s industry of Fifties nostalgia. Soon TV had its own version of “Graffiti” in “Happy Days.” Artists like Sha Na Na gained fame playing 1950s rock as a cartoon joke and many original artists began playing “oldies” shows. Linda Ronstadt enjoyed a major string of hit singles with soft-rock covers of songs by Buddy Holly, Roy Orbison, and the Everly Brothers. Although none of these captured the fire and excitement of 1950s rockabilly, they did create curiosity about the real music of that era. ^[20]

Elvis’s death in 1977 inspired an unprecedented outpouring of news coverage, radio tributes, books, and documentaries. Presley’s records were all over the radio for months, and efforts to document the early history of rock ’n’ roll began to reach a mass audience. Although there was an unfortunate explosion in the number of cheesy Elvis impersonator stage acts, over time all of the hoopla drew attention to the original music, too.

Two films released in the late 1970s really did capture the excitement of the music, even though they got the facts all confused. “The Buddy Holly Story” was a biopic starring the magnetic Gary Busey, who seemed possessed by Holly’s spirit, even though nearly all of Holly’s friends and relatives denounced the screenplay’s cavalier way with the truth. “American Hot Wax,” a film bio of DJ Alan Freed, was even more creative with the details of history, but concluded with a barn-burning concert sequence featuring Jerry Lee Lewis and Chuck Berry, proving they still had all the moxie and charisma that made them rock gods in the Fifties. This was exciting, but was just the prelude to even bigger things.

Rockabilly Revival

The Stray Cats in Concert

Many young listeners were dissatisfied with the “light rock” and bloated “art rock” music on the radio in the 1970s. They wanted to return to the simple, loud, fast, emotionally-direct music rock had started with. Some musicians stripped their sound down to the bare basics of three chords, loud guitars, and emotional lyrics, creating punk rock. Others turned back to the original music of the 1950s for inspiration. Starting slowly in the mid to late Seventies, an underground rockabilly revival began to take shape. By the early 1980s, it broke through to enjoy some mainstream chart success and inspire a new generation of fanatics. The most important of these artists were:

• Robert Gordon—Formerly vocalist for pioneering New York punks the Tuff Darts, Gordon went solo and began performing old rockabilly songs in 1977. Unlike Sha Na Na or the Elvis impersonators, Gordon was not presenting the music as a joke, but trying to recapture the wild energy and excitement of the 1950s performers. He teamed with legendary guitarist Link Wray and recorded an album that year, spawning a minor hit single with a cover of Billy Lee Riley’s “Red Hot.” Four more albums followed by 1981 (first on independent Private Stock, then on major label RCA), with another minor pop hit and two low-level country chart hits. Gordon toured tirelessly around the country and his dedication and energy inspired many listeners and musicians to begin to explore rockabilly music. ^[21]
• Dave Edmunds and Rockpile—Edmunds had enjoyed an out-of-left-field chart hit in 1970 with his dour but rocking version of Smiley Lewis’s “I Hear You Knockin’.” During the early Seventies, he worked in the studio, trying to recreate the Sun Records sound on new songs. In 1975, he joined up with songwriter Nick Lowe to form a band they called Rockpile and created a string of minor rockabilly style hits like “I Knew the Bride (When She Used to Rock ‘n’ Roll).” The group became a popular touring act in Britain and the US, leading to respectable album sales. Edmunds also nurtured and produced many younger artists who shared his love of rockabilly and Chuck Berry, most notably the Stray Cats^[22]
• Shakin Stevens—Was a Welsh singer who gained fame in the UK portraying Elvis in a stage play. In 1980, he took a cover of the Blasters’ “Marie Marie” into the UK Top 20, initiating an amazing string of hits. His hopped-up versions of numbers like “This Ole House” and “Green Door” were giant sellers across Europe and he toured constantly selling out large auditoriums across the continent. By the time his streak wound down a decade later, Shakin’ Stevens was the number two bestselling singles artist of the 1980s in Europe, outstripping Michael Jackson, Prince, and Bruce Springsteen. Despite his huge popularity in Europe, he has never been able to catch on in America. In recent years, he returned to public attention in the UK, with a greatest hits album topping the charts in 2005. ^[23]
• The Cramps—Rising out of the punk scene at the New York club CBGB, the Cramps combined the most primitive and wild rockabilly sounds with lyrics inspired by old drive-in horror movies in songs like “Human Fly” and “I Was a Teenage Werewolf.” Lead singer Lux Interior is one of the most unrestrained performers in rock music and the band’s live shows are outstandingly energetic and unpredictable, even for a rockabilly band, which has attracted a fervent cult audience. Their so-called “psychobilly” music has provoked a number of followers, including the Meteors and Reverend Horton Heat. ^[24]
• Stray Cats—Easily the most commercially successful of the new rockabilly artists, the Stray Cats formed on Long island in 1979 when Brians Setzer teamed up with two schoolchums calling themselves Lee Rocker and Slim Jim Phantom. The trio fully adopted the Gene Vincent look, complete with flashy pompadour haircuts, leather jackets, and tattoos aplenty. Attracting little attention in New York, they flew to London in 1980, seeking the supposedly active rockabilly scene there. Although the Cats found rockabilly action to be less than reported in the UK, they soon inspired a very active scene to appear. Early shows were attended by the Rolling Stones and Dave Edmunds, who quickly ushered the boys into a recording studio. In short order, the Stray Cats had three UK Top Ten singles to their credit and two bestselling albums. They returned to the USA, performing on the TV show “Fridays” with a message flashing across the screen that they had no record deal in the States. Soon EMI picked them up, their first videos appeared on MTV, and they stormed up the charts stateside. Their third LP, “Rant ‘N’ Rave with the Stray Cats,” topped charts across the USA and Europe as they sold out shows everywhere during 1983. However, personal conflicts led the band to break up at the height of their popularity. Brian Setzer went on to solo success working in both rockabilly and swing styles, while Rocker and Phantom continued to record in bands both together and singly. The group has reconvened several times to make new records or tours and continue to attract large audiences live, although record sales have never again approached their early Eighties success. ^[25]
• The Blasters—were centered around brothers Phil (who sang and played harmonica and guitar) and Dave Alvin (who played lead guitar and wrote songs). The brothers and their musical friends had grown up in a country town called Downey, outside Los Angeles, and had spent their teens playing with such legendary R&B musicians as Big Joe Turner, Willie Dixon, Jimmy Reed’s former bandleader Marcus Johnson, and Lee Allen, the sax player on the hits of Fats Domino and Little Richard. Having learned American roots music from the masters, the band began playing around LA in the late 1970s, attracting a following for their combination of classic styles, punk energy, and Dave Alvin’s powerful songs. Several albums on the Warner Brothers-distributed label Slash and appearances in movies failed to land a chart hit, although sales were respectable and the band captured a strong cult following among fans and critics, even inspiring fan John Cougar Mellencamp to write and produce a single for the band. In the late 1980s, Dave Alvin left the band to begin a successful solo career and Phil went back to UCLA to get his doctorate in Mathematics. Today Phil tours with a new Blasters lineup and the original members occasionally gather for performances. ^[26]
• Jason and the Scorchers—Put Heavy Metal, Chuck Berry, and Hank Williams into a punk-powered blender, creating a truly modern style of rockabilly. Although many would slap them with another label, such as alt-county or cowpunk, Jason and the Scorchers did what Elvis and the others had done in the Fifties: they combined the rockingest current urban sounds with the most backwoods country to create a new sound that had more edge than either of its sources. Although they were critic’s darlings and drew a rabid fan base from coast to coast, the Scorchers never managed to have that big hit record their label demanded and now their works are nearly all out of print, although they periodically reappear for another rip-roaring tour.^[27]

Many other bands jumped on the rockabilly bandwagon in the early 1980s, including the Rockats, Polecats, Zantees, Kingbees, and Leroi Brothers.

Closely related was the “Roots Rock” movement which continued through the Eighties, led by artists like the Beat Farmers, Del-Lords, Long Ryders, Fabulous Thunderbirds, Los Lobos, Fleshtones, Del Fuegos, and Barrence Whitfield and the Savages. These bands, like the Blasters, were inspired by a full range of historic American styles: blues, country, rockabilly, R&B, and New Orleans jazz. They held a strong appeal for listeners who were tired of the MTV technopop and glam metal bands that dominated radio play during this time period, but none of these musicians became major stars. ^[28]

Also related, but much more successful, were the artists who rose to fame in the wake of Bruce Springsteen. Springsteen first achieved pop chart success with “Born to Run” in 1975 and had always been strongly influenced by earlier styles, notably rockabilly, Sixties girl groups and garage bands, and soul music. Although he was a hugely popular performer throughout the 1970s, his 1984 LP “Born in the USA” brought him overwhelming success. Not only did the supporting tour set attendance records, but Springsteen’s songs became ubiquitous on radio and MTV. The album spawned a slew of hit singles and several other veteran performers with similar roots-oriented sounds and socially-conscious lyrics enjoyed renewed popularity during the mid 1980s: Bob Seger, John Cougar Mellencamp, John Cafferty and the Beaver Brown Band, and Creedence Clearwater Revival’s former leader John Fogerty, who scored a chart-topping triumph with his solo album “Centerfield” in 1985. ^[29]

Finally, during the 1980s, a number of country music stars scored hits recording in a rockabilly style. Marty Stuart’s “Hillbilly Rock” and Hank Williams Junior’s “All My Rowdy Friends Are Coming Over Tonight” were the most noteworthy examples of this trend, but they and other artists like Steve Earle and the Kentucky Headhunters charted many records with this approach. Another artist, Dwight Yoakum, rose to success in Nashville after attracting a large following among punk and rockabilly fans in his native Los Angeles. His first album “Guitars, Cadillacs, Etc.” became a surprise hit, despite being considered “too country” by Nashville insiders. The album included a hit version of the Blasters’ “Long White Cadillac.” ^[30]

Although these styles of music were overshadowed after 1990 by the rise of grunge and rap, they left behind a sizable cult audience that continued to support rockabilly and roots-influenced performers through the 1990s and into the present.

Rockabilly Today

Rockabilly has joined the ranks of established musical subcultures in America. As with other established subcultures such as jazz, blues, bluegrass, and punk, rockabilly musicians are able to earn a steady but limited living, supported by fanzines, websites, annual festivals, and specialist venues and record labels. Although no other rockabilly performers have risen to the level of mass popularity enjoyed by the Stray Cats in the 1980s, the scene has been growing in recent years. There has been quite a bit of overlap and interaction between the current rockabilly scene and swing revival, with Brian Setzer of the Stray Cats and Brian Setzer Orchestra being a key figure for both groups. ^[31] There are active local rockabilly scenes in many US cities, particularly on the West Coast, as well as major festivals like Viva Las Vegas and Hootenanny. Rockabilly fans have made common cause with hot rodders and many shows feature both music and cars with a 1950s flavor. With the growth of satellite and internet radio, there are finally regular broadcast outlets for rockabilly music. In Europe, rockabilly remains a vibrant and active subculture, with strong interest not only in current revivalists, but also in performances and recordings by surviving artists from the 1950s.

The Rockabilly Look

Since the emergence of the Stray Cats, whose image made such an impression on the public, rockabilly fans have been much more conscious of dressing the part. In the UK, this has meant a full-fledged revival of Teddy Boy fashions while American fans have favored more of the greaser look. In both cases men have sported flamboyant pompadours, with lots of hair pomade and long sideburns, tight jeans or black slacks, brothel creeper shoes (preferably in blue suede), Texas “bolo” neckties, and a fondness for color combinations of pink and black, with leopard-skin accents. American fans have also adopted bowling shirts, cowboy shirts, and Hawaiian “aloha” shirts, as well as the inescapable leather motorcycle jacket.

Women’s fashions in the rockabilly community have never really revived the true Fifties look of poodle skirts with letter sweaters. However, “glamorous” 1950s dresses, often with crinolines, have found some favor. Many of today’s female rockabilly fans are inspired by “bad girl” pinups of the 1950s, like Betty Page, and wear lots of animal prints, horn-rimmed sunglasses, fishnet stockings, tight jeans, capris, and short shorts. Plus plenty of gingham.

Tattoos are popular with both sexes. ^[32]

References

1. ^ “Mystery Train: Images of America in Rock ‘n’ Roll Music” by Greil Marcus 1982 E.P. Dutton p.291
2. ^ ”Country: The Twisted Roots of Rock & Roll” by Nick Tosches 1996 Da Capo Press
3. ^ “Bluegrass Breakdown: The Making of the Old Southern Sound” by Robert Cantwell 1992 Da Capo Press
4. ^ “Your Cheatin’ Heart: A Biography of Hank Williams” by Chet Flippo 1981 Simon and Schuster
5. ^ http://allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=77:187
6. ^ “Mystery Train: Images of America in Rock ‘n’ Roll Music” by Greil Marcus 1982 E.P. Dutton pp.154-156, 169
7. ^ “Mystery Train: Images of America in Rock ‘n’ Roll Music” by Greil Marcus 1982 E.P. Dutton pp. 167-171
8. ^ Miller, Jim (editor). “The Rolling Stone Illustrated History of Rock & Roll.” (1976). New York: Rolling Stone Press/Random House. ISBN 0-394-40327-4. ("Rockabilly," chapter written by Guralnick, Peter. pp. 64-67)
9. ^ “Sun Records: An Oral History” by John Floyd 1998 Avon Books p. 29
10. ^ “Mystery Train: Images of America in Rock ‘n’ Roll Music” by Greil Marcus 1982 E.P. Dutton pp.294-299
11. ^ “The Buddy Holly Story” by John Goldrosen 1979 New York: Quick Fox
12. ^ Liner Notes to “Tear It Up” by Johnny Burnette an the Rock ‘n’ Roll Trio 1980 Solid Smoke Records
13. ^ “Early Rockers” by Howard Elson 1982 Proteus Books pp.18-27
14. ^ “Early Rockers” by Howard Elson 1982 Proteus Books pp.18-27
15. ^ ”Rockabilly: A Forty Year Journey” by Billy Poore 1998 Hal Leonard Publishing p.96-102
16. ^ Morrison, Craig. Go Cat Go!: Rockabilly Music and its Makers. (1996). Illinois. University of Illinois Press. ISBN 0-252-06538-7
17. ^ “Shout! The Beatles in Their Generation” by Phillip Norman 1981 MJF Books
18. ^ “Elvis: The Illustrated Record” by Roy Carr and Mick Farren 1982 Harmony Books p.160
19. ^ “Mystery Train: Images of America in Rock ‘n’ Roll Music” by Greil Marcus 1982 E.P. Dutton pp.147-150
20. ^ ”Rockabilly: A Forty Year Journey” by Billy Poore 1998 Hal Leonard Publishing p.157-179
21. ^ ”Rockabilly: A Forty Year Journey” by Billy Poore 1998 Hal Leonard Publishing p.218-219
22. ^ Miller, Jim (editor). The Rolling Stone Illustrated History of Rock & Roll. (1976). New York: Rolling Stone Press/Random House. ISBN 0-394-40327-4. pp.437-438
23. ^ ”Rockabilly: A Forty Year Journey” by Billy Poore 1998 Hal Leonard Publishing p.176-178
24. ^ ”The Rolling Stone Review 1985” Edited by Ira Robbins 1985 Rolling Stone Press/Charles Scribner’s Sons New York p.89
25. ^ ”Rockabilly: A Forty Year Journey” by Billy Poore 1998 Hal Leonard Publishing pp.223-226
26. ^ Liner notes to “Testament: the Blasters’ Complete Slash Recordings” by Don Snowden 2002 Rhino Records
27. ^ ”The Rolling Stone Review 1985” Edited by Ira Robbins 1985 Rolling Stone Press/Charles Scribner’s Sons New York p.193-194
28. ^ ”The Rolling Stone Review 1985” Edited by Ira Robbins 1985 Rolling Stone Press/Charles Scribner’s Sons New York pp.172-175
29. ^ “Rock of Ages: The Rolling Stone History of Rock & Roll” by Ed Ward, Geoffrey Stokes, and Ken Tucker 1986 Rolling Stone Press p.614
30. ^ ”Rockabilly: A Forty Year Journey” by Billy Poore 1998 Hal Leonard Publishing pp.267-270
31. ^ “Swing! The New Retro Renaissance” by V. Vale, V/Search Publications 1998
32. ^ “Cool Cats: 25 Years of Rock ‘n’ Roll Style” by Tony Stewart 1982 Delilah Books

Samples

• Download sample of Elvis Presley's "Good Rockin' Tonight"

Links

Record Labels

• Golly Gee Records – Label specializing in Rockabilly and Surf music by contemporary artists
• Bear Family Records – German label specializing in reissues of American roots music with some new releases of similar artists
• Hightone Records – Roster includes the Blasters, Dave Alvin, and Sonny Burgess
• Rollin’ Rock Records – Ronnie Weiser’s pioneering Rockabilly Revival label is still at it

Fanzines and Websites

• American Music – devoted to The Blasters and Dave Alvin
• Atomic Magazine – Your Guide to the Retro Lifestyle
• Rockabilly Hall Of Fame
• RockabillyRules.com
• Rockabilly Europe
• The Rockabilly Guitar Page
• Planet Rockabilly!
• How to play rockabilly guitar
• Rockabilly CD reviews

Festivals and Events

• Rockabilly Rod Reunion – Festival in Vegas
• Rockabilly Rave – UK Festival
• The Hootenanny – Probably the best known current festival
• Viva Las Vegas – Major festival in Vegas
• Hot Rod Hoedown – Festival in Delaware
• Heavy Rebel Weekender - Festival in Winston-Salem, North Carolina
• Rockabilly Rebel Weekend – Event in Indiana

Radio Shows

• Go Kat Go – Radio show in Connecticut
• Roots Rockabilly – Show in Delaware
• Rockabilly Radio - The voice of Rockabilly!

Clothing Sources

• Bowling Shirts
• Sunset Star – Rockabilly-themed clothes and gifts for men and women
• Pinup Girl Clothing
• Daddy-O’s – Men’s clothing

See Also

• List of Rockabilly musicians
• Western Swing
• Roots Rock
• Psychobilly
• Cowpunk
• Deathcountry
• Horror punk
• Alternative country
• Punk rock
• Rockers
• Greasers
• Teddy Boy (youth culture)
• Pomade

Categories

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