ROCKABILLY SITES:
Not only has Jerry
Lee Lewis outlasted the rest of Sun Record's "Million Dollar
Quartet" which included Johnny Cash, Elvis, and Carl Perkins,
but he's still performing and he's still the most quotable of all
the rockabilly forefathers. My personal favorite? "Anyone that
doesn't think I'm the king of rock 'n' roll can use my dick for a
walking stick!" I saw him at The Anaheim H.O.B, and he was GREAT!
This shot isn’t, because I had to sneak it! The H.O.B. are nazi's
about "no photography." Prior to The
Killer's set, they announced: “Before Jerry Lee comes out,
please take a moment to locate the green EXIT signs in case of emergency.”
I was thinking: “Is he going to be playing‘Great
Balls of Fire’ or juggling them?
  
Carl
Perkins was a rockabilly pioneer who
wrote hit songs for Johnny Cash, Patsy Cline and The Judds.
His guitar style had a huge influence on George Harrison--The
Beatles covered more songs by Perkins on their studio releases
than any other artist! Carl's "Blue Suede Shoes" simultaneously
reached the top of the country, pop and R&B charts and became
Sun's first million-selling record (and defined a genre of music.)
On the way to perform it on The Perry Como Show, a serious car
accident landed Carl in a hospital bed, where he watched the
younger, sexier, Elvis Presley performing the song on The Dorsey
Brother's Stage Show.
Charlie
Rich was a jazz afficianado who blended
country, jazz, blues, gospel, rockabilly, and soul. Bill Justis,
Sun Records' musical director, instantly recognized that Rich
was good--maybe too good to sell records. He gave him
a stack of 45's and told him to "come back when he'd got
that bad." Rich wound up writing songs for and playing
on tracks by Jerry Lee Lewis, Ray Smith, and Carl Mann. He was
poised to hit it big several times before he did in the 70's
with his "countrypolitan sound." He'd written
both sides of Jerry Lee's next single (at the height of
Lewis' fame) when Jerry Lee's career was crippled by press reports
of his marriage to his 13 year old cousin. Sam Phillips said:
"I don't think I ever recorded anyone who was better as
a singer, writer, and player than Charlie Rich."
Link
Wray is the guitarist that inspired
Pete Townsend to pick up a guitar (which is accomplishment enough).
Known mainly for instrumentals like "Rumble," what
most folks don't realize is that Link sang on many of his early
records. After losing a lung to tuberculosis, his doctors urged
him to concentrate on instrumentals. He passed on in '06. He
lived in Denmark & still played as good (and loud) to the
very end! I took this photo, too. Link Link
GENE
VINCENT. 'Nuff said! The first rocker to have a complete
stage show, with two "hand-clapper boys" who hit a
knee on either side of him to sing back-up and provide hand-claps.
Gene always had the best guitarists, a fact that wasn't wasted
on Brian Setzer who added all their licks (and Eddie Cochran's)
to his own bag of tricks.
Ricky Nelson is one of the most underrated
rockers EVER... SURE his parents had a TV show that gave him
a tremendous advantage to sell records, but they were GREAT
records that still hold up today! RickNelson.com
 
Harry
"The Hipster" Gibson and Moon
Mullican each influenced Jerry Lee Lewis' wild piano style.
Harry is credited with coining the phrase "hipster"
and he predated rock & roll with a rock & roll syle
and drug-taking attitude. Moon would have been a superstar if
he wasn't too old and fat for teenagers to get into.
Deke
Dickerson sounds a lot like Ricky Nelson when he wants to,
and he also plays a mean guitar!
Sue Foley plays blues guitar with a rockabilly twang and has
an innocent, yet sexy, voice (insert Roy Orbison growl here!)"
SueFoley.com
Lucinda Williams covers a lot of ground
stylistically and is primarily a folk/blues artist having released
two albums on Smithsonian/Folkways Records. But, she frequently
brushes up against rockabilly (and recently brushed up against
ME at a Rosie Flores Show in LA). She always has a killer band
and. in my opinion, should have a place in any respectable record
collection. LucindaWilliams.com
Rosie Flores is a rockabilly gal after my own heart. Her tour with
Rockabilly Legend Wanda Jackson was amazing. Hep cats Russell Scott
and James Intveld played with her back in the day.
RosieFlores.com
The term living legend is tossed around like a frisbee these days,
but Wanda Jackson is the real article. Elvis himself urged her to
give rockabilly music a try way back in '55 or so, and she's still
cranking out great live shows. See her if you get the chance. You
won't regret it.
WandaJackson.com
 
L: Nick Lowe & Geraint Watkins
at The Great American Music Hall ...R:Nick
Lowe at The Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival.
Nick Lowe produced important
records for The Pretenders, Graham Parker, and Elvis Costello
(who recorded his "What's So Funny About Peace, Love and
Understanding"). He was also in the rockabilly-fueled ROCKPILE
with Dave Edmunds, Terry Williams, and ace axeman, Billy Bremner.
Nowadays he's kind of a soulful, Charlie Rich Countrypolitan-styled
crooner who still "hits me where I live" and writes
amazing songs. NickLowe.net
Phil
Lee is a rockin' Nashville-based singer/songwriter who combines
the swagger of Lynyrd Skynyrd, the "coolest guy in the
honky tonk" vibe of George Jones, and the sense of humor
of Roger Miller. I've bought all his records, and feel that
you should do the same!
James Intveld is a staple of the LA Rockabilly
scene and put out a great record on (the prestigious) Bear Family
Records. Like John Doe of X he also acts (most recently in an episode
of MONK) usually playing a musician or a greaser. His big brother
was in Ricky Nelson's band and sadly perished in the plane crash that
took Ricky's life.
Russell Scott and his Red Hots have played with all the
greats and perform under the alias "TheBooze Hounds"
when they add comedian/actor (and voice of Spongebob Squarepants)
Tom Kenny to the mix.
Dave
Alvin is one of my favorite songwriters. One scribe called his
song, Marie Marie, "The best song Chuck Berry never wrote" (and it
is!) His music touches on everything that's good from Howlin' Wolf
to Merle Haggard, and he's been a member of The Blasters, The Knitters,
The PleasureBarons, and X (he wrote their classic Fourth Of July.)
If you're still not impressed, you need only see him live with or
without The ORIGINAL Blasters. If you buy their excellent reunion
DVD "BLASTERS LIVE: GOING HOME" you'll see a certain rockabilly
comic in it.
Randy Weeks is another one of my favorite songwriters. Lucinda Williams
shares my high opinion of his abilities--she included his "I Can't
Let Go" on her platinum "Car Wheels On A Gravel Road" CD. He was a
member of The Lonesome Strangers, and also sang background vocals
on a lot of Dwight Yoakum's best stuff and toured the world with him.
If you don't have his CD "Madeline," you're living like a dog, and
don't even know it.
RandyWeeks.com
Randy's former boss, Dwight Yoakum, keeps the Bakersfield Sound alive
and stirs in a heapin' helpin' of rockabilly. And, he still finds
time to play the bad guy in movies like Slingblade and Panic Room.
DwightYoakum.com
Steve
Forbert is best known for his 1979 song ROMEO'S TUNE, which
was his transcendent tribute to
former SUPREME Flo Ballard. He's not exactly a rockabilly artist,
but he covers Chuck Berry's songs as well as you'll ever hear
them played, and does obscure covers like The Beatles original
rockabilly version of "One After 909". He’s
never stopped cranking out amazing albums, and his soul searching
put to music makes you feel like you’re a little closer
to being a good person yourself! SteveForbert.com
Ex-Rolling Stones bassist Bill Wyman
plays a mixture of R&B and jump blues with a dose of rockabilly
mixed in with his group Bill
Wyman and The Rhythm Kings (which includes another
former Stone, Mick Taylor). He'd done something similar with
his (super)group WIllie And The Poor Boys. Bill's also hawking
his signature line of metal
detectors!
My rockabilly pals from Indiana (voted
Indy's best rockabilly band!) Folks are still talking about
our show at The late, great, Indy Funny Bone! BiggerThanElvis.com
A certain rockabilly comic directed their video...
The
Day The Music Died a step-by-step
explanation of Don McLean's classic song about the plane crash
that took the lives of Buddy Holly, The
Big Bopper and Ritchie
Valens.
TheDempseys
play Johnny Cash's back-up band in the
upcoming biopic about "The man in black".
The Sprague Brothers
combine the guitar work
of The Bobby Fuller Four with the songwriting chops of Buddy
Holly and the harmonies of The Everly Brothers. If that isn’t
enough to wow you, they also have a great sense of humor, as
evidenced by their album title: “Let the Chicks Fall Where
They May.”
Los Straitjackets
play surf music in mexican wrestling masks
and strike poses like old R&B groups. They're alot of fun
to watch and they've been on Conan O'Brien's show more than
anyone this side of Max Weinberg!
When it comes to modern day rockabilly
cats who write songs that sound as vintage as their clothes,
no one tops The CigarStoreIndians
Singer/songwritter Wynn Stewart helped
create "The Bakersfield Sound" which had a lot of
rockabilly stirred into it. If you like Merle Haggard, Dwight
Yoakum and Buck Owens, you'll like Wynn! WynnStewart.com
The Blue Moon Boys. Their guitarist, K.T.
Fingers, has to be seen to be believed. BlueMoonBoys.com
My friend Sean Castillo played with Carl Perkins
at LA's legendary Palomino Club and has also shared the stage with
Jerry Lee Lewis, Little Richard, Screaming Jay Hawkins and Brian Setzer!
The guy's the best thing to come out of Texas since the toast!
Sean Castillo and
The Hubcaps
Cleveland's Kings of Rockabilly. Ian Hunter
was right! Cleveland DOES rock! CowSlingers.com
Michigan's Cash O'Reily and The DownRight Daddies
have a CD out on Germany's Rhythm Bomb Records and mix rockabilly
covers of Joan Jett's "I Love Rock & Roll" and Poison's
"Talk Dirty To Me" in with their originals!
CashORiley.com
The Old 97's have a serious rockabilly streak
running through them, but they eschew a lot of the trappings like
vintage shirts and retro instruments. Most folks would consider them
"Alternative Country," but however you describe them, they're
an amazing live act that write great songs and have yet to put out
a bad record! Lead vocalist/guitarist Rhett Miller's solo effort was
just as good as The 97's stuff, and might have marked the end of the
band but, lucky for us, it didn't! Buy their records, catch their
shows, and worship the ground they walk on! I do. Old97s.com
L: Lord with Elana of Hot Club of Cowtown...
.R: Lord Without Elana of Hot Club of Cowtown.
Austin's Hot Club Of Cowtown mix jazz
and western swing and I'm (obviously) a big fan of their Elana Fremerman.
HotClubOfCowtown.com
Check out more great Austin music at musicaustin.com
Junior Brown would have earned his place on
this page if all he ever did was invent "The Guit-Steel"
which is a guitar with a steel guitar grafted onto it. He also plays
the heck out of it, writes good songs, and possesses a voice that's
lower than sucker-punching a blind newsie. JuniorBrown.com
The Reverend Horton Heat has funny songs that
don't skimp on the rawk! The Rev logs more road miles than even I
do--catch him if you can! ReverendHortonHeat.com
I met David Rhodes Brown at my Madison
Theater show with Wild Bill Bauer and he and I were the only
rockabilly cats in the joint. He turned me onto his band, The
Star Devils, which is Cincinnati-based and plays jump swing
that kicks rockabilly in the ace. Strangely enough, their song
"Six Dollar Trim" is about getting a haircut. StarDevils.com
My friend Reggie channels Elvis in Branson’s
LEGENDS show. He’s one hep cat, and his pompadour IS the
stuff of legends. ReggieRandolph.com
..Prefer
the real thing? ElvisWorld.com
I met the nicest, prettiest, best-put-together
gal at the (Herman) Brood Galerie in Amsterdam. She has her
own line of clothing that really floats my boat! CherrySue.com
My friends at Second Hand Rose have great
vintage clothing and do booming E-bay business so you don't
have to drive to Redondo Beach if you don't want to.
secondhand-rose.com
Bob, Christy & Mark at Daddy-O's
Retro Clothing have a LOT of great stuff (and their own Daddy-O
label). They're based in Fairmount Indiana, the
birthplace of James Dean, so stop in if you're drag racing past.
For a little harder greaser edge, visit
Lowbrow Customs
for apparel, decals, stickers, patches, DVDs & mags. They
also carry Grease
Gorilla pomade which is made by an
obsessed greaser and has a nice coconutty smell.
Design your own shoes! JoesGarbShoes.com
WANT TO KNOW MORE ABOUT THIS STYLE OF MUSIC?
No Depression
Magazine is one of the finest publications
devoted to roots music (and roots comedy?)
Blue Suede News
has metric tons of CD reviews & focuses more on rockabilly than
most other roots mags.
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