Rockabilly is music that came out of the south of the US, mixed with elements of rock, blues, country, hillbilly boogie and bluegrass. Its genre is strong rhythm, emotion and a wild vocal style. And while it shined most brightly in the 1950s it never really disappeared. In fact today it’s joined the ranks of established musical subcultures around the world.
It’s been argued that the word rockabilly is synonymous with Elvis and that Presley invented the genre one night in Memphis in 1954.
The story goes that Elvis was recording at Sam Phillips’ Sun Studio with Scotty Moore and Bill Black. According to Moore they were taking a break when all of a sudden Elvis started singing a song, jumping around and acting the fool. Moore says Bill picked up the bass and before long all three were jumping around and playing.
Moore says Phillips had the door to the control room open and when he heard them playing asked them what they were doing. Moore says they didn’t have a clue, but Phillips asked them to stop, find a place to start and do it again. Legend has it that rockabilly was born that night.
Sam Phillips went on to record many small bands with their slapping string bass sound, acoustic rhythm guitar with plenty of echo and twanging lead guitar.
He also recorded what was to become a virtual ‘who’s who of bluesmen including Junior Parker, Bobby Bland, Little Milton, Howlin’ Wolf, Walter Horton and most importantly Carl Perkins.
Some of the other great rockabilly artists of the time included Buddy Holly, Bill Haley, Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis, Wanda Jackson and Roy Orbison.
For many, rockabilly remained the “purest” form of rock and roll. Even though it only lasted a few years it provided the template for the sound, image and spirit of rock for the next 50 years. Its influence is certainly still felt today and several bands continue to perform in the rockabilly tradition, with many more borrowing from the genre to create their own flavour.
While there have always been bands playing rockabilly, the revival really hit its stride in the post-punk era, when a number of new bands picked up the sounds. Not only did they play the music, but they celebrated and embraced the pop culture that surrounds Rockabilly. The most successful revival band was the Stray Cats in the 1980s.
While there hasn’t been a band to enjoy such a large-scale fame since the Stray Cats, rockabilly still has a life of its own in the 2000s. Over the past decade there’s been a convergence of the rockabilly style with the swing music scene. Brian Setzer of the Stray Cats has once again played a big part in bringing the sound to new audiences. He formed the Brian Setzer Orchestra as both a rockabilly and swing musician. The Reverend Horton Heat, Rattled Roosters and Royal Crown Revue are also popular in both scenes.
Today there are still lively rockabilly scenes in several major US cities – especially on the west coast. There are a number of big festivals including Viva Las Vegas and Hootenanny along with the Heavy Rebel Weekend Festival on the east coast.
The subculture also thrives in Europe where there is a big focus not just in contemporary musicians reviving the rockabilly traditions, but in artists from the ’50s.
So why has rockabilly survived in one form or another for all these years?
Meg Appelton in her article “The Rockabilly in the New Millennium” argues that the rockabilly culture is an antithesis to current trends as it embraces its roots in “old school” societal fringes.
She says the rockabilly phenomenon has survived down the generations thanks to a growing dissatisfaction with mainstream culture, music and stylistic icons.
“Rockabilly frequently becomes a way of life or lifestyle to those active, who see the larger scene to be like a family,” she explains.
