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Published On: Wed, Nov 20th, 2013

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Features | By Guitar-Bass.net

Rockabilly The Complete History

Rockabilly remains rebel music, thrilling fans with stripped-down rocknroll hollerin and a
bounty of twanging guitar thrills. From the 50s to its ever-ongoing revival, Michael
Stephens charts the music that could make the dead dance

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We shook the devil loose! We bopped those blues! Its uptempo, its rhythm. You aint sitting there
worrying about car payments or house notes. Youre out there shakin dust loose on those honky-tonk
floors. The words of the late, great Carl Perkins remain as good a summary of rockabilly as any.
Rockabilly is hard to define exactly, but you know it when you hear it. An initial blend of country and
blues, it emerged as a term alongside rocknroll. But rockabilly is more exuberant, wilder, less four-tothe floor. With slapped upright basses, snare-cracking drummers, frenetic guitar solos and lyrics often
celebrating music and dancing (unlike a lot of blues or country), rockabilly is above all party music.
Add a sax or piano? The music swerves towards rocknroll or jump-jazz. Add a fiddle or a banjo, and its
back to country music. Play it with guitars and at a high-tempo thats real rockabilly. Part of
rockabillys greatness is that it doesnt really change. Why not? Because it doesnt need to.

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Roots of Rockabilly
Defining the first rockabilly record, as for blues or heavy metal, remains a matter of debate. Elvis
Presleys upbeat reworking of Thats All Right was important if only because it was very popular.
Presley, Ricky Nelson, Buddy Holly, Bill Haley, Jerry Lee Lewis, Johnny Cash and Roy Orbison and
more get called rockabilly, but real devotees prefer the rougher stuff.
There are numerous great rockabilly tracks of the mid-late 50s, some by legends, others by fleeting
stars. To some, Elvis Presleys Mystery Train is outshone by Johnny Carrolls Hot Rock. Johnny
Burnettes Tear It Up vies with Dale Hawkins Suzie Q (starring James Burton) for guitar thrills. Carl
Perkins Blue Suede Shoes was a landmark song and helped launch Elvis.
Joe Clays Duck Tail is a cult classic with stinging guitar and lyrics about his haircut (and referencing
blue suede shoes) it ticks all the rockabilly boxes.
But to many guitar fans, it was Gene Vincent who had the whole package partly because of genius
guitarist Cliff Gallup. Listen to Race With The Devil to hear why. Jeff Beck, a lifelong devotee of Vincent
and his Blue Caps, once remembered: When I was learning guitar, Cliff Gallup was the biggest
influence on my playing. The cut was pretty deep and the scar has never healed. It was just so radical
it probably doesnt sound threatening now, but if you were back in June 56 and turned the record
right up boy!
The term rocknroll had hardly been bandied about and all the other rock records of the time were
very polished and audibly nice and round. Then you put on Gene Vincent and had this guy screaming
and these raucous guitar solos it was unheard of, and no one has done anything like it since.
Becks Crazy Legs album (1993) was his homage to Vincent and Gallup, and hes kept that scar itching.
Beck has played with rockabilly-influenced singer Imelda May, whose husband (and guitarist) Darrel
Higham is one of the UKs finest rockabilly players of now. Higham is a mere 40-something but after
being intrigued by his parents few Elvis and Eddie Cochran albums in the 70s, he became smitten.
They blew me away. I still remember hearing that music as if it was yesterday I was four or five. Was I
out of step? Maybe, but at that age you are just influenced by what you like, not what everyone else
likes. If you hear something and it makes a huge impression on you, it stays with you forever. Higham
soon became a scholar of classic rocknroll and rockabilly, even co-writing an acclaimed Eddie
Cochran biography in his adult years. My dad bought me a Spanish acoustic guitar when I was seven. I
spent ages drawing f-holes, Bigsby and a G-brand to make it look like a Gretsch. I stood in front of the
mirror pretending to be Eddie for about five or six years.
Of what defines rockabilly, Higham opines, Rocknroll meets in the middle of all sorts hillbilly, blues,

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rhythm & blues. To me, rockabilly is the first offshoot of rocknroll. To me, it seems agreed that the first
rockabilly record was Thats Alright/Blue Moon Of Kentucky by Elvis. There wasnt anything that
sounded like that before then. But you can also hear elements of what I call rockabilly in Chuck Berrys
Maybelline. Its a rewrite of a country tune. Chuck has admitted he was just trying to sell as many
records as he could, so he put a bit of country in there.
Walking in Carl Perkins Shoes
Perhaps theres too much terminology and sub-genres to make sense of it all. But one pioneer who is
considered pure rockabilly from the outset is the legendary Carl Perkins. Perkins playing was a seed of
much rockabilly and rocknroll guitar that followed. The flip side of Blue Suede Shoes was Honey
Dont, which had originally been intended as the A-side. Honey Dont was discovered by the Beatles,
who covered it along with two more of Perkins songs, Everybodys Trying To Be My Baby and
Matchbox. Other Perkins fans included Rick Nelson, John Fogerty, Bob Dylan, Eric Clapton and many
more.
John Fogerty recalled in the 1990s, Of course I loved Elvis, but I actually had a greater affinity for Carl
Perkins because he was a musician. He played guitar and wrote songs, and that spoke directly to me.
He went right to the middle of my musical soul.
Perkins himself, who died in 1998, remained modest of his influence. Of the Beatles he said, They
advanced it [guitar playing] so much. That rockabilly sound wasnt as simple as I thought it was. In
another interview, Perkins said the Beatles and Rolling Stones saved rockabilly in the mid-60s when it
was in danger of dying in the USA. They put a nice suit on rockabilly, he said. They never really
strayed from the simplicity of it, they just beautified it.
Thats hardly true, as its a long and winding road from Matchbox or Boppin The Blues to A Day In The
Life, but Paul McCartney put Perkins contribution bluntly: If there were no Carl Perkins, there would be
no Beatles. True enough, rockabilly was a strong influence on the Beatles: John Lennon asked
McCartney to join his Quarrymen because Paul knew all the words to Eddie Cochrans Twenty Flight
Rock.
For Darrel Higham, early rockabilly still embodies the true original spirit of teen rebellion. Its all tales of
teenage angst, he says, and teenagers will always hear that. Rockabillys still got that edge, that
nastiness. Even the lyrics there was nothing deep or meaningful on the surface, but there was
something in there. Carl Perkins Her Love Rubbed Off is a very dark song. Eddie Cochrans Dark
Lonely Street is not truly a rockabilly track, but you do think: what was going through his head when he
wrote that? Its very melancholy. We tend to forget that most of these guys were teenagers or early
20s, yet writing amazing songs and playing to such a great standard

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Yet despite rockabillys early explosion, it did fade in the charts. Elvis got less rockin as movie stardom
blossomed, Perkins became more of a sideman (albeit a brilliant one), Gene Vincent had to change his
sound soon after wild guitarist Cliff Gallup left in 1956, and scored his last USA hit as early as 1958.
Eddie Cochran died in 1960 just a year after releasing his classic barnstormer Somethin Else. He was
just 21 and, by 1971, Vincent had also died. Looking back, some might argue that 1956 was both
rockabillys high-point and the start of the end. But new rockabilly rebels would eventually whup it up
again
The Rockabilly Revival
In the late 70s and early 80s, rockabilly enjoyed a major revival and it was just as strong in the UK as
in the USA. Dave Edmunds and Nick Lowes Rockpile became a rockabilly-ish cult act. The Polecats
scored Top 40 hits with rockabilly-reworks of Bolan and Bowie songs and their own Rockabilly Guy.
Matchboxs Rockabilly Rebel charted in eight countries a #1 in New Zealand, no less. And the Stray
Cats, attracting little in attention in their native New York, moved to London to forge a hit-packed
career. And laugh if you will, but Shakin Stevens the
UKs biggest-selling singles artist of the 80s hit #1 with an authentic sounding (if mild) rockabilly
version of country lament This Ole House.
But richer influences were now at work. Darrel Higham rightly points to a noticeable revival of 50s
imagery in late 70s mainstream culture. In the late 70s you could watch Grease and Happy Days, and
music TV programmes like Let It Rock and the revived Oh Boy! Glam rock stars of the 1970s Mud,
Showaddywaddy kind of made a laughing stock of Teddy Boys, so rockabilly was revived as a name.
The comeback sound was often harder, too. Brian Setzer recalls that punk was also a big part of
rockabillys rebirth. London seemed to be the happening place, he recalled. We were just a little bar
band in the States. We almost didnt make it. Wed been living in London for a month, we didnt have
any money. Then all of a sudden the whole thing exploded.
Setzer said he first saw the term rockabilly used again in a UK music paper article, illustrated by a
Kings Road Teddy boy-styled punk in crepe soles. Setzer was soon hanging out with Joe Strummer
and other punk acolytes, but only those whose look and sound was as much 50s rocknroll as it was
mohicans, spitting and nihilism.
Setzer: When I heard punk rock, that energy paralleled rockabilly music. Like it or not, we were
influenced by it. I remember when that first Sex Pistols record came out I went Wow, rocknroll is back!
It might be heavier sounding, but that same energy was back again. The sound spanned generations
too Led Zeppelins Robert Plant and the Rolling Stones were avowed Stray Cats fans.
Some of the rockabilly revival artists were flash-in-the-pan, but Setzers not one of them; hes built a
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stellar career over 30-plus years, mixing rockabilly with jazz and orchestral/big band styles for a sound
of his own. And The Polecats Boz Boorer went on to become co-writer and musical director for
Morrissey in the early 90s, and is still at the ex-Smiths side. His rockabilly influence is clearest on
Morrisseys 1993 album Your Arsenal.
Neo-rockabilly, if you want to call it that, is not for the purists but it kept the music growing. Londons
Meteors (of the early 80s) are generally regarded as the first psychobilly band, but the success of the
Cramps, the Reverend Horton Heat, Social Distortion, punkabilly Australians The Living End and many
others have shown that rockabilly roots can grow a big musical tree.
It wasnt always appreciated. Neil Youngs neo-rockabilly Everybodys Rockin album of 83 was a
commercial flop paymasters Geffen Records even sued Young for making a record that didnt sound
like a Neil Young record
Rockabilly Guitarists
As with any guitar style, rockabilly can encompass a wide range of sounds and techniques. The musthears remain the legends Eddie Cochran, Sun-era Elvis with Scotty Moore, Carl Perkins, Gene
Vincent with Cliff Gallup, Johnny Burnette And The RocknRoll Trio, Ricky Nelson with James Burton
and numerous unsung heroes.
Yet each player brought something unique to the table. Cochran, for example, was best known as a
frontman, but his dazzling playing on Skeets McDonalds 1956 single You Oughta See Grandma Rock
recorded when he was just 18 remains testament that Eddie could also play killer lead guitar.
Rockabilly guitar can give you everything, there are so many different influences, argues Higham.
Theres a fair bit of jazz about rockabilly Brian Setzer has taken that to a new level. Theres blues
licks in there. Theres country, with the likes of Merle Travis and Chet Atkins. And you look at those
session players like Grady Martin his tone and technique were unbelievable, and he played on so
many records.
Who? Thomas Grady Martin was typical of many 50s and 60s session men never the star, but a key
guitarist on numerous tracks. Martin played lead on Johnny Burnettes RocknRoll Trio album gracing
tracks such as Train Kept A-Rollin and Rockabilly Boogie, and as part of the Nashville A-Team went
on to play on Roy Orbisons Oh, Pretty Woman, the pure rockabilly of Johnny Hortons Im Coming
Home and hundreds more.
When it comes to technique, prime rockabilly requires precision. For starters, therell be only the
mildest distortion to cover any fluffed notes.
Working on a root/fifth note alternate pattern, then adding melodies to the top, is a learning curve. The

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country style of Travis picking named after Merle Travis is ultimately what many aim for. Banjo rolls,
quickfire triplets, double-stop stabs, precise bends and melodic running-down bursts are all part of the
style. And rockabilly is a fast mix, with 120 beats-per-minute a starting point, and 200bpm not
uncommon.
Despite the difficulty of playing like an expert, one of rockabillys real appeals is that it can sound good
even if you are not a great player. Its because the rhythm is king. Its not just 1-2-3-4. Go faster and
count 1-and-of-2 and-of-3 and-of 4 and many rockabilly rhythms make more sense.
Listen to Elviss Sun sessions, Darrel Higham advises novices. Scotty Moore could be a very intricate
guitar player, but its easier relatively to come up with a basic interpretation of that music. Or listen
to Carl Perkins with Johnny Cash in the 60s thats another excellent place to start. And Eddie
Cochran for the rhythm. Rockabilly guitar is so much about rhythm.
Rockabilly Now
Pure rockabilly still exists, but like anything from the 1950s its now part of a mix. Brian Setzer is a
must-listen for any guitarist. Matchbox still tour. Darrel Higham has his new band Kat Men, with the
Stray Cats Jim Phantom on drums. Imelda Mays huge success confirms the rockabilly revival never
really went away. Most gigs may now be local and low-key see www.rnrgigguide.com for listings but
they are there.
Rockabilly is durable. It aint changing, cos it doesnt need to. As the late Carl Perkins remarked two
decades ago, Rockabillys looking healthy. They said it would go away in a year. Its fooled us all.
Tags: Features, Home, Rockabilly

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