Rockabilly - the true Frankenstein of music
a right old lash up and mash up of styles and sounds!
Define Rockabilly - not an easy job.
Ask any non-specialist DJ to define the genre and the examples they'd probably state as being worth mentioning might be a revival group or two.
So what are the roots? Well, its a right old melange of musical styles. The structure is usually around a blues type of sequence of 3 chords. The music is hard to define, it sort of was like adding different bits into a cement mixer and eventually you got something you could say 'well there's a bit of that in it.'....
The real down home roots of it is the Hill Billy and Western swing style, plus an injection of black blues music, which had suggestive lyrics, sometime but not always, toned down for the white folks.
That's where Bill Haley came from, as one of the originators of Rock and Roll, he served up a slightly cleaned up version of the original meaty music styles. Shake, Rattle and Roll, is one such number, slightly amended so as not to shock the local Vicar.
Ike Turner came along with his Rhythm and Blues style in his song Rocket 88, which came from the opposite side of the screen and then when Elvis jigged up the country music songs like you'd hear on the Louisiana Hayride television program, you were starting to get the cocktail stirred and built.
The real Howdy Doody of the music though, was the new sound. The electric sound.
Gretsch, one of the new breed of guitar makers 'gone electric'
a 6118 Anniversary model guitar, based on the earlier Electromatics
Rockabilly came along bang on cue with the new developments in music technology, namely the practical and purpose made electrical guitar and amplifier situation. Developments such as the echo chamber, tape echo machine, reverb tank and multi track recording all had their exposure around the start of the 1950's.
Elvis Presley with his 1942 Martin guitar
at the famous Sun Studios c. 1954
The first commercially made 'electric' guitars had appeared in the 1930's and after the hiatus of WW2, production started up again, building on new technology developed in the war.
The dedicated electric guitar, not merely an existing acoustic with a pickup lashed on to the body was now a recognised tool for the working musician. More likely to be found in the conservative venues of jazz and swing dives, being be-bopped in a Charlie Christian style.
A 2015 Fender Stratocaster, little changed from the 1954 original
one of those 'right first time' designs
In 1954, California radio engineer Leo Fender came up with the guitar that changed music forever, the Fender Stratocaster. Building on the success of the Precision Bass and the Telecaster, his bolt together guitars took the Henry Ford production line approach.
Over in Memphis, Scotty Moore and friends were asked to back a young singer called Elvis Presley. Sam Phillips, the Sun owner had been looking for a white man who could sing like a black man and when Elvis jived up an old Bill Monroe song Blue Moon of Kentucky between studio takes, Phillips had found valhalla.
Scotty Moore on guitar, Bill Black on bass and later DJ Fontana on drums, backed Elvis on guitar, in what would be some of the embryonic rockabilly into rock and roll music. It sounded alive and exciting, it still does over 60 years later.
Gretsch guitars in the 50's were rarer than they are today
Sam Phillips, Norman Petty and Les Paul were three movers in the music technology world of the 1950's. Sam and Norman, both record producers developed ways to get unique sounds from their artists, Les Paul, was a great innovator both on musical instrument technology and music recording fronts, besides his excellent playing ability and style.
Norman Petty did for Buddy Holly, what Sam did for Elvis. Gave him a great studio sound. This was a young man's music and both Buddy Holly and Elvis were young and vibrant, that's why the music sounds fresh, even today.
What Elvis and Buddy did, was to originally take old music and shake it up. Borrowing from the Western swing, giving it a harder edge and more pace.
But then it changed, Elvis was provided with songs and Buddy Holly started writing his own, the divergent paths away from the roots had started, the music was evolving. Inevitably, record labels wanted 'their' Elvis or 'their' Buddy and anyone young with a modicum of talent started to get into music, to be the 'next whoever.
It is interesting now to look back at the diverse plethora of artists from the 1954-57 era that had a go and put their efforts onto Shellac. Many were the classic 'one hit wonders' but some survived to move out into more 'acceptable' music styles in later years.
Rockabilly started to get the harder edge and a harder look. Gone were the check shirt ploughboy cowboy hicks of 1954 and in came black leather, greased pomps and loud motorcycles of the 'Wild One' era.
Oh, and public outrage. Much as would emerge 20 years later in the Punk Rock era.
So what about the modern rockabilly scene? Well, its a varied bag of groceries, that's for sure.
After the deaths of Buddy Holly, Eddie Cochran and the call up of Elvis into the Army, Rock n Roll as a hard edge sound gave way to a pappy, preppy, bobby soxin' bubble gum music, where it was a Bobby this or Bobby that singing it. The sort of toned down pomp haired boy next door look, in a pastel sport coat and tie look that'd probably get you called a queer a few years earlier.
Yep, public outrage and corporate America cleaned it up... but not for long.
Brian Setzer of the Stray Cats, Gretschmaniac
In the 1970's, a movement started to gather ground to revive the corpse of the old music. At that time, many of the original 50's stars were still young enough to perform and made appearances on the circuit. They were probably amazed at the level of renewed interest.
The untimely death of Elvis Presley, likely sparked the interest in the music again and that brought the music back up. A number of bands who had been on the fringes of the pop world were now 'booked' to record and fill the new fashion.
The UK had a big following for the music, some of its late 50's stars such as Cliff Richard, Billy Fury and others were still making records and new 'revival' acts followed, bands like Matchbox, Darts and the 'Cod Rock' set of others 'sort of in the style of'. Many were performing their own material, some covered old hits.
The movie 'Grease' came out in 1978 and further ignited the interest, although it featured music written originally for the stage show version, which starred Shakin' Stevens for a while I beleive?
In 1980, a band called the Stray Cats hit the scene and they sounded more authentic than some of the revival offerings. Their debut hit 'Runaway Boys' sounded like a train coming past you, it was exciting, vibrant and they looked the part.
With this 70's revival, in the shadows, people started to buy up the old early 50's records, usually imported in from America by the bucket load. A scene started, reviving the clothes and bands started their own efforts at the music going.
These days it has all become rather 'serious.' People are adopting rockabilly as a 'lifestyle' not old geezers, but young people. Fitting out a house with old style furniture, dressing the part and prices for some of the artefacts and clothing from the era are getting out of reach.
A Gretsch 6120 Brian Setzer Hot Rod model
In the 1970's, the revivalists often never used the 'real' guitars the music was originally made on. The great fallacy was that everyone played a Gretsch or a Fender guitar on early recordings.
The reality was that in the 1950's, many couldn't afford one of these guitars at the time, a Gretsch 6120 being around $500USD.
The reality was that many used catalog bought guitars from the Kay range and others from Sears catalogs and the like. Often, they might not have a high fidelity amplifier and use an adapted unit someone with a bit of savvy had bodged up from what radio parts were around. Ironic that many are trying to emulate a crusty old sound with much better equipment!
So, some of our Roots Rockabilly fanciers of today adopt this 'down home' way and dig out the check shirts and strap on an old Sears guitar or something similar. That's what the hardcore does. Most others go for a Gretsch, because they give you the best sound I think.
A search on YouTube will get you any number of modern revival bands who are out there servicing a willing band of followers, not just in the UK and US but all over Europe and into Japan.
It is surprising to see how serious these people are about the music and the lifestyle.
Rockabilly, the original Frankenstein music.
And there's life in the old beast yet, just crank up the volts and bring the creation to life. Again.
But watch out for the angry villagers with their flaming torches....
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