So I need to find some new tunes along these lines: help steer me in the right direction. I like the Reverend Horton Heat, Flametrick Subs, Cramps, and Stray Cats, for example. NOT keen on the Beat Farmers, for some reason, for example. Does that make sense? What else is out there? What of the older generation stuff am I likely to enjoy? I remember someone in another thread asking about Jim Thirlwell/Foetus and related kinds of projects and was very impressed by the board’s response to that, so I thought I’d trust ya’ll on this one.
Thanks in advance!
Definitely seek out the Johnny Burnette Trio (original “Train Kept A-Rollin”, etc.). For more of the original rockabilly stuff, Rockin’ Bones is an excellent compilation. If I wasn’t dead tired (and if I had my iTunes library up), I’d give you about a dozen more recommendations - I’ll try back tomorrow.
That was me who started the Thirlwell/Foetus thread a long time ago, and I happen to be a big rockabilly fan too. Check out the Hillbilly Hellcats, the Amazing Crowns (formerly known as Amazing Royal Crowns), and of course the classics like Elvis Presley (the Elvis '56 compilation is pretty much perfect young rockabilly Elvis), Jerry Lee Lewis, and younger Johnny Cash, Carl Perkins, and Roy Orbison. If you like girl singers, Wanda Jackson is the queen of rockabilly, and Kim Lenz and Josie Kreuzer are two younger girls (who happen to be hotties as well). The Brian Setzer Orchestra blends his rockabilly lead guitar work from the Stray Cats with a big band swing sound – I’ve always loved them. Social Distortion has always had a rootsy rockabilly sound in their punk rock, and frontman Mike Ness’ two solo albums are pretty much old-school Johnny Cash-style country and rockabilly. Very very cool stuff.
I’m not as big a fan of psychobilly, but the most popular bands these days are Tiger Army (they’ve been described to me as “emobilly”), the Horrorpops (another girl singer), and Nekromantix. I also like Ghoultown, a Texas band who would most accurately be described as “gothabilly.”
Finally, one of my favorite new bands of the last several years are the Raveonettes, a Danish duo. Their sound is heavily influenced by 1950s and early '60s rock and roll, so a rockabilly fan would almost definitely like them too.
I can’t improve on the recommendations so far. I just wanted to alert you to the fact that some TV station where you live may be airing The Brian Setzer Orchestra’s Christmas Show some time in December. I saw it last year, and it was excellent. If you see it coming up, don’t miss it!
Their stuff is hard to find, but look for The Collins Kids. Lorrie Collins was kind of the Britney Spears of the mid-late 50s, a too-sexy teenager with a mildly scandalous love life. Her little brother Larry was a demon on the rockabilly guitar; he grew up to write some fairly major country hits like “Delta Dawn” and “You’re the Reason God Made Oklahoma.” With apologies to the Sun Records crowd, these two pretty much invented rockabilly.
If you’re in to Stray Cats, you gotta check out Crazy Cavan. Big around the same time as Stray Cats, and the real deal. (I bit obscure today, it seems, checking wiki and allmusic, but nonetheless.)
If you don’t mind sliding a little over towards the country side there’s always Unknown Hinson.
no mention of Southern Culture on the Skids yet??
I thought about mentioning them, and the OP may very well like them. But I saw them live a couple years ago, when I wasn’t familiar with any of their material, and didn’t have that great a time at the show.
Good stuff so far. Social D is probably my fave. Just for a little variety, where’s the love for Goober and the Peas? And maybe Hank III, New Duncan Imperials, The Supersuckers, with a Red Elvises chaser just for fun.
I who am not into rockabilly in any way whatsoever am the first to mention Queen’s Crazy Little Thing Called Love? I thought it was the rockabilly anthem or something.
The Red Elvises are lots of fun and an amazing live band. But they aren’t strictly rockabilly, playing everything from Russian ballads to surf instrumentals to '50s-style rock and roll novelty songs.
Hardly an anthem, just a fun one-off song by some British lads paying homage to a musical style they otherwise had nothing to do with. But it’s one more example that Queen could do it all.
KEXP has three hours of rockabilly every Friday night from 6–9 pm Pacific time. There should be a couple of shows archived on the site as well. You might want to give it a listen and see if you like anything in particular.
Do you have a source for that? Sandy Pinkard of Pinkard and Bowden claims to have written “You’re the reason god made Oklahoma.”
Mojo Nixon
If you’re interested in older stuff both Sonny Burgess and Charlie Feathers have some great recordings.
Seconded. Though there’s a lot of James Brown and Stax/Motown influences there as well.