Rockabilly starters

[smilnJackB]

Howdy, I went to an accoustic blues concert a couple nights ago and what I liked best were not really blues, but ROCKABILLY versions of Hank Williams' 'Mind Your Own Business' and Arthur Crudup's (and some guy named Elvis')'That's All Right Momma'. I want to add some rockabilly to my blues set. What would you think I should try or what should I listen to?
http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/cool.gif Not too old to learn! Jack

[mandopete]

Anything by Chris Spedding.

[jmkatcher]

It's a little out there, but try "Somewhere Between Heaven and Hell" by Social Distortion as modern rockabilly.

[mandocrucian]

The Stray Cats had the genre nailed down quite well. These will be the easiest and cheapest to find (used).

Robert Gordon w/Link Wray - There's probably a "Best Of" disc which has stuff from Robert Gordon w/Link Wray and Fresh Fish Special. #Look for "Red Hot", "Flying Saucer Rock N'Roll", "The Way I Walk" amongst the tracks.

There's also various "Best of Sun Rockabilly" compilations. Elvis, Carl Perkins, Jerry Lee Lewis, Billy Lee Riley, Charlie Feathers, etc.

Johnny Burnette Rock N Roll Trio - "Train Kept A Rollin", "Lonesome Train On A Lonesome Track", "Eager Beaver Baby" etc. #The best Burnette material got covered by the Brits in the 60's(Yardbirds, etc), who also tended to grab the best blues material as well.

Rounder compilation (may not be on CD):Wild Wild Young Women. Janis Martin, Collins Kids, Sparkle Moore, Rose Maddox and others.

Some people think the earliest Elvis (The Sun Sessions) is his best, but I prefer the early RCA stuff which added drums - "Jailhouse Rock", "Hard Headed Woman", "Heartbreak Hotel".

Early Gene Vincent is good. Jack Scott had some good stuff, though he did a lot crooning. #Wanda Jackson.

Compilations are probably your best bet.

Niles Hokkanen

[mandopete]

Robert Gordon w/Link Wray - There's probably a "Best Of" disc which has stuff from Robert Gordon w/Link Wray and Fresh Fish Special. #Look for "Red Hot", "Flying Saucer Rock N'Roll", "The Way I Walk" amongst the tracks.
Man, I had forgotten about that one! #Funny thing, I had a cassette tape of this one and my son who was 3 or 4 years old at the time used to listen to it every night to help him fall asleep!

Black Slacks....when I put 'em on I'm ready to go!

[mandough]

"Marie Marie" by the Blasters. #"The New World" by X. #Anything on "Built for Speed" by the Stray Cats.
James Intveld.
Alot of great modern Rockabilly out there.

[Wadefox]

How about one of the originals. Eddie Cochran.

[ira]

eddie was da man. didn't he do the orig. version of summertime blues???

[mandough]

Eddie Cochran and Gene Vincent. #Two of my heroes.

[madog99]

"Marie Marie" by the Blasters. #"The New World" by X. #Anything on "Built for Speed" by the Stray Cats.
James Intveld.
Alot of great modern Rockabilly out there.
ahh , the Blaster's , alvin has great solo disc's with some nice mandolin also , along with every thing else! Also Dave Edmunds was a rockabilly cat, who had that sound going on .

[smilnJackB]

Thanks for the advice and no offense meant, but I tried the Stray Cats and DID NOT like them. Could this be partly due to me being an 'old fart' in my mid 50s?
Will try some of the other suggestions. I did like some Hank Willians lll stuff. Does that qualify as rockabilly? http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/cool.gif Jack

[mandocrucian]

Well Jack,

Maybe what you are looking for is not "Rockabilly". #The Stray Cats pretty much touched most of the bases in that genre. If you listen to their albums (with a familiarity of the various acts from the 50's), you'll hear one track which is pure Johnny Burnette Rock N Roll Trio with all the Paul Burlisson fuzzed double-octave licks. #And another song is ala-Eddie Cochran, and the next Gene Vincent, and a Jack Scott-esque crooner, and then some Scotty Moore style guitar, right on down the list. #All original songs, but the influences are at the surface on a lot of them. And if you don't really dig any of their stuff daddy-o, you're probably not gonna get off on the rockabilly cats. http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/mandosmiley.gif

Perhaps what you really want is "country boogie". The lines between all these various sub-styles are really blurred, with honky-tonk edging into country boogie which reved-up more starts becoming rockabilly. #And that's just looking at it from the white lineage. There's the rock 'n roll Little Richard* thing in there too, along with "jump" ala Louis Jordan and Wynonnie Harris (who originally did "Good Rocking Tonight") and of course, straight blues. And don't forget some of the Bob Wills stuff, especially when he has bluesy Junior Barnard on electric guitar.

*Sid King & The Five Strings (great Bear Family album) did a tune called "Shake This Shack Tonight" which is really just "Rip It Up" with their own lyrics.

Some of that late 40's early 50's Delmore Bros with Wade Raney on harmonica is country boogie.... #"Freight Train Boogie" #the title says what it is.

Elvis' Sun stuff, I tend to think of as proto-rockabilly. The Scotty Moore Merle Travis-style guitar never had the same impact the electic flatpickers did...i.e. Gallopin Cliff Gallup (Gene Vincent). #Bill Haley's guitar playing on "Rock Arond The Clock" (also proto-rockabilly) was more what I consider more rockabilly than Scotty Moore. Musically, the Elvis RCA stuff never rocked as hard as some of the screamer stuff by Billy Lee Riley or Ronnie Self ("Bop-A-Leena"). #And I'm not sure where you would place Link Wray {"Rumble" or garage covers of blues like "Ain't That Lovin' You Babe") or Dwayne Eddie and Lonnie Mack on the sub-style continuum.

There is a nexus between all these different strands: country boogie/jump/TX swing/Louisiana swamp pop/honky tonk/rockabilly/etc. and it's name was......Commander Cody & His Lost Planet Airmen! All the renegade elements were there. (And much much funkier than Asleep At The Wheel ever were.)

Niles H

[smilnJackB]

Niles, I think you may be correct. It may be more of a country boogie I'm liking. I'm into the country side of blues, so maybe the country side of rockabilly too.
Jack

[Moose]

Lots of good replies here, folks.. not my thread but I'm fairly familiar with many of the artists mentioned - and their work - but a few I had forgotten about.., and yes, they should/could be included for a good historical time-line of the genre. Enjoying the "heads-up" - and the memories. El Mooso. http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif

[madog99]

Yeah good thread , I just printed off a bunch of Buddy Holly stuff the other day .I picked up a cd "The crickets+ friends" the original Crickets and a bunch of guests. sort of cool but got me thinking about those songs .

[smilnJackB]

I still don't know how to categorize some of the music I like, but I'm learning and liking Buddy Holly's 'Maybe Baby' and 'Everyday'. #Cool songs and fun to play. #Are they early rock & roll, country boogie or rockabilly?? #
#Maybe it doesn't pay to over-categorize. #We like what we like and songs from different categories can go together like peas and carrots.
# #http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/cool.gif Jack

[madog99]

Yeah I printed off , everyday , not fade away and rave on , I'll have to get back and get maybe baby now ! http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif
On that CD I bought there is a song called "the buddy Holly story" I guess it is sort of a reply to the movie. They say that buddy used to play the banjo and they were a country band until Buddy heard Elvis and that was that. Now where's that tab site again ? http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif

[goldtopper]

It's a little out there, but try "Somewhere Between Heaven and Hell" by Social Distortion as modern rockabilly.
I wouldn't say that SxDx is rockabilly, but Mike Ness and the boys flippin rock!
A big case for P90's.

[jmkatcher]

(goldtopper) I wouldn't say that SxDx is rockabilly, but Mike Ness and the boys flippin rock!
A big case for P90's.
Coincidentally, I just bought a Gibson EM200 with a P90. http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif It's really good for Social D, too.