Rockabilly

Rockabilly is one of the earliest forms of rock 'n' roll. Known for its brash hybrid of blues and country, the style originated from Sam Phillips' Sun Studios in Memphis. Phillips recorded a number of small bands whose songs were driven by an echo-drenched, slapping string bass, a twanging lead guitar, and an acoustic rhythm guitar. The singers embellished the swaggering guitar riffs with yelps, gulps, and stutters, while they sang about cars, girls, and love lost and found. Rockabilly moved to the American forefront with the emergence of Elvis Presley, whose combination of stylish good looks and talent swung and swayed the nation. Others like Gene Vincent, Jerry Lee Lewis and Eddie Cochran helped keep Rockabilly at the top of the charts, but the style's heyday ended with the 1950s. Over the last four decades, Rockabilly has remained unsullied, with younger performers ranging from "Someday, Someway" scribe Robert Gordon to Stray Cats front man Brian Setzer occasionally adding contemporary flair but essentially sticking to the basic Rockabilly formula. Meanwhile, the so-called "Psychobilly" artists have added revved-up, noisy guitar and traces of Garage rock to the mix.