For the hundreds of people who have been demanding it, here’s the first half of my list of favourite rockabilly records. I’ve limited each artist to one entry (or else four artists would have filled up the whole list).Trying to separate Rock ‘n’ Roll and Rockabilly isn’t always easy, but I’ve classified Jerry Lee Lewis and Gene Vincent as pure Rockers (in case you’re wondering if I’ve had a taste-ectomy), while Eddie Cochran is allowed in. I’ve also excluded any record made after 1960 – not that many would have made the cut. Here are the first ten tracks, in no particular order:
The greatest guitar intro in popular music, courtesy of session colossus, Grady Martin. Johnny Burnette sings his lungs out, transferring Tiny Bradshaw’s rather sophisticated, cool R&B mid-tempo classic into one of rockabilly’s wildest numbers, kept on track thanks to some of Nashville’s finest.
Nik Cohn’s landmark 1968 book about Rock music, Awopbopaloobop Alopbamboom was very dismissive of Mr. Holly’s credentials as an out-and-out rocker. One hopes that Cohn changed his mind following the 1975 release of the Nashville Sessions album that brought together all of the cuts from the sessions which spawned Ollie Vee and a clutch of other tracks now rightly regarded as classics. Cohn was only 22 when he wrote Awopbopaloobop, so maybe his ignorance was forgivable – but then again Buddy Holly was a lot younger than that when he produced this blinder.
Raw meat rockabilly from Sun by a performer who didn’t receive his just desserts – Sam Phillips was convinced Jerry Lee Lewis was the act to back, and he was probably right. But this track and Flying saucers Rock ‘n’ Roll were just brilliant. (And, one assumes, heavily alcohol-fuelled – surely you have to be in an altered state to make a sound this rough).
I could have chosen any one of ten tracks from Mr. P. But I can play the guitar breaks, so plumped for this one. The second greatest Rockabilly artist of them all. Sun owner Sam Phillips initially saw him as a country singer (and he’s a fine one) but, as Carl put it in a 1980s record, he was simply “born to rock”. Praise Be!
A mad, one-off gem. American country boys having fun without anyone getting hurt. I’m sure this would have the PC lobby reaching for their smelling salts, but luckily they’ll never hear it, and the words are nearly unintelligible. As with many Rockabilly classics, I’d be quite surprised if these chaps weren’t as pissed as newts during the session.
He was short and he was old but George Fleming’s one shot at stardom on his own record label (which he had to set up to get it released) was a hard rocking stunner. Fame eluded the little guy, but you’re a star to some of us, George.
Hank didn’t waste too many notes on this stomping 1958 classic. A Dutchman came across it in the States in the early ‘70s and stuck it on a compilation record back home. An English DJ heard it and started playing it in clubs. The record label Charlie thought it might sell a few and released it in 1976, and, astonishingly, it reached No. 3 in the UK charts, and No. 1 in Holland. (This gives me hope that James Cameron or Stephen Spielberg will come across one of my ancient horror novels and realize what a brilliant film it would make).
An accomplished 30-something country singer and songwriter wrote this homage to San Antonio, where he’d spent some time during the war, and this stone classic was the result. Contains one of guitarist Grady Martin’s finest performances. What a beat!
Hard-boiled rock/rockabilly from the Norman Petty studio in Texas. The tough-guy lyrics – “don’t mess with me, I’ve got a cast-iron arm” – somewhat belie the fact that Peanuts, a one-time guitarist with Roy Orbison’s band, was distinctly short in the arse. Genius record, proving that size doesn’t always count.
Composer of Elvis’s I Forget To Remember To Forget, Charlie cut some sides for Sun, but Sam Phillips didn’t rate him, so he moved on to Meteor and King to cut some of the greatest rockabilly sides ever. The words “wild” and dangerous” have often been applied to rock singers who seem about as threatening as bank cashiers, but Mr. Feathers sounds like someone whose pint you’d try very hard not to spill. Quentin Tarantino featured two of his tracks in Kill Bill – excellent taste!
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