American Roots Music: Rockabilly

 American Roots Music

Rockabilly

 

History of Rockabilly: 

    The music genre, Rockabilly dates back to the 1950s in the south of the United States and is known as the earlier stages of rock and roll music. Rockabilly is described as a nice blend of bluegrass country with rock rhythm and blues. Other music genres that influenced Rockabilly music were electric blues and big swing bands!

   
     Country music once known as hillbilly music consisted of old-timey instruments like the banjo and artist voices who sounded the same. Starting in the 1920s, country and blues started to blend together and create music no one had heard of before. Artist Jimmie Rodgers showed his loud personality through his vocal style, and harmonic blues and rose to the name of "The father of country music". 

Here is Jimmie Rodgers and one of the known first classic country songs: 

Jimmie Rodgers's "Mule Skinner Blues" (1930)

    Rock and roll music came from rhythms and blues music in the 1940s which originated from heavy beats of blues, boogie-woogie, fast-beat jazz, and swing music. This type of music was first done by black musicians in Memphis, Tennessee, and then started to draw white musicians.  Artist Louis Jordan is known for facilitating the way for rock 'n' roll in the 40s and beyond. Jordan used jazz, boogie-woogie, blues, and loud lyrics! All groups of people started to listen to and enjoy this type of music.

Louis Jordan & His Tympani 5 - Pompton Turnpike (1940)

    By the 1950s, Rockabilly was in full swing! The mass up of country rhythm and blues! 
The rockabilly genre has fast tempos and a strong single vocal. 

Characteristics & Instruments of Rockabilly: 

    4 Characteristics of Rockabilly Music: 4 Characteristics

        1. Rockabilly music features a lead singer who has strong vocals and portrays their personality in their music. The singer is also accompanied by a band. The band is made up of three to four members. Typical band members play two guitars (electric or acoustic). These members serve as the lead and their job are to structure the music's rhythm. The "slap" bass is a big key part of rockabilly music! The bass player would slap the bass strings, producing a percussive sound. Drums are often involved as well. 

 
                          1950 Bass Guitar                                              What a Slap Bass sounds like!

       
        2. In the beginning, the recordings of rockabilly music featured tape delay and echoes and this became a part of the music. Room acoustics have a lot to do with this and an example of this would be domed ceilings in the recording rooms. Today, sound engineers can produce an echo by manipulating the signals from two different recording devices. 

Here is a great YouTube video that shows how a guitarist can achieve the slapback delay that is so prominent in rockabilly music! 

        3. A rockabilly sound has upbeat and fast playing of a blues chord progression. A standard blues progression has three chords; 1 chord, the 4 chord, and the 5 chord. The progression is 12 measures long. Rockabilly follows the blues chord progression. The chords are played in the key of E and some in the key of A. Below is rockabilly sheet music and a Youtube video on a rockabilly chord progression.

        4. Lastly, the thing that makes rockabilly music, rockabilly music, is the deep vocals. The lead singer typically has R and B tones and some blues. There are many male rockabilly singers, but there is also a huge presence of strong female rockabilly vocalists.  

Notable Rockabilly Artist: 

        1. Elvis Presley: In Elvis's early years, he got started out with rockabilly music. Elvis was very influenced by black musicians growing up and this was reflected in his music. Elvis Presley's first recording was done by Sun records and featured a lot of rockabilly characteristics such as the blended genre of country and R&B, strong vocals, slapped bass, and amplified guitar. This music style generated tons of excitement and new feelings for the music which boosted Elvis into the superstar he still is today. 

       
        2. Carl Perkins: Carl Perkins is known as the "The King of Rockabilly". Perkins's music is known for having a background in the gospel with a blend of bluegrass. Perkin's had a lot of influence on the upcoming generation of rock and roll artists. Carl was also known for playing the guitar in a way that had never been played before. 

        3. Jerry Lew Lewis: Jerry Lew Lewis is known for his crazy piano-playing skills that brought rockabilly music to upbeat and got people off their feet. One of his most famous songs "Great Balls of Fire" is still popular today as it was featured in the new Topgun movie!

        4. Johnny Cash: Cash is one of the most iconic rockabilly artists. Cash is known for his strong vocals and his band playing slap bass, drums, and guitar. Johnny Cash wrote a lot of his own songs which featured the struggles of working-class individuals, so a lot of people started to follow along with rockabilly music! 

 

Lyrics of an early rockabilly song: 

Little Red Wagon
By Sonny Fisher 

na na na na na na !

All my girlfriends they like me ’cause I got me a little red wagon
To pull them around in all day
But my boyfriends they hate me, ’cause I got this little red wagon
And they stick their tongues out at me

Now all the boys in my block don’t got them no red wagon
They always want to use mine, and this is what I say
You can use but don’t broke it, ’cause you got to brought it back
That little red wagon of mine

Can you hear the slap bass, strong vocals, and catchy country/blues tune!! Also, note that many songs today play off of early rockabilly music and lyrics! An example of this is an upbeat country song by Miranda Lambert - "Little Red
Wagon" 

Miranda Lambert - "Little Red Wagon" 

Rockabilly Influence: 

Rockabilly music had a lot of influence on British rock bands such as The Beatles and The Rolling Stones. These British bands featured music styles of rockabilly, blues, and R&B. The bands also played similarly to rockabilly bands by using strong vocal lead, rhythm guitars, and drums! 

Here is The Beatles covering a Carl Perkins song called "Honey Don't" 

The Beatles - "Honey Don't"

Rockabilly Now?

Rockabilly started to rise after World War II and this became the prime years for rockabilly music. When the new sounds of the saxophone, piano, and harmony singing came about, rockabilly music began to go down. In 1977 there was a rockabilly revival. Rock 'n' roll artists started to cover songs and add their own rockabilly twist to them. Today, there is an international rockabilly hall of fame and museum that celebrates and remembers the music style, superstars, and houses memorabilia. There are some rockabilly bands today that tour and perform all over the country. 

Abby Girl and The Real Deal - "Calling Me Home"

Here is an awesome female rockabilly singer! 

Royal Crown Revue - "The Stranger"

References 

“1940s Musicians Laid the Cornerstone for Rock 'n' Roll.” Goldmine: The Music Collector Magazine, Project M Group LLC, 29 Sept. 2011, https://www.goldminemag.com/articles/1940s-musicianslaid-the-cornerstone-for-rock-n-roll.

Craig Morrison. “Go Cat Go! Rockabilly Music and Its Makers - Book.” Go Cat Go ! Rockabilly Music and Its Makers - Book, 7 Nights Music Communications, 1996, https://craigmorrison.com/spip.php?article19.

“History of Rockabilly.” Mental Itch, Mental Itch, 17 Feb. 2023, https://mentalitch.com/history-of-rockabilly/.

“Jimmie Rodgers.” Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, Country Music Fall of Fame, 1 Dec. 2022, https://www.countrymusichalloffame.org/hall-of-fame/jimmie-rodgers#:~:text=At%20a%20time%20when%20emerging,singing%20star%20in%20country%20music.

“Rockabilly Music Albums.” AllMusic, NETAKTION LLC , https://www.allmusic.com/style/rockabilly-ma0000002831/albums.

“Rockabilly Music: History of Rockabilly and Notable Artists - 2023.” MasterClass, MasterClass, 9 June 2021, https://www.masterclass.com/articles/rockabilly-music-guide#3K0JYL6TEy6DoAgqOdPSgC.

“Rockabilly: Popular Songs of the Day: Musical Styles:  Articles and Essays: the Library of Congress Celebrates the Songs of America: Digital Collections:  Library of Congress.” The Library of Congress, Congress.GOV, 2011, https://www.loc.gov/collections/songs-of-america/articles-and-essays/musical-styles/popular-songs-of-the-day/rockabilly/.