I discovered this rockabilly classic 20 years late when it was re-released on the dependably punk-adjacent Chiswick label in 1978. And it has quite the story behind it.

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RIP Clarence ‘Frogman’ Henry (1937-2024) – New Orleans pianist, rockabilly legend and singer of novelty single Ain’t Got No Home.

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When I first heard Domino on The Cramps’ landmark debut Gravest Hits EP, prompting the birth of psychobilly in 1979, I had no idea it was a Roy Orbison song.

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I have to confess that growing up I only knew the name Brenda Lee from the Golden Earring song Radar Love. I’m not sure I even knew she was a real person. But she was.

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This was my introduction to the weird and wonderful world of The Cramps. They came along at exactly the right time with their decadent and pervy punk-adjacent rockabilly.

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RIP Jerry Lee Lewis (1935-2022). Last of the rock’n’roll legends, The Killer might not have been the greatest of men but his musical legacy is peerless.

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Back in 1977 I don’t think I knew what rockabilly was, and I’d never heard Elvis Presley’s early Sun Sessions. Then along came a cool dude with impeccable punk credentials called Robert Gordon.

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Here’s a song by one of rockabilly’s revered elder statesmen that just makes you want to get up and dance, whatever music you like.
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Johnny Horton walked the line between country music and rockabilly but had his biggest success with a pair of folk-flavoured “saga songs” before dying an early death in a car crash in 1960. (more…)

Of all the country boogie songs (and there are many), perhaps the most unusual is Grady Martin’s hymn to the least fashionable style of men’s underwear – Long John Boogie. (more…)