Rockabilly
Rockabilly is one of the earliest styles of rock and roll music, dating to the early 1950s in the United States, especially the South. As a genre it blends the sound of American folk and Western musical styles, such as country and bluegrass, with that of rhythm and blues, leading to what is considered «classic» rock and roll. The term «rockabilly» itself is a portmanteau of «rock» (from «rock `n` roll») and «hillbilly», the latter a reference to the country music (often called «hillbilly music» in the 1940s and 1950s) that contributed strongly to the style`s development.
Birth: 1953 Bloom: 1956
The style emerged in the southern states of the USA in the early 1950s. The Sun Records studio in Memphis (Tennessee) is believed to be the centre of style`s growth. Rockabilly got its global popularity with Elvis Presley who began to perform rock`n`roll with elements of country, western, rhythm and blues.
The most notable artists of the style include Bill Haley («Rock Around the Clock»), Johnny Cash («Folsom Prison Blues»), Roy Orbison («Only the Lonely»), Carl Perkins («Blue Suede Shoes»), Wanda Jackson («Hard Headed Woman»), Jerry Lee Lewis («Great Balls of Fire»), Buddy Holly («Peggy Sue»), Gene Vincent («Be-Bop-A-Lula»), Eddie Cochran («Summertime Blues»), Ricky Nelson («Be Bop Baby»), Johnny Burnette, Charlie Feathers, Mac Curtis, Sonny Fisher, and many others. The Beatles and The Rolling Stones were British Invasion artists influenced by rockabilly, unfortunately the British Invasion reduced rockabilly`s popularity in America.
Since the end of the 1970s there was a revival of interest to rockabilly (Stray Cats, Dave Edmunds). As the result of last 30 years rockabilly artists have become a sort of specific subculture. Today, you can find bands which perform rockabilly in every European and American city.
Umbrellate style: Rock
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