Elvis Hitler is a psychobilly

Psychobilly

Psychobilly is a fusion genre of rock music that mixes elements of punk rock, rockabilly, and other genres. It is one of several subgenres of rockabilly which also include thrashabilly, trashabilly, punkabilly, surfabilly and gothabilly...

/hellbilly band from Detroit, Michigan

Michigan

Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....

. The band was named after the moniker of their lead singer, Jim Leedy.

History

The band was active in the late Eighties and early Nineties, and has recently re-formed (2005). It consists of singer Jim Leedy (a.k.a. "Elvis Hitler"), guitarist John Defever, bassist Warren Defever

Warren Defever

Warren Defever is a musician and producer from Livonia, Michigan. He is most known for his chameleonic project His Name Is Alive, though he is active in numerous other circles...

, and drummer Damian Lang. Their irreverent mix of rockabilly and lowbrow humor led to them having a cult following in their day, though they never had commercial success. Their first album, Disgraceland, was initially released on Wang Head records in 1987 (WH004) and early copies came in a handmade sleeve formed from corrugated cardboard with a black-and-white sheet pasted to the front and back. The band managed to put out three CDs on Restless Records

Restless Records

Restless Records was started in El Segundo, California in 1981 by Enigma Records and primarly released alternative, metal and punk records. Restless also licensed and released records from Bar/None Records, Metal Blade Records and Mute Records...

. They then disappeared from the public spotlight for the first time. Warren Defever would go on to front the dramatically-different sounding His Name Is Alive

His Name Is Alive

His Name Is Alive is an experimental rock band/project from Livonia, Michigan. After several self-released cassettes, they debuted on 4AD Records in 1990, starting a long run at the label...

, and work as a record producer for underground bands.

In 1998, however, Elvis Hitler reunited as a 3-piece band with former Mutants guitarist Pasadena now on bass and occasional guitar and his (at the time) 18-year-old son Jeff on drums, who would later go on to play with bands like One Hump Chump, Short Of 1st, The Weakend, and Deastro. This lineup continued to play until mid 2000. They once more reunited in 2003 at The Magic Stick club in Detroit with Warren Defever returning to the bass. They played one more concert at that club on September 4, 2004.

Their minor "hit" song "Green Haze" consisted of the lyrics from the successful TV-show Green Acres

Green Acres

Green Acres is an American television series starring Eddie Albert and Eva Gabor as a couple who move from New York City to a country farm...

 sung to the tune of Jimi Hendrix's "Purple Haze

Purple Haze

"Purple Haze" is a song written in 1966 and recorded in 1967 by The Jimi Hendrix Experience and released as a single in both the United Kingdom and the United States. It appeared on their 1967 album Are You Experienced...

."

Due to the resistance of having a band with the name Hitler

Adolf Hitler

Adolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , commonly referred to as the Nazi Party). He was Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945, and head of state from 1934 to 1945...

 in the title, regardless of its intent, the band released one album under the name "Splatter."

Discography

Disgraceland (1988

1988 in music

This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1988.-January-March:* January 1 – André Rieu's Johann Strauss Orchestra plays its first concert....

)

1. "Cool Daddy In A Cadillac"
2. "Live Fast, Die Young"
3. "Hot Rod To Hell"
4. "Rocking Over Russia"
5. "Berlin To Memphis"
6. "Elvis' Ripoff Theme"
7. "Battle Cry Of 1000 Men"
8. "Green Haze (Parts I & II)"
9. "I Love Your Guts"
10. "Ten Wheels For Jesus"
11. "Black Babies Dancing On Fire"
12. "Crush Your Skull"
13. "Disgraceland"

Hellbilly (1989

1989 in music

This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1989.-Events:*January 14 – Paul McCartney releases Снова в СССР exclusively in the USSR...

)

1. "Showdown"
2. "Hellbilly"
3. "Ballad Of The Green Berets"
4. "Teenage Surf Slave"
5. "Booze Party"
6. "Gear Jammin' Hero"
7. "Revolving Blues Of Death"
8. "Crush, Kill, Destroy"
9. "Ghouls (Looking For Food)"
10. "Hang 'Em High"
11. "Don't Blame Me If You Die Tonight"
12. "Black Death On A White Horse"
13. "Dance Of The Living Dead"
14. "Misanthropes"

Supersadomasochisticexpialidocious (1992

1992 in music

This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1992.-January–February:*January 11**Nirvana's Nevermind album goes to #1 in the US Billboard 200 chart, establishing the widespread popularity of the Grunge movement of the 1990s....

)

1. "Last Sound"
2. "World Explodes"
3. "Shotgun Shell"
4. "Don't Push Me"
5. "Cathouse"
6. "Ghoul"
7. "Bloody Bride"
8. "Yummy Yummy Yummy"
9. "Shove That Sax"
10. "Dickweed"
11. "Rebellion"
12. "Bury The Hatchet"
13. "Flat Head Boogie"
14. "Open Road"
15. "Yummy Yummy Yummy (Satan Remix) (CD Only)"

External links

• Elvis Hitler band history
• Elvis Hitler reunion in 2003
• Elvis Hitler on motorcityrock.com
• Elvis Hitler on scaruffi.com
• Elvis Hitler on last.fm
• Elvis Hitler on myspace