List of Rockabilly musicians
Encyclopedia
This is a list of musicians who have played rockabilly
or one of its direct spinoffs. Artists are put into categories based on the years their music careers started.
The Flattrakkers
Rockabilly
Rockabilly is one of the earliest styles of rock and roll music, dating to the early 1950s.The term rockabilly is a portmanteau of rock and hillbilly, the latter a reference to the country music that contributed strongly to the style's development...
or one of its direct spinoffs. Artists are put into categories based on the years their music careers started.
1950s and 1960s
- Art AdamsArt AdamsArthur "Art" Adams is an American comic book artist and writer. He first broke into the American comic book industry with the 1985 Marvel Comics miniseries Longshot...
- Elvis PresleyElvis PresleyElvis Aaron Presley was one of the most popular American singers of the 20th century. A cultural icon, he is widely known by the single name Elvis. He is often referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll" or simply "the King"....
- Johnny CarrollJohnny CarrollJohnny Carroll was an American rockabilly musician.-Biography:Born John Lewis Carrell , Carroll began recording for Decca Records in the middle of the 1950s. He released several singles, but none of them saw significant success, though they are now critically acclaimed...
- The Collins KidsThe Collins KidsThe Collins Kids are an American rockabilly duo featuring siblings Lawrencine "Lorrie" Collins and her younger brother Lawrence "Larry" Collins . Their hits in the 1950s as youngsters, such as "Hop, Skip and Jump", "Beetle Bug Bop" and "Hoy Hoy", were geared towards children, but their infectious...
- Buddy HollyBuddy HollyCharles Hardin Holley , known professionally as Buddy Holly, was an American singer-songwriter and a pioneer of rock and roll...
- Jimmy DeeJimmy DeeJimmy Dee is a rockabilly-rock and roll musician and singer from San Antonio, TX. He hit 47 on the Billboard Hot 50 in 1957 with the song "Henrietta", a rockabilly-style, early rock 'n' roll song that remained in the top 50 for ten weeks. He appeared on Dick Clark's American Bandstand TV program ...
- Charlie FeathersCharlie FeathersCharles Arthur "Charlie" Feathers was an influential American rockabilly and country music performer.-Biography:...
- Eddie CochranEddie CochranEddie Cochran , was an American rock and roll pioneer who in his brief career had a small but lasting influence on rock music through his guitar playing. Cochran's rockabilly songs, such as "C'mon Everybody", "Somethin' Else", and "Summertime Blues", captured teenage frustration and desire in the...
- Gene VincentGene VincentVincent Eugene Craddock , known as Gene Vincent, was an American musician who pioneered the styles of rock and roll and rockabilly. His 1956 top ten hit with his Blue Caps, "Be-Bop-A-Lula", is considered a significant early example of rockabilly...
- Brenda LeeBrenda LeeBrenda Mae Tarpley , known as Brenda Lee, is an American performer who sang rockabilly, pop and country music, and had 37 US chart hits during the 1960s, a number surpassed only by Elvis Presley, The Beatles, Ray Charles and Connie Francis...
- Roy HeadRoy HeadRoy Head is an American singer, best known for his hit "Treat Her Right."-Career:Head achieved fame as a member of a musical group out from San Marcos, Texas known as The Traits. The group's sponsor landed their first recording contract in 1958 with TNT Music in San Antonio, Texas while they were...
- Sonny BurgessSonny BurgessAlbert Austin "Sonny" Burgess is an American rockabilly guitarist and singer....
- Ray SmithRay Smith (rockabilly singer)Ray Smith was an American rockabilly musician.Smith recorded for Vee-Jay Records, Tollie Records, Smash Records, and Sun Records during his career, and had a hit with the song "Rockin' Little Angel" in 1960 on Judd Records. "Rockin' Little Angel" took a portion of its melody from the 1844 song...
- Warren SmithWarren SmithWarren Smith may refer to:*Warren Smith , golf professional, Cherry Hills Country Club*Warren Smith , American Rockabilly artist*Warren Smith , American jazz drummer...
- Joe ClayJoe ClayJoe Clay is an American rockabilly musician from Gretna, Louisiana.Clay first began performing at age 12 in a country band, who were offered a spot performing on local radio station WWEZ...
- Stan BeaverStan BeaverStan Beaver had a hit with "I Got a Rocket in My Pocket" in 1963 .-Career:Beaver's musical career began when he appeared on his father's television show in Atlanta, Georgia, when he was 5 years old and he sang "River of Memory".His only hit "I Got a Rocket in My Pocket" is now a collector's item...
- Crash Craddock
- Johnny BurnetteJohnny BurnetteJohn Joseph "Johnny" Burnette was an American rockabilly musician. Along with his older brother Dorsey Burnette, and also a friend named Paul Burlison, Burnette was a founding member of The Rock and Roll Trio. He was the father of 1980s rockabilly singer Rocky Burnette.-Early life:Johnny Burnette...
- Carl PerkinsCarl PerkinsCarl Lee Perkins was an American rockabilly musician who recorded most notably at Sun Records Studio in Memphis, Tennessee, beginning during 1954...
- Rick Nelson
- Jack Scott
- Gene SummersGene SummersGene Summers is an American rock/rockabilly singer and entertainer. Some of his classic recordings include "School of Rock 'n Roll", "Straight Skirt", "Nervous", "Gotta Lotta That", "Twixteen", "Alabama Shake" and his biggest-selling single "Big Blue Diamonds"...
- Jumpin' Gene SimmonsJumpin' Gene SimmonsJumpin' Gene Simmons was an American rockabilly singer and songwriter known best for his 1964 novelty single "Haunted House."-Biography:...
- Conway TwittyConway TwittyConway Twitty , born Harold Lloyd Jenkins, was an American country music artist. He also had success in early rock and roll, R&B, and pop music. He held the record for the most number one singles of any act with 55 No. 1 Billboard country hits until George Strait broke the record in 2006...
- Marty RobbinsMarty RobbinsMartin David Robinson , known professionally as Marty Robbins, was an American singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist...
- Billy FuryBilly FuryBilly Fury, born Ronald William Wycherley , was an internationally successful English singer from the late-1950s to the mid-1960s, and remained an active songwriter until the 1980s. Rheumatic fever, which he first contracted as a child, damaged his heart and ultimately contributed to his death...
- Tommy & The Tom TomsTommy & the Tom TomsTommy & The Tom Toms first started with two guitars and drums, Eddie Wayne Hill on lead guitar, Leonard Walters on rhythm guitar and Joel Colbert on drums. The three fledgling musicians from Arlington, Texas began jamming in an old barn in 1959 and evolved to playing around town for private parties...
aka The Bill Smith Combo - Billy Lee RileyBilly Lee RileyBilly Lee Riley was an American rockabilly musician, singer, record producer and songwriter. His most memorable recordings included "Rock With Me Baby," and "Red Hot".-Biography:...
- Ronnie Dawson
- Wanda JacksonWanda JacksonWanda Lavonne Jackson is an American singer, songwriter, pianist and guitarist who had success in the mid-1950s and 60s as one of the first popular female rockabilly singers and a pioneering rock and roll artist...
- Ronnie HawkinsRonnie HawkinsRonald "Ronnie" Hawkins is a Juno Award-winning rockabilly musician whose career has spanned more than half a century. Though his career began in Arkansas, USA, where he'd been born and raised, it was in Ontario, Canada where he found success and settled for most of his life...
- Dale HawkinsDale HawkinsDelmar Allen "Dale" Hawkins was a pioneer American rock singer, songwriter, and rhythm guitarist who was often called the architect of swamp rock boogie...
- Johnny HortonJohnny HortonJohn Gale "Johnny" Horton was an American country music and rockabilly singer most famous for his semi-folk, so-called "saga songs" which began the "historical ballad" craze of the late 1950s and early 1960s...
- Johnny Jano
- Buddy KnoxBuddy KnoxBuddy Knox was an American singer and songwriter, best known for his 1957 rockabilly hit song, "Party Doll".-Biography:...
- Jimmy BowenJimmy BowenJimmy Bowen is an American record producer and former pop music performer.Bowen was born in Santa Rita, New Mexico. He began as a teenage recording star in 1957 with "I'm Stickin' With You," originally the flip side of the hit record "Party Doll" by Buddy Knox, but ultimately a Top 20 recording...
- Link WrayLink WrayFred Lincoln "Link" Wray Jr was an American rock and roll guitarist, songwriter and occasional singer....
- Roy OrbisonRoy OrbisonRoy Kelton Orbison was an American singer-songwriter, well known for his distinctive, powerful voice, complex compositions, and dark emotional ballads. Orbison grew up in Texas and began singing in a rockabilly/country & western band in high school until he was signed by Sun Records in Memphis...
- Bob LumanBob LumanBob Luman was an American country and rockabilly singer.-Early life and career:...
- Mac CurtisMac CurtisWesley Erwin "Mac" Curtis, Jr. is an American rockabilly musician.Born in Fort Worth, Texas, Curtis began playing guitar at the age of 12, entering local talent competitions. He moved to Weatherford in 1954, and while there he formed a band with two classmates, Jim and Ken Galbraith...
- Everly Brothers
- Bobby Fuller Four
- Del ShannonDel ShannonDel Shannon was an American rock and roll singer-songwriter who had a No. 1 hit, "Runaway", in 1961.- Biography :...
- Johnny CashJohnny CashJohn R. "Johnny" Cash was an American singer-songwriter, actor, and author, who has been called one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century...
- Lonnie MackLonnie MackLonnie Mack is an American rock, blues and country guitarist and vocalist....
- Duane EddyDuane EddyDuane Eddy is a Grammy Award-winning American guitarist. In the late 1950s and early 1960s he had a string of hit records, produced by Lee Hazlewood, which were noted for their characteristically "twangy" sound, including "Rebel Rouser", "Peter Gunn", and "Because They're Young"...
- Werly FairburnWerly FairburnWerley Fairburn was an American rockabilly musician.Fairburn listened to the Grand Ole Opry and played guitar as a youngster, learning to play from a local blues musician alongside the hillbilly music he heard on the radio...
- Carl MannCarl MannCarl Mann is an American rockabilly singer and pianist.Mann was raised in rural Tennessee; his parents owned a lumber business. He sang in church and did country songs for local talent shows, playing guitar and piano...
- Grady MartinGrady MartinThomas Grady Martin was one of the most renowned, inventive and historically significant American session musicians in country music and rockabilly....
- Bob MooreBob MooreBob Loyce Moore is an American session musician, orchestra leader, and bassist who was a member of the legendary Nashville A-Team during the 1950s and 60s.-Biography:...
- Buddy HarmanBuddy HarmanBuddy Harman was an American session musician.-Career:Born in Nashville, Tennessee, he played drums on over 18,000 sessions for artists such as Elvis Presley, Patsy Cline, Dolly Parton, Brenda Lee, Tammy Wynette, Loretta Lynn, Roy Orbison, Connie Francis, Chet Atkins, Marty Robbins, Roger Miller,...
- Sonny CurtisSonny CurtisSonny Curtis is an American singer and songwriter. Most of his work falls into the Pop and Country genres. He was a teenage pal and band member with Buddy Holly in Lubbock, Texas...
- Lou Millet
- Bobby Lawson -- www.rockabillyhall.com/BobbyLawson -- www.myspace.com/bobbywaynelawson
The Flattrakkers
1970s and 1980s
- The Stray Cats
- The JetsThe Jets (British rockabilly band)The Jets are a British rockabilly band, who had a hit single in February 1982 with "Love Makes The World Go Round". The song reached No. 21 in the UK Single Chart, and was featured on their album, 100% Cotton....
- Billy SwanBilly SwanBilly Lance Swan is an American songwriter and singer, best known for his 1974 single, "I Can Help".-Life:Swan was born in Cape Girardeau, Missouri. As a child, he learned drums, piano and guitar, and began writing songs...
- Colonel Robert Morris
- Dave EdmundsDave EdmundsDavid 'Dave' Edmunds is a Welsh singer, guitarist and record producer. Although he is primarily associated with Pub rock and New Wave, and had numerous hits in the 1970s and early 1980s, his natural leaning has always been towards 1950s style rock and roll.-Early bands:As a teenager Edmunds first...
- The Deltas
- Ray Campi and his Rockabilly Rebels
- Shakin Stevens
- The BlastersThe BlastersThe Blasters are a rock and roll music group formed in 1979 in Downey, California, by brothers Phil Alvin and Dave Alvin , with bass guitarist John Bazz and drummer Bill Bateman. Phil Alvin explained the origin of the band's name: "I thought Joe Turner’s backup band on Atlantic records – I had...
- Jason & the ScorchersJason & the ScorchersJason & the Scorchers, originally Jason & the Nashville Scorchers, are a Cowpunk / Country rock band formed in 1981 and led by singer/songwriter Jason Ringenberg....
- Lone JusticeLone JusticeLone Justice was an American country rock band formed in 1982 by guitarist Ryan Hedgecock and singer Maria McKee.-Early era:They began their career as part of the L.A. cowpunk scene of the 1980s. Lone Justice was inspired by Hedgecock and McKee's mutual affection for rockabilly and country music...
- The Crawdads
- The PolecatsThe Polecats-Career:The Polecats are a rockabilly band formed in 1977 in North London. The original line-up was Tim Worman , Martin "Boz" Boorer, , Phil Bloomberg, , and Chris Hawkes , who originally played under the name "Cult Heroes." Finding difficulty persuading promoters to book them on the rockabilly...
- Safety Last
- Rocky BurnetteRocky BurnetteRocky Burnette is an American rock and roll singer/musician and the son of rock and roll pioneer, Johnny Burnette. He is best known for his 1980 hit single "Tired of Toein' the Line."-Career:...
- Rosie FloresRosie FloresRosie Flores is a rockabilly and country music artist of Mexican American heritage. Her music blends rockabilly, honky tonk, jazz, and Western swing along with traditional influences from her Tex-Mex heritage...
- Danny GattonDanny GattonDanny Gatton was an American guitarist who fused rockabilly, jazz, and country styles to create his own distinctive style of playing. A biography, Unfinished Business: The Life and Times of Danny Gatton by Ralph Heibutzki, was published in 2003. It has a voluminous discography...
- Red Hot and Blue
- Robert GordonRobert GordonRobert Gordon , a 17th century merchant and philanthropist, was born in Aberdeen. He was the only son of Arthur Gordon who married Isabella Menzies of Balgownie...
- The Jime
- Steve EarleSteve EarleStephen Fain "Steve" Earle is an American singer-songwriter known for his rock and Texas Country as well as his political views. He is also a producer, author, a political activist, and an actor, and has written and directed a play....
- The Ricardos
- The Ricochets
- The Riverside Trio
- The Rockats
- The Slingshots
- The Sprites
- The Sureshots
- Tav FalcoTav FalcoTav Falco is an American-born musical performer, performance artist, actor, filmmaker, and photographer. He has led the psychedelic rock-and-roll group Tav Falco's Panther Burns since 1979...
- John Roman Jackson
- MatchboxMatchbox (band)Matchbox is an English rockabilly band that formed in 1971, and is still active .-Career:Matchbox was formed in 1971 by Iain "Houndog" Terry, Fred Poke, Jimmy Redhead and Wiffle Smith. After 1978, the line-up consisted of Graham Fenton , Steve Bloomfield , Gordon Scott , Fred Poke and Jimmy Redhead...
- The RazorbacksThe RazorbacksThe Razorbacks were a Canadian rockabilly band that attained moderate national popularity in the late 1980s and early 1990s. They made regular appearances on The Tommy Hunter Show on CBC during their popularity.-Albums:-Singles:-External links:...
- Neil Young and the Shocking PinksEverybody's Rockin'Everybody's Rockin' is the thirteenth studio album by Canadian musician Neil Young, released in 1983. The album was recorded with the Shocking Pinks , and features a selection of rockabilly songs . Running 25 minutes, it is Young's shortest album...
- Steve NardellaSteve NardellaSteve Nardella is an American blues, rock and roll, blues rock and rockabilly guitarist and singer...
- Norah Semfel Bird & Band
- Colin Winski
- Steve Clark (Ray Campi and his Rockabilly Rebels)
1990s and 2000s
- Chris IsaakChris IsaakChristopher Joseph "Chris" Isaak is an American rock musician and occasional actor.-Early life:Isaak was born in Stockton, California, the son of Dorothy , a potato chip factory worker, and Joe Isaak, a forklift driver. Isaak's mother is Italian American, originating from Genoa...
- The SaddletrampsThe SaddletrampsThe Saddletramps were an alternative country band from Toronto, Ontario in the 1980s and 1990s. Core members of the band included Ken Horne, Andrew Lindsay, John DeHaas and Brian Duguay. Sarah Harmer was also an early member of the band....
- The BaseballsThe BaseballsThe Baseballs are a German rock and roll band founded in Berlin in 2007. They became popular with rock cover versions of modern hits such as "Umbrella" by Rihanna and "Hot n Cold" by Katy Perry. The band members are only credited by their first names...
- Ace and the RagersAce and the RagersAce and the Ragers is an American band from the Cleveland, Ohio suburb of Chagrin Falls. Their style is devoted to the Origins of rock and roll, but they may be more popularly known to their cult following for their part in the rockabilly and swing revivals of the late 1990s...
- Hasil AdkinsHasil AdkinsHasil Adkins was an Appalachian country, rock and roll, and blues musician, though he was frequently considered rockabilly and sometimes primitive jazz...
- Beat Devils
- Billy BurnetteBilly BurnetteWilliam Beau "Billy" Burnette III is an American guitarist, singer and songwriter who was part of the band Fleetwood Mac from 1987 to 1995. Burnette also had a brief career in acting.-Family background:...
- Cigar Store IndiansCigar Store IndiansCigar Store Indians is a roots rock, rockabilly band from Crabapple, Georgia.The band formed in the summer of 1991 when singer/songwriter Ben Friedman and lead guitar player Jimmy "Lownote" Lavender began to jam together as both shared a love for the 1950s rock/country sound . In 1995, after...
- Cousin Harley - Paul Pigat
- Dead Man's HandDead man's handThe dead man's hand is a two-pair poker hand, namely "aces and eights". This card combination gets its name from a legend that it was the five-card-draw hand held by Wild Bill Hickok, when he was murdered on August 2, 1876, in Saloon No. 10 at Deadwood, South Dakota.According to the popular...
- Deke DickersonDeke DickersonDeke Dickerson is an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist.After playing in several local rockabilly bands, Deke formed The Untamed Youth at age 17 in his hometown of Columbia, Missouri...
- Don Cavalli and the Two Timers
- Midnight Bowlers League
- Flat Duo JetsFlat Duo JetsFlat Duo Jets was a rockabilly band from Chapel Hill, North Carolina and Athens, Georgia. They were a major influence on several bands of the 1990s and 2000s, including The White Stripes. In interviews, Jack White has often acknowledged Dexter Romweber's influence...
- Facial HairFacial hairFacial hair is a secondary sex characteristic of human males. Men often start developing facial hair in the later years of puberty or adolescence, approximately between 17–20 years of age, and most do not finish developing a fully adult beard until their early 20s or even later...
- Frantic Flattops
- The Cadillac Bombers
- Heavy TrashHeavy TrashHeavy Trash is an American rockabilly band based in New York City, formed by Jon Spencer of The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion and Matt Verta-Ray . The band's music draws from an eclectic mix of genres, including rock & roll, blues, alternative country, Americana and garage punk...
- High NoonHigh NoonHigh Noon is a 1952 American Western film directed by Fred Zinnemann and starring Gary Cooper and Grace Kelly. The film tells in real time the story of a town marshal forced to face a gang of killers by himself...
- Hot Rhythm and Booze
- Hot Rod LincolnHot Rod Lincoln"Hot Rod Lincoln" was recorded in 1955, as an answer song to "Hot Rod Race", a 1951 hit for Arkie Shibley and his Mountain Dew Boys. Hot Rod Race tells the story of a late-model Ford and Mercury who end up racing along the highway, neither driver gaining an advantage, and staying "neck and neck"...
- Jack Face and the Volcanoes
- Tyler Martin's Roller Diner
- Imelda MayImelda MayImelda Mary Higham, Clabby , known as Imelda May, is an Irish vocalist and musician. She began her career in music at 15 and released her debut album in 2005. She also plays the bodhrán and guitar...
- Th' Legendary Shack ShakersTh' Legendary Shack ShakersThe Legendary Shack Shakers are an American punk blues band. They are inspired by punk, Delta blues, rockabilly, Texas polka, gothic rock, and other traditional Southern music genres, formed in Paducah, Kentucky in the mid-1990s...
- The Living EndThe Living EndThe Living End are an Australian rock band from Melbourne, Victoria, formed in 1994. The current lineup consists of Chris Cheney , Scott Owen and Andy Strachan...
- The PioneersThe PioneersThe Pioneers: The Sources of the Susquehanna; a Descriptive Tale is a historical novel, the first published of the Leatherstocking Tales, a series of five novels by American writer James Fenimore Cooper...
- The Phenomenauts
- Rattled RoostersRattled RoostersRattled Roosters are a Rockabilly band from Vancouver, Canada moved to Los Angeles, California.- History :The Rattled Roosters started busking on the streets of Vancouver, British Columbia and spent the early nineties touring Canada and the West Coast...
- Rollin Racketeers
- Dexter RomweberDexter RomweberJohn Michael Dexter Romweber is an American rockabilly/roots rock musician from Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Dex is best known as one-half of the seminal two-piece Flat Duo Jets...
- Bloodshot Bill
- Lee RockerLee RockerLee Rocker is an American rockabilly double bass player. He is the son of the classical clarinetists Stanley Drucker and Naomi Drucker. His sister Roseanne is a country music singer-songwriter...
- Dan SartainDan SartainDan Sartain is an American rock and roll musician from Birmingham, Alabama. His music encompasses a variety of genres including rockabilly and blues. After releasing two self-produced albums through independent record labels, his first commercially-available studio album Dan Sartain vs. the...
- The 5 6 7 8's
- The Young WerewolvesThe Young WerewolvesThe Young Werewolves are a Philadelphia rock band formed in 2002. The trio have been labeled rockabilly, psychobilly, punk, garage, and surf by publications such as Allmusic, Fangoria, The Village Voice, Maximum RocknRoll, assorted Horror, Tattoo, Hot Rod magazines,several alternative weeklies and...
- The Head CatThe Head CatThe Head Cat is an American rockabilly supergroup formed by vocalist Lemmy , drummer Slim Jim Phantom and guitarist Danny B. Harvey .-History:...
- Amazing Royal Crowns
- Bigger Than Elvis
- Luis and the Wild Teens
- Will and the High Rollers
- Wildfire Willie and the Ramblers
- Paul Galaxy and the Galactix
- Rumble 49
- The RockTigersThe RockTigersThe RockTigers are a South Korean rock and roll band formed in 2001. The RockTigers are the pioneers of the rock and roll revival movement on the Korean indie band scene...
- Dwight YoakamDwight YoakamDwight David Yoakam is an American singer-songwriter, actor and film director, most famous for his pioneering country music...
- OT Vinta! (ukrabilly)
2010s
- The Rocker Covers
- Ghost Highway
- Easy Lazy"C" and his Silver Slippers
- Hillbilly Casino
- Hellbound Hapcats
- Montgomery Music Makers
- Hot Rod Walt and the Psycho Devilles
- Reckless Ones
- SoCal Rocket Dynamics
- The Americans
- Angelo Di Crescenzo
- The Fuzzy Dice (Tony King, Olivier Pomerleau, Jay-Dee Lévesques)
- Turbopótamos
- The Doughrollers
- Imelda MayImelda MayImelda Mary Higham, Clabby , known as Imelda May, is an Irish vocalist and musician. She began her career in music at 15 and released her debut album in 2005. She also plays the bodhrán and guitar...
- The Hydrant (Indonesia)
- Lower The Tone