Rockabilly Heritage Keeps the Genre Strong 60 Years Later

Rockabilly Heritage Keeps the Genre Strong 60 Years Later

(Can anyone say "disco"?) When rockabilly and rock and roll started making waves in the pop music scene, even some of the artists who were making the music agreed with the nay-saying adults that the music might not last so long. 60 years later, there's no longer any doubt about rock and roll's longevity! But rockabilly, that early form of rock and roll, almost didn't survive as a living, vibrant genre. Although it may have been on its death bed at one time through the 1960s, it did indeed survive and thrives today. With a rich heritage of raw energy, modern rockabilly music continues to rock throughout the world.

You can find modern rockabilly bands just about anywhere that you can find other rock and roll forms. The USA has not always been overly respectful to rockabilly, but I'm happy to say that has changed over the past 30 years since Robert Gordon, The Blasters, The Stray Cats, The Reverend Horton Heat, and other acts started whipping up the interest in rockabilly stateside once again. Now most every region of the country has a pure rockabilly band or two and there are certainly countless bands that boast a strong rockabilly influence even if they're not strictly rockabilly.

The UK has always been much more loyal to the rockabilly genre and we have the Brits to thank for really keeping rockabilly alive during those lean years when American audiences were looking to other forms of music for entertainment. Even though America can lay claim to the Stray Cats who almost singlehandedly put rockabilly back on the map in the early 80s (they were originally from New York state), it was the British fans who nurtured the band while they were coming up. After being frustrated by their lack of success in the US, Setzer and the boys set out to make their name known where they knew their music would be appreciated: England. And they were right. Only after realizing success in Europe did they break into the US market.

These days, Europe as a whole has a thriving rockabilly scene. Rockabilly bands come from England, Germany, Norway, Sweden, and Belgium just to name a few western European countries and even Eastern European countries like Croatia and Hungary.

Japanese fans have also been good to rockabilly over the years. Many rockabilly acts that never had much success at home have had very good reception from the Japanese audience. And Japan has several hot rockabilly bands of its own to add to the rockabilly stew.

And let's not forget about Australia. Rockabilly fans are particularly enthusiastic down under and the country boasts some of the finest rockabilly bands in the world.

What do all of these bands have in common? They have rockabilly heritage and a love for the music that keeps it fresh and exciting. And they have enthusiastic rockabilly fans to keep them going. Rockabilly has truly become a world-wide phenomenon. It unifies fans from all over the world. Each area may have its own modern rockabilly acts, but the strong heritage of rockabilly ties them all together. No matter which road rockabilly travelled to come to these disparate locations around the globe, each of the roads can be traced back to the original rockabilly cats banging out a new and exciting form of music in small studios throughout the US--especially in the south--in the mid to late 1950s.

Buster Fayte is an author and rockabilly musician. Visit his Rockabilly Romp blog at http://rockabillyromp.info, download free rockabilly computer background artwork as Buster's way of welcoming you to the blog, and join the rockabilly discussion.

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