During the early to mid-1950s, impromptu jam sessions between musicians in the American South gave birth to the rockabilly genre. Traditional blues songs were frequently performed in the upbeat style of Texas swing or popular country music in Southern cities such as Memphis, Tennessee and Jackson, Mississippi. Early rockabilly musicians incorporated the slap bass and bright pedal guitar sounds of Texas swing and artists like Hank Williams, as well as the emotional vocal stylings of black blues singers. For the genre, drummers developed a looser rhythm pattern with a strong back beat.
While dozens of Memphis musicians gained local attention with their new sound, only a few were able to take it to the next level. Bill Haley, the leader of a Texas swing band, turned his countryized version of a blues song into a minor hit called “Rock Around the Clock.” It had many of the characteristics of true rockabilly, but it also had a dance band flavor to it. The song didn’t become the country’s introduction to the genre’s sound until it was featured in the film Blackboard Jungle.
Other artists, meanwhile, continued to perfect their sound for their younger audiences. At the Sun Studios in Memphis, Tennessee, rockabilly songs were recorded Elvis Presley, Carl Perkins, Johnny Cash, and Roy Orbison. Carl Perkins, Luther Perkins, and Scottie Moore were all masters of the rhythmic guitar picking style associated with the genre. To create the signature rockabilly vocal sound, Elvis Presley and Johnny Cash combined elements of blues singing and country music. To capture the raw energy of the form, singers frequently used whoops, shouts, hiccups, and heavy echoes.
However, once rockabilly became mainstream, it lost a lot of its appeal among teenagers. Former rockabilly stars like Elvis Presley and Buddy Holly rose to prominence as “rock and roll” singers. Others, like Carl Perkins and Johnny Cash, went on to have successful careers outside of the United States or became more associated with country music. The influence of the genre can still be heard in today’s rock music. Several bands, including the Stray Cats, have continued to perform in the rockabilly tradition, while others have recorded songs with only a slap bass, drums, and hollow body electric guitar.