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Definition:

The grandparents of punk, Rockabilly and Rock n Roll are so closely related that it makes sense to me that they stay together as one (the less sub-genres the better), hence the catch-all term Rock n Roll / Rockabilly. Rockabilly (a swinging blend of country/bluegrass and rhythm n blues) and Rock n Roll (essentially rockabilly with an accentuated backbeat and usually electrified) rose to prominence together from the early 50s onwards with the likes of Bill Haley, Elvis Presley and Jerry Lee Lewis delivering records in both styles. Chuck Berry, Little Richard and Bo Diddley were more inclined towards a pure Rock n Roll beat, the latter even introducing his own stuttering rhythm to the party. Brilliantly, the whole thing brought black and white kids together and went a long way to smashing the United States brand of apartheid. Latter day sub-genres such as Psychobilly or Gothabilly are dealt with on a case-by-case basis and can land in Blues / Rhythm n Blues, Indie, Punk or Rock n Roll / Rockabilly, depending on which is the stronger element of the piece. Suffice to say, I continue to label 21st century records as Rock n Roll / Rockabilly wherever the rhythmic motifs merit the tag.


The Jukebox Pick (of 2,752):

 The Container Drivers

 (Mark E. Smith, Steve Hanley, Craig Scanlon, Marc Riley)

 The Fall

 10 out of 10 “Utterly perfect” Rock n Roll / Rockabilly

 From their third new music album “Grotesque (After The Gramme)” released in November, 1980. There was one change to the starting line-up, with a 16-year-old Paul Hanley (bassist Steve’s younger brother) replacing Mike Leigh on drums. If this is a deliberate policy, it seems to be working well, and this rough-and-ready offering – loose-caboose Post-Punk-Rock-a-Billy with kazoo accompaniment and a frontman ranting ten-to-the-dozen – is a winner all the way. He liked a bit of rockabilly did Mark, and owned at least one album of truck driving hits. With hindsight, a merger of the two was inevitable! When side one's closer, “The Container Drivers”, blasts in, the excitement factor is sky-high; they're playing like a group possessed, and the energy assault doesn’t let up for a second. I dunno what his beef his, but MES doesn’t seem too enamoured with HGV Harry: “Bad indigestion, bad bowel retention, speed for their wages, sun tan, torn short sleeves”. Of course, having served time as a docker’s clerk, it could well be he's settling an old score with big-gut Eric, the stretchy co-op jeans-wearing guy from Rochdale, but that would be idle gossip. One thing’s for certain - he enjoys a good sneer and it’s very funny. Big Eric’s not best-pleased mind.


Some favourite artists:

Little Richard, Bo Diddley, Elvis Presley, The Fall

The Jukebox pick:

 

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