Rockabilly is the earliest form of rock and roll as a distinct style of music. It is a fusion of blues, hillbilly boogie, bluegrass music and country music, and its origins lie in the American South. As Peter Guralnick writes, "Its rhythm was nervously uptempo, accented on the offbeat, and propelled by a distinctively slapping bass....The sound was further bolstered by generous use of echo, a homemade technique refined independently by Sam Phillips and Leonard Chess in Chicago with sewer pipes and bathroom acoustics." While recording artists such as Bill Haley were playing music that fused rhythm and blues, western swing and country music in the early 1950s, and Tennessee Ernie Ford performed in a somewhat similar style on songs such as "Smokey Mountain Boogie," they were not playing rockabilly. As Nick Tosches writes, "By the early 1950s, it was not uncommon to encounter simultaneous country and rhythm-and-blues recordings of the same song." And he points out that the Delmore Brothers and Hank Williams were performing, in the late 1940s, music that could be called rock and roll. But rockabilly was a stripped-down version of its various sources, and thus a specific stylistic moment in the evolution of music that before had existed in many forms.

Bill Flagg was the first to name the music when he recorded for Tetra Records in 1955 - 1956. His song "Go Cat Go" went into the National Billboard charts in 1956. He is a member of the Rockabilly Hall Of Fame.

In 1952, Bill Haley, released "Rock the Joint" on the Essex label, which is most likely the very first true rockabilly recording. Replete with slap bass and the hallmark, country/blues sound and a the first appearance of guitar solo would appear two years later in his biggest hit, "Rock Around The Clock".

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Rolling Stone : Rock and Roll Daily

Top Stories: September 4, 2008
Rolling Stone Thu, 04 Sep 2008 15:55:39 -0000
• In the Studio: Fall Out Boy • Rage Show at RNC Ends in Protest, Arrests • Britney Spears Opening VMAs, Won’t Sing • Popcuts Takes Stock Market Approach to Sales • News Ticker: Aguilera, Slash, Aerosmith Top stories from the last three days: • The New Issue: What’s So Funny? • On the Charts: The Game, Slipknot • Morello: “It’s Important to [...]
New Site Takes Stock Market Approach to Digital Music Vending
Daniel Kreps Thu, 04 Sep 2008 15:44:11 -0000
New digital music site Popcuts has adopted an interesting, stock market-like method to lure people toward its service. When you buy an artist’s song for 99 cents, you’re immediately invested in that track. If the song continues to sell to other users, you’re awarded money to your account. The earlier you purchased the song, the [...]
Rage Against the Machine Concert Ends in Protest, Arrests
Daniel Kreps Thu, 04 Sep 2008 14:49:54 -0000
Photo: Getty Much like the aftermath of Rage Against the Machine’s fiery attempted concert outside the Republican National Convention on Tuesday, fans and police scuffled following the band’s proper concert at Minneapolis’ Target Center last night, with 102 people being arrested. While 87 people were tagged and released, 15 fans were booked on charges. As fans [...]
News Ticker: Christina Aguilera, Fall Out Boy, Slash and Aerosmith
Daniel Kreps Thu, 04 Sep 2008 14:15:30 -0000
Photo: Getty Christina Aguilera’s first greatest hits comp, Keeps Gettin’ Better — A Decade of Hits, will be released exclusively through retail giant Target on November 11th. The disc features two new songs. Fall Out Boy has revealed the first single from their upcoming new album Folie A Deux posting the song “I Don’t Care” on their [...]
Britney Spears To Open MTV’s VMAs In Non-Performance Role
Daniel Kreps Thu, 04 Sep 2008 13:20:46 -0000
Photo: Getty Will she or won’t she appear on stage? That’s been the question that’s dogged Britney Spears ever since the pop princess was nominated at this year’s MTV Video Music Awards, scheduled to air live this Sunday, September 7th. While Spears’ reps have outright stated the singer won’t perform at the event, it was announced [...]
In the Studio: Fall Out Boy Face Fame on New CD
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