There's nothing quite like a rockabilly show. There are tons of great bands, playing wonderful music, in all different styles and genres. And there are just as many different types of musical performances you can see on any given day. But still, there's nothing quite like a rockabilly show!
Although he may or may not have invented the rockabilly style of music, there's not much doubt that it was Elvis who really started the rockabilly craze. He created the model for modern rock and roll performances and became the standard by which pretty much everyone to follow him is measured.
And if you had to choose one word to describe the fans at his early shows in the last half of the 1950s, the word crazy would certainly be an appropriate choice! While the teenage girls screamed and swooned, the teenage boys worked overtime trying to figure out how they could adapt some of that Elvis magic in their own style and affectation. The boys wanted to be like Elvis and the girls...well, they just wanted Elvis!
Rock and roll shows became raucous events full of energy, attitude, and danger--at least in the eyes of the adults. In fact, the adults in charge often honestly believed that their children had gone crazy. Rock and roll music was labeled a mental disorder by leading psychiatrists. It was a scourge that needed to be eradicated.
But the passion of the fans--that very craziness--saved the music. They had found something they could latch onto. It was something that belonged to them. It's not that the adults weren't invited to enjoy the music too, but no teenager ever shed a tear because the adults didn't like it. Instead of crying about it, they reveled in it. It made the music all the much more theirs and they only grew to love it more.
And on the leading edge of all this "danger" was exactly where you found great rockabilly music. Rockabilly has often been referred to as the original punk music and that description is not far off in my opinion. Rockabilly musicians knew the adults didn't like them, but they didn't care. In fact, they often cultivated the animosity and made it work even more to their advantage as they played off of the "us versus them" dynamic. And of course, the kids ate it up as they sided with their favorite rockers.
So rockabilly shows became raw and powerful events. The bands were full of attitude and the fans fed off of that attitude even as they fed energy back to the band. Even today, a rockabilly crowd is not just a group of spectators. It's the band's fourth member. The band and crowd become one living, pulsing organism. The dance floor at a rockabilly show fills up faster than the introduction of the first song. And it pretty much stays full for the rest of the night.
If you watch the crowd, the dancing never stops. Leather jacketed duck tails tear it up with bandana-wearing bikers and long-haired liberals. And everyone wears a smile. Sometimes if you step back far enough and just look, one word comes to mind that describes the band, the music, the fans, and the entire scene. Crazy, baby. Crazy.
Although he may or may not have invented the rockabilly style of music, there's not much doubt that it was Elvis who really started the rockabilly craze. He created the model for modern rock and roll performances and became the standard by which pretty much everyone to follow him is measured.
And if you had to choose one word to describe the fans at his early shows in the last half of the 1950s, the word crazy would certainly be an appropriate choice! While the teenage girls screamed and swooned, the teenage boys worked overtime trying to figure out how they could adapt some of that Elvis magic in their own style and affectation. The boys wanted to be like Elvis and the girls...well, they just wanted Elvis!
Rock and roll shows became raucous events full of energy, attitude, and danger--at least in the eyes of the adults. In fact, the adults in charge often honestly believed that their children had gone crazy. Rock and roll music was labeled a mental disorder by leading psychiatrists. It was a scourge that needed to be eradicated.
But the passion of the fans--that very craziness--saved the music. They had found something they could latch onto. It was something that belonged to them. It's not that the adults weren't invited to enjoy the music too, but no teenager ever shed a tear because the adults didn't like it. Instead of crying about it, they reveled in it. It made the music all the much more theirs and they only grew to love it more.
And on the leading edge of all this "danger" was exactly where you found great rockabilly music. Rockabilly has often been referred to as the original punk music and that description is not far off in my opinion. Rockabilly musicians knew the adults didn't like them, but they didn't care. In fact, they often cultivated the animosity and made it work even more to their advantage as they played off of the "us versus them" dynamic. And of course, the kids ate it up as they sided with their favorite rockers.
So rockabilly shows became raw and powerful events. The bands were full of attitude and the fans fed off of that attitude even as they fed energy back to the band. Even today, a rockabilly crowd is not just a group of spectators. It's the band's fourth member. The band and crowd become one living, pulsing organism. The dance floor at a rockabilly show fills up faster than the introduction of the first song. And it pretty much stays full for the rest of the night.
If you watch the crowd, the dancing never stops. Leather jacketed duck tails tear it up with bandana-wearing bikers and long-haired liberals. And everyone wears a smile. Sometimes if you step back far enough and just look, one word comes to mind that describes the band, the music, the fans, and the entire scene. Crazy, baby. Crazy.
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