Hello Mary Lou!

This week's song is "Hello Mary Lou" by Ricky Nelson!

I heard it today on the radio for the first time in ages and it made me smile. To be honest though, it always makes me smile! There's just something about it!

Sadly I don't have any friends named Mary Lou, but then again they'd probably hate me anyway if I started singing "Hello Mary Lou..." every time I saw them!

With lots of hits, such as "Travelin' Man", "Poor Little Fool" and "I'm Walkin'", Ricky Nelson was second only to Elvis Presley as the most popular Rock 'n' Roll artist of the late 1950's!

Because of his huge success, Ricky Nelson was inducted into the Rock and Rocll Hall of Fame in 1987.

Psychobilly Freak-Out

Now although this is a Rockabilly blog, I thought that today I would talk a bit about Psychobilly.

I kept seeing the word Psychobilly while researching things for this blog, so decided to find out what Psychobilly actually was.

It turns out that it is a mixture of fast Rockabilly and Punk-Rock!

Now being a proud mohawk wearer and being into Punk-Rock myself, I really couldn't picture how this would work. After listening to a few bands though, such as the Cramps, the Koffin Kats and the Meteors, it turns out that the mixture of the two genres is actually the perfect blend! I love it!

The songs are often about horror, violence, lurid sexuality and other topics generally considered to be taboo. The good thing though is that songs are not all doom and gloom, but instead fast and often presented in a comedic or tongue-in-cheek fashion.

If you want to find out more about Pyschobilly, then check out this site here! It gives you lots of info on Psychobilly bands and gigs all over the world!

Hot Rod Gang!

No Rockabilly guy's look would be complete without a Hot Rod to go with it!

Hot Rods are typically American Cars with large modified engines for speed!



And they obviously have to look good as well if the Rockabilly guys want a hot pin-up girl to model next to them!



If you ever hear about a Hot Rod event, you can be sure to find it filled with Rockabilly followers! They flock to them like flies to light!

Why you ask? Well to them it's all about showcasing the return to traditional Hot Rods and the greaser lifestyle!

Girls, Cars and Nautical Stars

While looking at some of the more modern Rockabilly pictures, I noticed that a lot of the people in them have amazing tattoos. So i decided to see why so many Rockabilly followers had such beautiful tattoos...

It turns out that most of the tattoos seen on Rockabilly fans are a more modern take on the traditional tattoos that were popular during the early Rockabilly era.

Designs such as pin-up girls, swallows, cars, anchors, nautical stars and cherries are especially popular.



Rockabilly tattoos were and still are a sign of rebellion. Body art was not the popular trend that it is today when Rockabilly began back in the 1950's. Rockabilly tattoos were some of the first in a trend that would explode through the decades.

One of the most mentioned names regarding Rockabilly tattoos has to be Sailor Jerry. He is considered to be one of the foremost American tattoo artists of his time and many of the modern Rockabilly tattoos are based on his artwork.

Hello...I'm Johnny Cash

After watching Walk the Line yesterday, I can't get Johnny Cash's songs out of my head. So this week's song is "Cocaine Blues" by the man himself, Johnny Cash!

Now Johnny Cash not only had great hair, but was also a Grammy Award-winning American singer and songwriter.

Who would have thought that the young boy who worked on the cotton fields with his family in Kingsland, Arkansas, would later have an almost fifty year long music career, sell over 90 million albums and become one of the greatest men in music history!

Johnny Cash and his band, the Tennessee Three, had many hits including "Folsom Prison Blues", "Ring of Fire", "I Walk the Line", "A Boy Named Sue" and many more!

Here they are performing "Ring of Fire":

Because You're Mine, I Walk the Line

I just watched "Walk the Line" and it was amazing!

It's a film based on the life of Johnny Cash through the highs and lows of his music career. With great music, great actors and a great story, everything was perfect!

I've never been much of a fan of Joaquin Pheonix (who plays Johnny Cash) or Reese Witherspoon (who plays June Carter), but both of them blew me away in this film!

If you're interested in anything Rockabilly, then you'll love this film too - the music, the hairstyles, the clothes! I don't know why I never thought of watching it before now!

Slap That Bass!

This post is all about the music!

Rockabilly music has its own unmistakeable sound, with a mixture of Rock 'n' Roll, Hillbilly music, Swing, Boogie-Woogie and Blues.

That sound is of course created by the instruments!

One of the most important instruments to Rockabilly music is the upright bass.
But not just anybody with an upright bass can achieve the true Rockabilly sound!

Rockabilly slap bass is a style of playing an upright bass that provides the right kind of beat for the music, like this guy here:



The other important instrument is of course the guitar!

While the upright bass maintains the strong beat, it is left up to the Rockabilly guitar to provide the melody to support the vocals.

It needs a sultry sound like Blues as well as a peppy beat like the swinging Country sound of the day!

Even today, elements of Rockabilly guitar can still be heard in modern Country, Rock 'n' Roll, and even in Punk music!

Check this guy out:

Beautiful Girls

While searching for pictures of traditional pin-up girls for this blog I kept coming across pictures of modern girls who had given Rockabilly and the pin-up style their own little twist and done some amazing and beautiful pictures.

So I thought I would share some of the pictures with you!



If you want to find out more about Sabina Kelley, Missy Malone, Heidi Van Horne and Dayna Delux, just click on their names!

One, Two, Three O'Clock, Four O'Clock Rock!

There's a new song up and it's by the godfather of Rock 'n' Roll, Bill Haley!

Bill Haley and his band The Comets had many hits during the 1950's including "Crazy Man, Crazy" which was the first Rock 'n' Roll record to make the pop charts.

Not only was Bill Haley such a big presence in the record charts in the 1950's, but he also appeared in several Rock 'n' Roll movies.

Bill Haley was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987. He also has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and an asteroid named after him! And rightly so! I mean, who doesn't love the song "Rock Around the Clock"?!

Ooh La La!

In my post about women's Rockabilly hairstyles I mentioned the famous and beautiful cult pin-up model, Bettie Page.

As one of the most famous models of the 1940's and 50's, she became a style icon for Rockabilly girls all over the world with her trademark short black bangs, blue eyes, sweet smile and killer curves.

She was a combination of girl-next-door freshness and dangerous sensuality and it's easy to see why girls aspire to be her - an intelligent woman, who is proud of her beautiful womanly curves and who knows how to use them to her advantage.

If you want to find out more about Bettie Page and see some of her fantastically sexy modelling photographs, check out her official homepage here.

Flowers and Feathers

No modern Rockabilly girl's hairstyle would be complete without their signature hair accessories!

Hair clips, flowers, feathers, combs, butterflies and so much more!



Who wouldn't want to be a Rockabilly chick with so many gorgeous hair accessories to choose from!



Check out Babygirlboutique.com for some of the best and most beautiful hair accessories out there!

Hair-Do How-To

In my earlier posts I talked about women's Rockabilly fashion and make-up, so today let's have a look at the women's Rockabilly hairstyles!

Women's Rockabilly hairstyles are varied, but still follow two basic general looks.

The first is a moderate-length, layered style. This style is always curly, making use of the hair's natural curl or being permed and roller-set.

The other look that is most common among the modern Rockabilly devotees is the one made popular by Bettie Page, a 1940's and 1950's pin-up model.

This look is a longer style, generally created with a blunt-cut fringe across the forehead. The hair is centre-parted, left long and generally styled to have soft waves along the legth, while the bangs are straight and smooth.

Having trouble trying to figure out how to do these styles?

You Tube has lots of videos to help! Here is one of my favourites:

Put Your Cat Clothes On!

This week's song is by Rockabilly pioneer Carl Perkins, the King of Rockabilly!

His best-known song is the hit "Blue Suede Shoes" - Yes, you heard right! Carl Perkins wrote that song, not Elvis Presley! With that song he virtually defined and established Rockabilly music in the Rock 'n' Roll era.

Many of his other songs were also covered by the likes of Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash and the Beatles.

In 1987 Carl Perkins was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Blue, Blue, Blue Suede Shoes, Baby!

Ok, this week it's all about men's Rockabilly fashion - We've covered the clothes and hair, so let's finish off the look with the right kind of shoes!

Any true Rockabilly guy will tell you that Creepers are a must! They come in every colour under the sun, but the plain black and white are still the most common.
This website has loads to choose from and I can highly recommend them as it's where I also got mine!

Some other favourites are also:

Winklepickers




Spectators




and Jubilees

Pomps and Quiffs!

You can tell a Rockabilly guy a mile away just by looking at his hair!

Men wear well-greased pompadours, also called quiffs - think Joaquin Phoenix in "Walk the Line" for a modernized version. Elvis Presley and James Dean are also good hair models.

But how on earth do they get their hair like that you ask!

To achieve Elvis-worthy pompadour status, hair should be cut long on top and at the front, with shorter sides and back.

To style, slick hair back with grease. It's all about the pomade - without it a true Rockabilly quiff is nothing!

Oh and don't forget the back pocket comb! Just in case!

This kid sure has one hell of a pomp and shows you exactly how it's done:

Cool Cats!

The men's Rockabilly look is all about unique fashion that tells the world you're just a casual, laid-back sort of guy.

Modern Rockabilly fashion is like a combination of a 1950's greaser mixed with an old-school punk rocker.

You can notice a Rockabilly guy by their slicked quiffs, turn-ups and engineering boots, converse or creepers.

So to get the look, go for slim-cut jeans (turned up at the bottom!), white t-shirts, tough leather jackets, boots, bowling shirts, western shirts, slim fit suits and dark sunglasses.

Now there aren't as many webites that sell men's Rockabilly clothing as there are girl's - Sorry guys! I will definitley keep an eye out for them though and keep you cool cats posted!

Daddy-O's has some good stuff! The best places though to get cheap, unique stuff are definitley vintage and second-hand shops - It's amazing what can be found in them! Ebay is also a good place to look.

Here are some pictures for inspiration and some eye-candy for any girls reading!

One for the Money, Two for the Show!

I've put a new song up for this week and it's by no other than the King of Rock 'n' Roll himself - ELVIS PRESLEY!

Everybody knows him, lots of people love him and his music and style are much loved in the Rockabilly scene.

Now he wasn't just known for his singing though, he also had a few moves that would make any woman weak at the knees. So here's also a video of him shaking his stuff for the audience: