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This is the fourth volume in Sub Rosa's collection devoted to rare and lost recordings from the '20s to the '60s, following Dr. Boogie Presents Rarities from the Bob Hite Vaults (SR 271CD/LP), Oh, Run Into Me, But Don't Hurt Me! Female Blues Singers -- Rarities 1923-1930 (SR 268CD/LP), and Shim Sham Shimmy (SR 279CD/LP). This time around, musicologist and radio personality Walter De Paduwa aka Dr. Boogie focuses on the rocketing rise and fast decline of rockabilly (1954-1959), whose name derives from a combination of "rock 'n' roll" and "hillbilly," which may be a reference to the country music that contributed to this genre's development. Dr. Boogie explains, "This form of musical expression can be summed up as a white, typically southern, and rural kind of rock and roll born in Memphis in 1954. The lyrics are often about recurring themes in '50s American pop culture, like cars and teenage love. Young people identified with rockabilly in large numbers, forming gangs that could terrorize a neighborhood by facing other gangs. Leather, Brylcreem, and motorcycles were the signs by which they defined themselves. As a trend, rockabilly lasted only a few years, but it generated a near-unmatched number of recordings from hundreds of studios from as many American cities and small towns. Back then, you could very easily improvise yourself a record producer or label owner: all it took was a little bit of equipment and a small garage, basement, or backstore space. You started by pressing a hundred-copy run for the artist's family and friends. Sometimes, the product reached the ears of bigger label owners who would ensure its wider distribution." Rockabilly almost completely vanished in the late '50s, being replaced by other forms of rock 'n' roll. There was a rockabilly revival in the '70s, spawned by pop culture's nostalgic interest in '50s culture, and rockabilly bands of all stripes and sub-genres keep this important piece of early rock history alive today. The energy, boldness, wildness, and talent of these young pioneers can all be found on this compilation, which rediscovers 26 of these rock adventurers. Artists include: Johnny Jay, Jimmy Edwards, Curly Coldiron, Danny Verne, Eddie Cash, Chuck Dallis, The Cals, Al Urban, Bill Logsdon & The Royal Notes, John Friis & The Valiants, Ronnie Haig, Jimmy Evans, Jimmie Dee, Johnny Knight, Harvey Hunt, Wayne Haas, Bill Moss, Ronnie Allen, Jay Brown & The Jets, Gary Hodge, Charles Senns, Charles Page, T.K.Hulin, Gene Maltais, Bing Day, and The Trashers.
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