Two years later Elvis Presley signed with RCA and the ensuing exposure he received on national television introduced rockabilly to its widest audience yet and, like fire to kindling, there was no stopping its spread. They didn't know it at the time, but the music establishment had just changed forever. First billed as 'The Hillbilly Cat' (again a nod towards black and white influences), the boy with the seemingly rubber limbs sang both blues and country songs infused with elements of this new rockabilly movement to the bemusement of a music industry not yet aware of the significance of what they were listening to. The influence that the softly spoken Mississippi native had on popular music - and in particular rockabilly - is incalculable. Traces of its origins could be found in the country boogie and honky tonk tunes of the Delmore Brothers and Hank Williams, but most would agree that it was Bill Haley's influence on the scene which first established rockabilly's true identity, sometime around 19, after he had recognised the separate (but equally important) black and white sources of his music. Simply put, it was a fusion of black and white music of the era, born out of country boogie and rhythm and blues - all put through the unique filters of the various towns, swamps and pool halls from which it emerged. The term 'Rockabilly' came from an amalgamation rock and hillbilly music. It was at once rebellious, risqué and raunchy and, perhaps best of all, it was sincerely frowned-upon by the generation that came before. The post-war era had ushered in a new sense of freedom, identity and, with racial borders now beginning to recede and social awareness becoming part of the national debate (in some states, at least), things were getting very progressive - but this wasn't yet properly reflected in the popular music of the time.īut then, seemingly out of nowhere, a new sound began to emerge from the southern states. The early 1950s was a curious time for music in the United States. Some called it hillbilly rock, others christened it country boogie but long before a moniker had been settled on for it, rockabilly was making a huge impact in 1950s America.
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