Meet the Band -
Amanda Stone - |
is a professional, versatile, award winning vocalist from the Midlands who also performs tributes to Shania Twain, Lilly Allen and Katy Perry. Amanda has been singing for over 23 years all over the UK and overseas. Now performing in theatres with The Johnny Cash Road Show, either as a Carter sister or as June Carter, where she has also mastered the Auto Harp. Amanda has also won several awards for both her tribute and solo covers shows
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Nick Davis - |
has been a lifelong Johnny Cash fan and has played in many bands over the years. Now in his seventh year with the JCR and still enjoying it immensely. Rockabilly and country music is his first love, although he does have eclectic musical tastes from time to time, and Fender guitars are his instruments of choice.
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Martin Bentley - |
has a background in blues music and is no stranger to extensive UK touring, featuring in some of London’s finest music venues and festivals over the last decade. Martin has also performed at Maida Vale studios for BBC Radio 2 before joining the Johnny Cash Roadshow to work alongside some of the finest musicians in the industry. Martin brings the beauty of double bass, electric bass and backing vocals to this impeccable theatre show.
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Rockabilly -
TAKEN FROM WIKIPEDIA
Rockabilly is one of the earliest styles of rock and roll music, dating to the early 1950s in the United States, especially the South. As a genre it blends the sound of Western musical styles such as country with that of rock and roll, leading to what is considered "classic" rock and roll. Some have also described it as a blend of the bluegrass style with rock and roll. The term "rockabilly" itself is a portmanteau of "rock" (from "rock 'n' roll") and "hillbilly", the latter a reference to the country music (often called "hillbilly music" in the 1940s and 1950s) that contributed strongly to the style. Other important influences on rockabilly include western swing and boogie woogie.
Defining features of the rockabilly sound included strong rhythms, vocal twangs and common use of the tape echo, but the progressive addition of different instruments and vocal harmonies led to its "dilution". Initially popularized by artists such as Bill Haley, Elvis Presley, Carl Perkins, Johnny Cash, and Jerry Lee Lewis, the influence and success of the style waned in the 1960s; nonetheless, during the late 1970s and early 1980s, rockabilly enjoyed a major revival through acts such as the Stray Cats. An interest in the genre endures even in the 21st century, often within asubculture. Rockabilly has left a legacy, spawning a variety of sub-styles and influencing other genres such as punk rock.
There was a close relationship between blues and country music from the very earliest country recordings in the 1920s. During the 1930s and 1940s, two new sounds emerged. Bob Wills and his Texas Playboys were the leading proponents of Western Swing, which combined country singing andsteel guitar with big band jazz influences and horn sections. After blues artists like Meade Lux Lewis and Pete Johnson launched a nationwide boogie craze starting in 1938, country artists began recording what was known as "Hillbilly Boogie", which consisted of "hillbilly" vocals and instrumentation with a boogie bass line.The Maddox Brothers and Rose were at "the leading edge of rockabilly with the slapped bass that Fred Maddox had developed". The Memphis blues musician Junior Parker and his electric blues band, Little Junior's Blue Flames, featuring Pat Hare on the guitar, were a major influence on the rockabilly style.
In 1951 a western swing bandleader named Bill Haley recorded a version of "Rocket 88" with his group, the Saddlemen. It is considered one of the earliest recognized rockabilly recordings. Haley and his band mates crafted a rockabilly sound during this period as the Saddlemen. In January 1956 three new classic songs by Cash, Perkins, and Presley were released: "Folsom Prison Blues" by Cash, and "Blue Suede Shoes" by Perkins, both on Sun; and "Heartbreak Hotel" by Presley on RCA. Perkins's "Blue Suede Shoes" sold 20,000 records a day at one point, and it was the first million-selling country song to cross over to both rhythm and blues and pop charts.
The Elvis 1968 "Comeback" and acts such as Sha Na Na, Creedence Clearwater Revival, John Roman Jackson, Don McLean, Linda Ronstadt and the Everly Brothers; the film American Graffitiand television show Happy Days created curiosity about the real music of the 1950s, particularly in England, where a rockabilly revival scene began to develop from the 1970s in record collecting and clubs. The Stray Cats were the most commercially successful of the new rockabilly artists. The band formed on Long Island in 1979 when Brian Setzer teamed up with two school chums calling themselves Lee Rocker and Slim Jim Phantom. While not true rockabilly, many contemporary indie pop, blues rock and country-rock groups from the US, like Kings of Leon, Black Keys,Blackfoot, Prima Donna, or the White Stripes, were heavily influenced by rock and roll from the early 1960s, prompting a resurgence of interest in early bands among their younger fans.
Rockabilly, Rock and Roll, 60's, 70's, 80's, retro, pinup, double bass, swinging, jive, gothabilly, country, western swing, boogie woogie, Imelda May, Elvis, Janis Martin, Wanda Jackson, connie francies, Caro Emerald, Meghan Trainor, Little Willies, Buddy Holly
Rockabilly is one of the earliest styles of rock and roll music, dating to the early 1950s in the United States, especially the South. As a genre it blends the sound of Western musical styles such as country with that of rock and roll, leading to what is considered "classic" rock and roll. Some have also described it as a blend of the bluegrass style with rock and roll. The term "rockabilly" itself is a portmanteau of "rock" (from "rock 'n' roll") and "hillbilly", the latter a reference to the country music (often called "hillbilly music" in the 1940s and 1950s) that contributed strongly to the style. Other important influences on rockabilly include western swing and boogie woogie.
Defining features of the rockabilly sound included strong rhythms, vocal twangs and common use of the tape echo, but the progressive addition of different instruments and vocal harmonies led to its "dilution". Initially popularized by artists such as Bill Haley, Elvis Presley, Carl Perkins, Johnny Cash, and Jerry Lee Lewis, the influence and success of the style waned in the 1960s; nonetheless, during the late 1970s and early 1980s, rockabilly enjoyed a major revival through acts such as the Stray Cats. An interest in the genre endures even in the 21st century, often within asubculture. Rockabilly has left a legacy, spawning a variety of sub-styles and influencing other genres such as punk rock.
There was a close relationship between blues and country music from the very earliest country recordings in the 1920s. During the 1930s and 1940s, two new sounds emerged. Bob Wills and his Texas Playboys were the leading proponents of Western Swing, which combined country singing andsteel guitar with big band jazz influences and horn sections. After blues artists like Meade Lux Lewis and Pete Johnson launched a nationwide boogie craze starting in 1938, country artists began recording what was known as "Hillbilly Boogie", which consisted of "hillbilly" vocals and instrumentation with a boogie bass line.The Maddox Brothers and Rose were at "the leading edge of rockabilly with the slapped bass that Fred Maddox had developed". The Memphis blues musician Junior Parker and his electric blues band, Little Junior's Blue Flames, featuring Pat Hare on the guitar, were a major influence on the rockabilly style.
In 1951 a western swing bandleader named Bill Haley recorded a version of "Rocket 88" with his group, the Saddlemen. It is considered one of the earliest recognized rockabilly recordings. Haley and his band mates crafted a rockabilly sound during this period as the Saddlemen. In January 1956 three new classic songs by Cash, Perkins, and Presley were released: "Folsom Prison Blues" by Cash, and "Blue Suede Shoes" by Perkins, both on Sun; and "Heartbreak Hotel" by Presley on RCA. Perkins's "Blue Suede Shoes" sold 20,000 records a day at one point, and it was the first million-selling country song to cross over to both rhythm and blues and pop charts.
The Elvis 1968 "Comeback" and acts such as Sha Na Na, Creedence Clearwater Revival, John Roman Jackson, Don McLean, Linda Ronstadt and the Everly Brothers; the film American Graffitiand television show Happy Days created curiosity about the real music of the 1950s, particularly in England, where a rockabilly revival scene began to develop from the 1970s in record collecting and clubs. The Stray Cats were the most commercially successful of the new rockabilly artists. The band formed on Long Island in 1979 when Brian Setzer teamed up with two school chums calling themselves Lee Rocker and Slim Jim Phantom. While not true rockabilly, many contemporary indie pop, blues rock and country-rock groups from the US, like Kings of Leon, Black Keys,Blackfoot, Prima Donna, or the White Stripes, were heavily influenced by rock and roll from the early 1960s, prompting a resurgence of interest in early bands among their younger fans.
Rockabilly, Rock and Roll, 60's, 70's, 80's, retro, pinup, double bass, swinging, jive, gothabilly, country, western swing, boogie woogie, Imelda May, Elvis, Janis Martin, Wanda Jackson, connie francies, Caro Emerald, Meghan Trainor, Little Willies, Buddy Holly