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dixie kiwi - Posted - 05/14/2008: 18:01:13
i'm a fan of the Rockabilly sound and style. there i said it.
i know bluegrass heavily influenced the rockabilly movement but i have heard little of banjo in rockabilly. are there known banjo artists that play in this genre?
thoughts from the pros?
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Obsession is a great substitute for talent
-Steve Martin
jdog - Posted - 05/14/2008: 18:14:00
Great question! I love the fact that banjo can be used for all music. Here at BHO, one who pushes banjo into new frontiers is TheBoog. Maybe this will inspire him, if nobody else knows.
RONLD - Posted - 05/14/2008: 18:20:41
Uncle Josh, some folks have been askin for the foggy mountain rock-let's give it to em o.k..............live at carnege hall!!!
If that aint "Rock a hill-billy" i just dont know!
Job 33:4
Randy Escobedo - Posted - 05/14/2008: 18:32:08
Take a listen to Earl on the Flatt and Scruggs recording of "Big Black Train". At the end of this tune Earl does some great Rockabilly picking/shuffle as the record fades out. It reminds me of Bill Haley with those saxaphones playing. The Earl Scruggs Revue also did the old Rockabilly tune "Thats Alright Mama". Great picking by Earl. Not long ago I got to hear Earl do some picking in open C using those "Carolina Boogie and Wooden Nickels" licks from his Revue days. All these examples make some great Rockabilly sounds.
Banjov1 - Posted - 05/14/2008: 19:13:17
I always thought "Foggy Mountain Special" had a rockabilly kick to it.
Tony
Tom Hanway - Posted - 05/15/2008: 05:49:45
quote:
Originally posted by dixie kiwi
I'm a fan of the Rockabilly sound and style. There i said it.
i know bluegrass heavily influenced the rockabilly movement but i have heard little of banjo in rockabilly. Are there known banjo artists that play in this genre?
Thoughts from the pros?
Good on you! 
quote:
Originally posted by Banjov1
I always thought "Foggy Mountain Special" had a rockabilly kick to it.
Tony
I hear that, though the tempo is a bit slow; still FMS is easily transformable into a rockabilly reel. It's in the bass line, if it walks and slaps. Therein lies the secret to a rockabilly groove. But there's more to it, and the cowboy hats have to go....
Monroe himself influenced rockabilly ('Blue Moon of Kentucky') and rock 'n' roll - everybody from Elvis to Carl Perkins to Chuck Berry. Rockabilly, when packaged, gets into fashion, long sideburns, leather, greasy pompadours, tight black pants, black shoes, folded white socks, more leather, attitude, but musically speaking, has elements of Country and Blues, a precursor being Hillbilly Boogie, similar to Jump Blues or old R&B, like Honky Tonk with Attitude. Early Elvis, Carl Perkins, Gene Vincent, Eddie Cochran, Jerry Lee Lewis, Buddy Holly and so many others.
Don't forget the "slapback" reverb if you want a rockabilly sound for a recording. A good place to begin is 'That's All Right, Mama' (Elvis), 'Boppin' the Blues' (Carl Perkins), 'Blue Suede Shoes' (Perkins and Elvis), and if you want to go back further, check out the Tennessee Ernie Ford boogie numbers, the ones that have the walking bass. A lot of the rockabilly sound is in that walking slapped bass, which can be copied on banjo.
There are so many great rockabilly artists to get tunes from, but one can also take old Hank Williams numbers, jazz them up, speed up the tempos and give them a rockabilly treatment. A good one to start with is 'Move it on Over', which by no strange coincidence has a similar melody and chord structure as 'Rock Around the Clock'. Even some Jimmie Rodgers numbers can be given a rockabilly treatment. After all, he was known as the Blue Yodeler. "She's long, she's tall, she's six feet from the ground...." Lest we forget Monroe's 'Rocky Road Blues', also a number that Gene Vincent covered. There are so many bluesy country songs that would make great rockabilly numbers.
I recorded Tennessee Ernie Ford's 'Blackberry Boogie' (Tom Hanway & Blue Horizon) in Nashville (1992) with Roy Huskey, Jr. playing a slapped bass in rockabilly style. The banjo plays walking triplets then climbs up the neck in a bluesy sort of way. I got ideas from Scruggs (especially bluesy bends), Don Reno and Tony Trischka. Check out Reno's 'Double Banjo Blues' for this boogie feel. Also check out Trischka's 'Bloozinee' which has a boogie thing happening. 'Foggy Mountain Special' can be given a rockabilly treatment, if the bass starts walking. Reno's 'Double Banjo Blues' (boogie feel) can be inserted - it's the same chord structure.
Rockabilly banjo - I would still get chops from Scruggs - his bluesy numbers like 'Bugle Call Rag', 'Shuckin' the Corn', 'Foggy Mountain Special', 'Mama Don't Allow It', but especially Reno, those triplets and guitar-ish double-stops (similar to Chuck Berry's) that he was so fond of. 'Green Mountain Hop' (though it's in D-tuning) is a burner and has that teenage excitement. The driving triplets and chokes that he plays work well for rockabilly.
Reno was the first convincing rock 'n' roll banjo player to my mind, and he wasn't even playing rock 'n' roll per se. He would have been all over the rockabilly numbers, playing circles around most guitar players of the day. Carl Perkins is still the King of Rockabilly guitar and that's whom George Harrison emulated most. The Beatles recorded several of his hits. George Harrison would be a primary source for rockabilly guitar (and hot banjo licks), but it's based on Perkins and Holly at the end of the day.
Check out McCartney's 'Sure to Fall (in Love with You)', which would make a perfect slow bluegrass number, especially for mandolin players who can copy Harrison's tremoloing guitar, which sounds like Bill Monroe (but on electric guitar). The harmonies even sound like bluegrass, but it's early country rock 'n' roll.
Chuck Berry's 'Maybelline' makes a great banjo tune ... hey, it makes a hot bluegrass (newgrass) tune.
Banjo players Courtney Johnson (who recorded Jerry Lee's 'Great Balls of Fire' with New Grass Revival), Raymond Fairchild and Eddie Adcock (himself a guitarist) also come to mind.
I hope that helps. Being from New York City, I jammed with a lot of rockabilly cats in the lower East Side honky tonks. This crowd could really dance and jitterbug. I still have the long side burns, bolo ties and fifties style clothing. Rockabilly is a sound AND an attitude at the end of the day. Great music. I leave it to the electric guitar players.
Happy pickin',
Tom
http://www.tomhanway.com
dixie kiwi - Posted - 05/15/2008: 05:56:10
thx Tom,
you have cleared the HAZE
-----------------------
Obsession is a great substitute for talent
-Steve Martin
axsis - Posted - 05/15/2008: 11:24:42
Tom, Great post. We hang with one of the best up here as well "Ronnie Hawkins"
Cheers!
Don
Tom Hanway - Posted - 05/15/2008: 13:39:46
The Hawk - he's one of the Greats. The Band, formerly the Hawks, was trained by Ronnie Hawkins. His legacy is immeasurable. I have the utmost respect for Ronnie Hawkins. Folks can check him out in the Scorcese film, The Last Waltz - a must see for any lover of rock 'n' roll or good music.
Happy pickin',
Tom
http://www.tomhanway.com
