During the 1950s, country music merged with a rising new fad called Rock & Roll to form what would become known as Rockabilly. In short, rockabilly was high energy, fast paced, guitar and bass driven tunes displaying thundering rhythms. The songs were often unremarkable ditties made up with a conglomeration of silly lyrics and inane repetitious phrases like bop,
shake,
mama, and go cat! Cars, especially gaudy Cadillacs and hot rod Fords, stark colors like pink and black, and hep terms like chicks and cats were prevalent in many early rockabilly songs. Songs titled Ooby Dooby, Ubangi Stomp,
Be Boppin’ Baby, and Rockin’ In the Congo were common record chart contenders during those early years. Many young, up and coming country crooners would cross over and go on to achieve widespread acclaim as names like Presley, Holly, Twitty and Orbison conquered radio station playlists. They among others would become R&R legends. Others like Jack Scott, Thomas Wayne, Boyd Bennett, Carl Mann, Dale Hawkins, and Ray Sharpe found success to a lesser degree, but still made their mark in the new genre. It’s many of these lesser knowns that Hepcats & Rockabilly Boys explores.