Rockabilly Musicians From The 1950's Served As Guides For Future Rock and Rollers

It's difficult to describe just how influential the early rockabilly pioneers were on the musicians that came after them. These musicians were breaking brand new ground in the 1950's and making up the rules of rock and roll as they were going along. And although they've been all but forgotten by the majority of modern music fans--and even modern rock musicians--their influence simply cannot be denied.

It's easy to point to Elvis Presley and point out his influence. He changed everything in pop music. He also shook up country music as well as rhythm and blues. Elvis was such a force that there's never really been any argument about whether or not he deserves his crown of "the King of Rock and Roll." Elvis may not have started it all (argument continues to rage over whether he did or not), but he certainly made the music popular.

But Elvis wasn't the only one to have a profound influence on future rockers. Carl Perkins is revered by many musicians--especially guitar players--and with good reason. Perkins had the first huge hit to climb to the top five of each of the Pop, Country, and R&B charts. He did this in 1956 with is nearly-perfect rock and roll song, "Blue Suede Shoes." He even influenced Elvis with that song and both of them had hits with their version of it. As if to prove what a force he was, Perkins' version was a much bigger hit than the King's.

Carl Perkins was idolized by many of the second-wave rockers from the 1960s. The Beatles--and in particular George Harrison--hung on his every note and lyric and greatly derived their style from him. Eric Clapton, Dave Edmunds, Jeff Lynn, and many, many other greats credit Perkins for his astounding influence.

Buddy Holly was also cited--this time particularly by John Lennon--as a great influence on the Beatles. Holly, who is best known for his smash pop hits of the late 50s, started out recording some great rockabilly tracks. He went on to quickly develop a more polished style and shades of his song writing can definitely be heard in the writings of Lennon and McCartney as well as countless other bands.

Eddie Cochran, Gene Vincent, Jack Scott, Wanda Jackson, Jerry Lee Lewis, and all the unknown and forgotten rockabilly artists that were making great music in the 50s laid out the blueprint for modern rock and roll. Certainly those that came after these great innovators picked up influences of other great musicians who weren't necessarily known for rockabilly (like Bill Haley, Chuck Berry, Little Richard, and others), but the rockabilly crowd made a great contribution to the world of rock and roll. In fact, given the significance of that contribution, it's amazing how few people today can actually name more than a couple of these great rockabilly artist. What's even more unfortunate is just how many people don't even know what rockabilly music is!