Easy rockabilly tunes?

Lance · May 14th, 2008, 10:17 AM

Hey all,
Other than stuff by Stray Cats, I'm totally uneducated on rockabilly music. I'd like to learn a few tunes....but they'll need to be a little on the easier side. (as my signature says: "not very good...but I make up for it by playing loud")

Suggestions?

Thanks!

RomanS · May 14th, 2008, 10:23 AM

"Folsom Prison Blues" and a lot of other Johnny Cash Sun Studios-era stuff is easy to learn; Elvis' "Heartbreak Hotel" is also not that difficult.

Do you do any fingerpicking? A lot of classic rockabilly tunes require quite a bit of Travis picking... The Blasters' "Dark Night" is an easy one for starting playing in that style.

serialsteve · May 14th, 2008, 10:27 AM

Anything by Eddie Cochrane.

"Somethin' Else" and "Summertime Blues" lend themselves well to this stuff. The Clash's "Brand New Cadillac" works nicely in there I think too. None are as complex as Stray Cats' stuff.

jhundt · May 14th, 2008, 02:00 PM

Rockabilly can be as easy or as hard as you make it. But you MUST learn that Travis-picking style (as RomanS mentioned)

The best way to get started is with this DVD:

Rockabilly Electric Guitar with Paul Pigat
http://www.learnrootsmusic.com/

This is really the best instruction video ever for beginning rockabilly, it is really worth the low-cost investment.

ajgus · May 14th, 2008, 02:07 PM

Interesting link between Stray Cats & Eddie Cochrane...Brian Setzer actually played Eddie in La Bamba. Common knowledge...just thought I'd mention it.

drewsblues · May 14th, 2008, 02:11 PM

Early Elvis. "That's Alright Mama," and "Good Rockin' Tonight" are ones I'd thrown on the pile.

woodman · May 14th, 2008, 02:12 PM

the Carl Perkins stuff is pretty cool too.

Joe M · May 14th, 2008, 02:26 PM

Honey Don't, a Perkins tune covered by the Beatles, is one of my favorite rockabilly songs...

Brian blaut · May 14th, 2008, 02:29 PM

Scotty Moore's guitar part on "Don't Be Cruel"

Guitarzan · May 14th, 2008, 02:29 PM

"Mystery Train" is one of the best of all time; it was recorded by many, made popular by Elvis, and covered by Setzer.

Brian blaut · May 14th, 2008, 02:33 PM

Seriously, any early Elvis stuff isn't hard at all. Figuring out just what Scotty is doing can be hard though. But its not technically hard to execute once you know the method to the madness.

Get yourself Elvis' Sun recording and Elvis 56, and cancel any plans for the weekend.

and +1 on Paul Pigats DVD. I also like Jim Weider's rockabilly dvd, as he goes into length talking about various players, their style, and shows you some songs.

surfoverb · May 14th, 2008, 02:46 PM

Rebel Rouser!

dusty tolex · May 14th, 2008, 03:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jhundt

Rockabilly can be as easy or as hard as you make it. But you MUST learn that Travis-picking style (as RomanS mentioned)

The best way to get started is with this DVD:

Rockabilly Electric Guitar with Paul Pigat
http://www.learnrootsmusic.com/

This is really the best instruction video ever for beginning rockabilly, it is really worth the low-cost investment.

That looks perfect. Thanks jhundt.
dt

Bob Mc · May 14th, 2008, 03:44 PM

+1 to everything said, especially the Elvis tunes. Check out That's All Right.
And get your fingers around Mystery Train.

Lance · May 14th, 2008, 03:46 PM

These are all cool ideas!!! Keep 'em coming.
I can do an OK Travis style picking style...I started learning that from the Masters of the Telecaster. (my timing and smoothness could be a lot better)

pbenn · May 14th, 2008, 03:56 PM

What about early Everly Brothers stuff? Not all of it rocks, but the song structures are really applicable. The first album had the two of them on motorbikes with Gibson acoustics slung on their backs.

I may be accused of having a pet peeve, but I will observe (again) that the greatest Sun hits were not completely regular in structure, and actually should be counted out as you learn them. Doing them completely regular can tend to be sleepy.

Nice boxes? "The Legendary Sun Records Story" (3CD) PBX CD 336 (1,2,3)
and "The Legendary Sun Records Story Vol. 2" (3CD) PBX CD 344 (1,2,3). Lesser-known Sun artists were the likes of Harold Jenkins, Ray Smith, Narvel Felts, Billy Riley, the Prisonaires, Barbara Pittman, Billy Emerson, Sonny Burgess, Jimmy de Berry, Little Milton, Hayden Thompson, Carl Mann....

smitty54017 · May 14th, 2008, 04:55 PM

You may want to check out the Rockabilly Hall of Fame website. Lots of artists mentioned.

http://www.rockabillyhall.com/

Lance · May 14th, 2008, 10:23 PM

I was looking for a Summertime Blues and found this....
Not quite what I was looking for but very entertaining!

Teledelphia · May 14th, 2008, 11:26 PM

Big thumbs up on the Paul Pigat Instructional DVDs. The guy is an absolutely phenominal guitar player...rockabilly, blues, jazz...fantastic. Check out his stuff on Youtube. His band is called "Cousin Harley".

Flat357 · May 14th, 2008, 11:48 PM

Not sure if what I class as easy will be the same for anyone else , and vice versa , but here's a couple that are Rock & Roll / Billy that are reasonably simple and fun to play :

Pretend - Alvin Stardust
Twenty flight rock - Various
Sneakin around - The Paladins
Shakin all over - Johnny Kid & the Pirates
How Long - Lee Rocker

outbreak · May 14th, 2008, 11:58 PM

gene and eddie by stray cats is a good one if its your kinda thing, some little licks to play around with

younkint · May 15th, 2008, 01:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jhundt

Rockabilly can be as easy or as hard as you make it. But you MUST learn that Travis-picking style (as RomanS mentioned)

The best way to get started is with this DVD:

Rockabilly Electric Guitar with Paul Pigat
http://www.learnrootsmusic.com/

This is really the best instruction video ever for beginning rockabilly, it is really worth the low-cost investment.

Thanks for that link. I didn't know about this company. I ordered a CD from them.

davidge1 · May 15th, 2008, 02:28 PM

Quote:

But you MUST learn that Travis-picking style

I don't agree with that. While there were a plenty of players in the 50s who used that technique, a lot of them didn't. Carl Perkins is one who didn't...at least not on his classic Sun recordings.

In my opinion, rockabilly has become a little too generic...all the bands tend to play and sound alike. In the 50s, everyone tried to have their own unique sound. The guitar playing tended to be much simpler than modern rockabilly, which stresses technique too much for my tastes.

I think you should check out the best 50s rockabilly artists like Carl Perkins, Warren Smith, Sonnny Burgess, Billy Lee Riley and Charlie Feathers. You'll find the guitar parts on these recordings are fairly easy to learn.

Rattlecan Black · May 15th, 2008, 02:34 PM

Early stuff by Gene Vincent and his Bluecaps is some good stuff to begin with. Cliff Gallup played some great leads. Also, the song Built for Speed by the Stray Cats is a pretty straightforward I-IV-V in E.

Vizcaster · May 15th, 2008, 03:15 PM

+1 on the Blasters - taking Rockabilly a little more into the Texas shuffle mainstream blues-pattern rock. Also Dave Alvin and the Guilty Men (one of the brothers in the Blasters). Hybrid picking seems to help but I haven't nailed it myself. To compensate for technique I turn up the analog delay and throw in a little amp trem.

bradpdx · May 15th, 2008, 04:04 PM

My personal fave rockabilly guitar is Grady Martin's work with Johnny Burnette and the Rock 'N Roll Trio. The guitar is credited to Paul Burlison, but in fact very little is done by him - the real deal is Grady Martin on a solid body Bigsby in July 1956.

Wonderful work with fabulous double stops and tone. Not hard to do, really - but very imaginative and executed like a madman.

May 14th, 2008, 10:17 AM	#1 (permalink)
Lance Friend of Leo's Join Date: Mar 2003 Posts: 2,177	Easy rockabilly tunes? Hey all, Other than stuff by Stray Cats, I'm totally uneducated on rockabilly music. I'd like to learn a few tunes....but they'll need to be a little on the easier side. (as my signature says: "not very good...but I make up for it by playing loud") Suggestions? Thanks! __________________ Lance "not very good...but I make up for it by playing loud"

May 14th, 2008, 10:23 AM	#2 (permalink)
RomanS Friend of Leo's Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Vienna, Austria Age: 36 Posts: 2,838 14 Photos	"Folsom Prison Blues" and a lot of other Johnny Cash Sun Studios-era stuff is easy to learn; Elvis' "Heartbreak Hotel" is also not that difficult. Do you do any fingerpicking? A lot of classic rockabilly tunes require quite a bit of Travis picking... The Blasters' "Dark Night" is an easy one for starting playing in that style. __________________ http://www.pbase.com/romans http://www.myspace.com/romans212

May 14th, 2008, 02:07 PM	#5 (permalink)
ajgus Friend of Leo's Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: chicago Posts: 2,264	Interesting link between Stray Cats & Eddie Cochrane...Brian Setzer actually played Eddie in La Bamba. Common knowledge...just thought I'd mention it. __________________ "I'm still married to my first wife...and that's my first guitar...she don't talk back to me, she talks for me..." -Stevie ray Vaughan

May 14th, 2008, 02:11 PM	#6 (permalink)
drewsblues Tele-Meister Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Southern California Posts: 260 9 Photos	Early Elvis. "That's Alright Mama," and "Good Rockin' Tonight" are ones I'd thrown on the pile. __________________ -- Drew

May 14th, 2008, 02:12 PM	#7 (permalink)
woodman Poster Extraordinaire Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Mint Hill, NC Age: 62 Posts: 5,898	the Carl Perkins stuff is pretty cool too. __________________ Truth is stranger than fact ... www.myspace.com/woodymitchellmusic BAND PAGES: www.myspace.com/stragglerswing (Stragglers - Western Swing) www.myspace.com/loafersgloryband (Loafers Glory - '70s country-rock)

May 14th, 2008, 10:27 AM	#3 (permalink)
serialsteve Tele-Holic Join Date: May 2003 Posts: 714	Anything by Eddie Cochrane. "Somethin' Else" and "Summertime Blues" lend themselves well to this stuff. The Clash's "Brand New Cadillac" works nicely in there I think too. None are as complex as Stray Cats' stuff.

May 14th, 2008, 02:00 PM	#4 (permalink)
jhundt Friend of Leo's Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Netherlands Age: 54 Posts: 2,989 9 Photos	Rockabilly can be as easy or as hard as you make it. But you MUST learn that Travis-picking style (as RomanS mentioned) The best way to get started is with this DVD: Rockabilly Electric Guitar with Paul Pigat http://www.learnrootsmusic.com/ This is really the best instruction video ever for beginning rockabilly, it is really worth the low-cost investment.

May 14th, 2008, 02:26 PM	#8 (permalink)
Joe M Moderator Tele-Afflicted Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Michigan Posts: 1,199	Honey Don't, a Perkins tune covered by the Beatles, is one of my favorite rockabilly songs...

May 14th, 2008, 02:29 PM	#9 (permalink)
Brian blaut Tele-Afflicted Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Bay Area, California, USA Age: 34 Posts: 1,408	Scotty Moore's guitar part on "Don't Be Cruel"

May 14th, 2008, 02:29 PM	#10 (permalink)
Guitarzan Tele-Holic Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Hotlanta, GA Posts: 892	"Mystery Train" is one of the best of all time; it was recorded by many, made popular by Elvis, and covered by Setzer. __________________ Set an eye on 'em Amos. Make it count, son.

May 14th, 2008, 02:33 PM	#11 (permalink)
Brian blaut Tele-Afflicted Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Bay Area, California, USA Age: 34 Posts: 1,408	Seriously, any early Elvis stuff isn't hard at all. Figuring out just what Scotty is doing can be hard though. But its not technically hard to execute once you know the method to the madness. Get yourself Elvis' Sun recording and Elvis 56, and cancel any plans for the weekend. and +1 on Paul Pigats DVD. I also like Jim Weider's rockabilly dvd, as he goes into length talking about various players, their style, and shows you some songs.

May 14th, 2008, 02:46 PM	#12 (permalink)
surfoverb Tele-Afflicted Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Virginia Posts: 1,889	Rebel Rouser!

May 14th, 2008, 03:44 PM	#14 (permalink)
Bob Mc Tele-Afflicted Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Mo'town NJ Posts: 1,615	+1 to everything said, especially the Elvis tunes. Check out That's All Right. And get your fingers around Mystery Train. __________________ All of us contain Music & Truth, but most of us can't get it out. Mark Twain

May 14th, 2008, 03:46 PM	#15 (permalink)
Lance Friend of Leo's Join Date: Mar 2003 Posts: 2,177	These are all cool ideas!!! Keep 'em coming. I can do an OK Travis style picking style...I started learning that from the Masters of the Telecaster. (my timing and smoothness could be a lot better) __________________ Lance "not very good...but I make up for it by playing loud"

May 14th, 2008, 03:56 PM	#16 (permalink)
pbenn Tele-Holic Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Toronto Age: 52 Posts: 585	What about early Everly Brothers stuff? Not all of it rocks, but the song structures are really applicable. The first album had the two of them on motorbikes with Gibson acoustics slung on their backs. I may be accused of having a pet peeve, but I will observe (again) that the greatest Sun hits were not completely regular in structure, and actually should be counted out as you learn them. Doing them completely regular can tend to be sleepy. Nice boxes? "The Legendary Sun Records Story" (3CD) PBX CD 336 (1,2,3) and "The Legendary Sun Records Story Vol. 2" (3CD) PBX CD 344 (1,2,3). Lesser-known Sun artists were the likes of Harold Jenkins, Ray Smith, Narvel Felts, Billy Riley, the Prisonaires, Barbara Pittman, Billy Emerson, Sonny Burgess, Jimmy de Berry, Little Milton, Hayden Thompson, Carl Mann....

May 14th, 2008, 04:55 PM	#17 (permalink)
smitty54017 Tele-Meister Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: New Richmond, WI Age: 36 Posts: 373	You may want to check out the Rockabilly Hall of Fame website. Lots of artists mentioned. http://www.rockabillyhall.com/ __________________ ----------------------------------------------------- Happy cows (and Packer fans) come from Wisconsin!

May 14th, 2008, 10:23 PM	#18 (permalink)
Lance Friend of Leo's Join Date: Mar 2003 Posts: 2,177	OK - I had to post this.... I was looking for a Summertime Blues and found this.... Not quite what I was looking for but very entertaining! __________________ Lance "not very good...but I make up for it by playing loud"

May 14th, 2008, 11:26 PM	#19 (permalink)
Teledelphia TDPRI Member Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: philadelphia Posts: 48	Big thumbs up on the Paul Pigat Instructional DVDs. The guy is an absolutely phenominal guitar player...rockabilly, blues, jazz...fantastic. Check out his stuff on Youtube. His band is called "Cousin Harley".

May 14th, 2008, 11:48 PM	#20 (permalink)
Flat357 Friend of Leo's Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Cheshire Age: 40 Posts: 2,913	Not sure if what I class as easy will be the same for anyone else , and vice versa , but here's a couple that are Rock & Roll / Billy that are reasonably simple and fun to play : Pretend - Alvin Stardust Twenty flight rock - Various Sneakin around - The Paladins Shakin all over - Johnny Kid & the Pirates How Long - Lee Rocker __________________ Homepage http://www.soundclick.com/members/de...member=flat357 MySpace http://www.myspace.com/flat357

May 14th, 2008, 11:58 PM	#21 (permalink)
outbreak Tele-Meister Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Australia Age: 21 Posts: 459	gene and eddie by stray cats is a good one if its your kinda thing, some little licks to play around with __________________ '07 MIM std tele '07 Epiphone Studio Dot '08 Gretsch 5120 '08 Ibanex accoustic '07 VOX ad50vt

May 15th, 2008, 02:34 PM	#24 (permalink)
Rattlecan Black TDPRI Member Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Connecticut Posts: 21	Early stuff by Gene Vincent and his Bluecaps is some good stuff to begin with. Cliff Gallup played some great leads. Also, the song Built for Speed by the Stray Cats is a pretty straightforward I-IV-V in E. __________________ I'm not looking for El Dorado.

May 15th, 2008, 03:15 PM	#25 (permalink)
Vizcaster Tele-Holic Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Glen Head, NY Posts: 707	+1 on the Blasters - taking Rockabilly a little more into the Texas shuffle mainstream blues-pattern rock. Also Dave Alvin and the Guilty Men (one of the brothers in the Blasters). Hybrid picking seems to help but I haven't nailed it myself. To compensate for technique I turn up the analog delay and throw in a little amp trem. __________________ "Why don't you just make 10 louder, and make 10 be the top number, and make that a little louder?"

May 15th, 2008, 04:04 PM	#26 (permalink)
bradpdx Tele-Holic Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Portland, OR Age: 50 Posts: 857 1 Photos	My personal fave rockabilly guitar is Grady Martin's work with Johnny Burnette and the Rock 'N Roll Trio. The guitar is credited to Paul Burlison, but in fact very little is done by him - the real deal is Grady Martin on a solid body Bigsby in July 1956. Wonderful work with fabulous double stops and tone. Not hard to do, really - but very imaginative and executed like a madman. __________________ ---------- Tech Geek and Sensitive Artiste String bender ordinare!