Go Cat Go!: Rockabilly Music and Its Maker

Canadian academic and bandleader Morrison evaluates all rockabilly against what could easily be considered the dumb luck of Elvis Presley with that greasy combination of country blues and Sam Phillips's primitive studio wizardry. Unfortunately, the Presley rags-to-riches tale has been told so often it's nearly pointless here. And Morrison's claim that rockabilly became a national craze after Presley signed with RCA in 1956 fails to appreciate that fame and fortune continued to elude such rockabilly heroes and Presley pals as Charlie Feathers and Billy Lee Riley. Rockabilly has always been about local boys (and girls) playing against the odds of Presley's success. Morrison's at his keenest in profiles of the local stars, both true and would-be, of regional scenes that have intermittently thrived since the 1950s, in spite of changing musical fashions. When The Stray Cats did an unlikely star turn in the early 1980s, there was a renewed interest in rockabillly as a style of nearly everything--except music. Old-timers and traditionalists continued to pound out their tunes for the tiniest record labels around. It's too bad Go Cat Go! slights The Flat Duo Jets and '68 Comeback, two current bands truer to the original spirit of rockabilly than either The Stray Cats or The Cramps. Morrison sheds light on many worthy musicians here, but it seems there will always be many more forgotten. (Oct.)