So it was a shock to read that Lux Interior, frontman of the rockabilly/garage punk legends, The Cramps, died after a long bout with heart problems.
Kim Morgan sums it up best in article for the Huffington Post:
3. The Cramps blasted rockabilly out of the tired retro affectations of the perfectly coiffed, Eisenhower youth, rock-and-roll-at-the-hop-hop-hop-hop tedium. They knew Link Wray was a bad-ass. They worshipped crazy man Hasil Adkins. They dug the Sonics, Screamin' Jay Hawkins, The Ventures and they brought bump and grind to Jimmie Rogers. Fuck Fonzie. Long live Lux.
I couldn't have said any of it better. Forget the heavily overrated Stray Cats. The Cramps made Rockabilly cool again.
FYI. None of these are certain to be safe for work.
The Cramps-Tear It Up (from the movie Urgh! A Music War):
The Cramps-Bikini Girls with Maching Guns:
The Cramps-Creature from the Black Leather Lagoon:
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2 comments:
One of my most amazing Rock memories was working backstage at a festival at the Desert Sky Pavilian where the Cramps were headlining. The monitors were turned up full blast to the point of unrecognizable distortion. Lux ripped a hole in his orange jumpsuit - exposing his penis to the crowd. The crowd was insane. The show was disturbing and intense. The Desert Sky management was so upset when they played past their "curfew" that then cut power in the middle of the set - at which point Lux flew into a rage and smashed his mikestand into the stage - leaving a 6" hole. It was awesome. The Cramps were the real deal - Rockabilly Punk to the core.
Yep. They were one of a kind.
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