As a songwriter, I’ve written a lot of rockabilly songs. Some of them have been pretty good (in my opinion!), some certainly not that good. Many of my songs I have played in live shows and some have been well received by the audience while others have flopped a bit. So I’ve often contemplated the question, “What makes a great rockabilly song?” In trying to find the answer to that question, I have searched the great rockabilly songs of history. In this article, I’ll talk about some of the answers I’ve found. Of course, this is all my opinion and you may have different ideas about what makes a great rockabilly song, but it should be fun to explore together.
One of the obvious things about rockabilly that made the music so exciting in those early days was that it was fresh and new and different. For us modern rockabilly songwriters, we no longer have that element of surprise working for us and that can seem to make the job more difficult. But really, it wasn’t just the freshness that made those songs great. In fact, truly great songs still sound great even though we’ve been listening to them for 60 years. They still sound fresh and exciting, so there must be something to them beyond just the novelty of a new art form. If our modern rockabilly songs don’t measure up, we can’t hide behind the excuse that the genre isn’t new!
If I had to choose one word to describe this music, it would be energy. Great rockabilly music has a different kind of energy. Even the slower numbers keep you energized, like you never know if the song will stay slow or suddenly explode into rockabilly madness. And it doesn’t seem to matter how many times you’ve heard a song; you still anticipate the explosion. For me, no other music has the same energy as rockabilly. It’s a positive and happy energy that makes me smile every time I experience it!
Another important aspect of rockabilly is what I call “sleeping simplicity.” Or maybe you could call it “sleeper complexity”. Rockabilly songs are generally constructed quite simply. Chord progressions are pretty predictable. The song section structure is usually a simple alternation between verse and chorus with a musical break or two. Bridge sections are rare. There are not many surprises there. But this structural simplicity hides the complexity of the musical talent behind it. Guitar work is usually far from simple. Complex chord-based solos are intertwined with single-note tracks that can jump between minor and major musical scales at any time, not just within the same solo, but even within the same solo section! Carl Perkins was a master at this type of solo. And it’s not just that the guitar breaks. Hear how the lead guitar often weaves and intertwines with the vocals. It’s not just a selector shooting riffs at random. The musician seems to be almost capable of making the guitar part of the voice and is a complex talent.
Bass also adds its own unexpected complexity, especially in recordings or live performances that don’t use drums. The slap-bass style of many rockabilly bassists turns the bass into a double-duty instrument. Low notes sustain the low end, while slapping rhythms can get quite complex. But somehow, things get more complex with the bass when there’s a drummer because now the drums and the bass have to work together so they don’t compete on beats. While this is true with the interplay between bass and drums in any type of music, the rockabilly slap-bass player has to consider that additional aspect of the drum beat. The bassist must ensure that those handclaps blend seamlessly with the drummer’s rhythms. If they don’t, things get really sloppy really fast!
OK; those are just a few of my thoughts on what makes a great rockabilly song. I certainly don’t have it completely figured out yet and will continue to study it in my quest to get to the root of the answer. If you’re like me, you’ll find that analyzing music in this way adds to the joy of rockabilly music.
