Rokabilly Legend

One of the secret heroes of American music, Mississippi born singer Warren Smith released some of the finest Rockabilly sides ever recorded, and composed songs that would have a lasting influence on the development of not only rock ‘n’ roll, but of country, R&B and folk as well. Frenetic rockers like “Ubangi Stomp” and “Uranium Rock” set clever jibes at ‘50’s social mores to an infectious beat, and have proved to have a lasting appeal not only to rockabilly fanatics, but to latter-day punks like the Cramps, X and others, who related to Smith’s tongue-in-cheek outrageousness. As compelling as these sides are Smith had a stunningly eclectic repertoire, and was as capable of injecting time worn pathos into a folk ballad like “Black Jack David” as he was of writing countrified tales of romantic loss and infidelity. The stunning “Red Cadillac and A Black Mustache” boasts such economic storytelling and powerful symbolism that it attracted the admiration of Bob Dylan, who has been known to cover it frequently in concert. Though less famous than Sun label-mates like Jerry Lee Lewis and Carl Perkins, Warren Smith is every bit their worthy contemporary.