Welcome to the Club: The Women of Rockabilly (Video 2001)

Their stage antics were sassy, bordering on aggressive. Their vocal styles featured distinctly "unladylike" growls, hiccups and moans. Their lyrics spoke of parties and hot rods, ... See full summary »

Director:

Beth Harrington

Writer:

Beth Harrington

Stars:

Roy Acuff, Charline Arthur, La Vern Baker

1 nomination.

Cast

Credited cast:
Roy Acuff	...	Himself (archive footage)
Charline Arthur	...	Himself (archive footage)
La Vern Baker	...	Herself (archive footage)
Mary Bufwack	...	Herself (as Mary A. Bufwack)
Johnny Burnette	...	Himself (archive footage)
Rosanne Cash	...	Narrator
Larry Collins	...	Himself
Lorrie Collins	...	Herself
Al Dowling	...	Himself (archive footage) (as Big Al Dowling)
Rusty Goodman	...	Himself (archive footage)
Wanda Jackson	...	Herself
Brenda Lee	...	Herself
The Maddox Brothes and Rose	...	Themselves (archive footage)
Janis Martin	...	Herself
Robert K. Oermann	...	Himself (as Robert Oermann)

Storyline

Their stage antics were sassy, bordering on aggressive. Their vocal styles featured distinctly "unladylike" growls, hiccups and moans. Their lyrics spoke of parties and hot rods, flirtations and teen angst. To say that women such as Wanda Jackson, Brenda Lee, Janis Martin and Lorrie Collins were ahead of their time is a gross understatement. Uniquely American artists, yet loved by enclaves of dedicated fans the world over, these were the women of rockabilly music, rock and roll's country cousin. For a few brief moments, they burst onto a predominantly male scene with an unprecedented musical message of female assertiveness. They not only bucked the staid notion of what was appropriate to sing as a country star, but they also rejected the models of post-war femininity that were being marketed in the wider culture, models of suburban wedded bliss and a return to "traditional" motherhood. Some of these women were part of a natural evolution in country music, others were the product of ...

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Plot Keywords:

rockabilly | country music | 1950s | rockabilly music | music history | 

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Genres:

Documentary | Music

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Details

Official Sites:

Beth Harrington Productions

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

2001 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Independent Television Service (ITVS)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

60 min

Color:

Color

User Reviews

Rockabilly Lives On, Whether Male Or Female!

This hour-long documentary pays homage to a group of ladies who were far lesser-known that their male counterparts in the early years of rock 'n roll. They, like Carl Perkins, Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis, Gene Vincent and others, were performers on the cutting edge of 'rock, singing a mixture of country and rock which became to be known as "rockabilly."

This documentary doesn't get too political, crying over injustice of the women not getting the attention the men got, but it points it out and then shows us the talents of four female "rockabilly" performers of the era (mainly the 1950s). They are Janis Martin, Wanda Jackson Brenda Lee, and Lorrie Collins (with younger brother Larry as part of the "Collins Kids.") What really impressed me was who these women were today and their wonderful attitudes about the past and the present.

There is no bitterness, just some good memories and an appreciation that they are in demand today, some 40-50 years later! They all look pretty good, too, especially Brenda Lee who still has that youthful face.

Lee is probably the best-known of the group. Although it's not mentioned on this DVD, her Christmas song plays over loudspeakers in malls and about everywhere in every Christmas season.

It's mentioned here that Martin was "the female Elvis," the first big female rocker who moved and sang like "The King." She's still performing, as are all the others.

Jackson has some interesting stories about how she became a Christian, did Christian songs for about a decade and then was asked to come back when rockabilly was revived and has now done both ever since.

Collins and her brother both look good, too, and relate about how they split up for a while with some very bad feelings but now they, too, are back and performing.

That's the nicest part of this whole story that is on this documentary: the fact all are being recognized (better late than never) by a whole new generation who really appreciates their singing and playing. Nowhere are they more appreciated than in England, which has always revered the early rock and blues singers of America.

Although I was impressed with every lady here, the one person who stunned me was little Larry Collins. His big sister did the singing, but seeing the old black-and-white footage of that little 10-12-year-old playing the guitar and strutting on stage like Perkins and Presley combined. He was amazing, and a great guitar player, too. Like the women mentioned here, it's too bad he never became a star, either.

Whatever, all of these people come across a good folks and all of them are happy to still be entertaining people who love their music.

Long live rockabilly!