Imagine Hank Williams, Robert Johnson, Jerry Lee Lewis, Bo Diddley, Johnny Cash, Screamin’ Jay Hawkins, George Jones, Leadbelly, Woody Guthrie, Dolemite, Thomas Edison, Uncle Jesse, Grandpa Munster, Groucho Marx, Johnny B. Goode, Casanova, Pretty Boy Floyd, and Sitting Bull in one body...
And the vision that will appear in your reeling head will be Hasil Adkins, a giant in the field of demented rockabilly. He was a primal influence on the Cramps and once recorded an entire album devoted to chickens. If you want to hear the man in all his glory, check out this lurching lo-fi Real Audio recording of his ode to romantic decapitation, We Got A Date. (It's the start of an archived WFMU radio show.)
Sadly, he passed away in his West Virginia home last week at the age of 68.
(FOOTNOTE: The opening quote comes from his official site.)
Posted by Warren at May 4, 2005 01:59 AM | Outsider