Memphis Rockabilly Band

An excellent saloon Rock 'n' Roll act, the Memphis Rockabilly Band was from Boston, of all places. Richmond was one of their favorite towns, as they toured the East Coast for about ten years, beginning in the late-1970s. Perhaps there was an extra appreciation here then for Rockabilly music. There was a handful of popular bands based here playing in that style. The Bopcats and Shake and the Drakes were among the Fan District groups feeling/riding a revival wave of interest in Buddy Holly, Gene Vincent, Jerry Lee Lewis, Rick Nelson, et al, driven in great part by Brits such as Dave Edmunds and Nick Lowe (Rockpile).

Bill Coover

Memphis Rockabilly played at Hard Times a bunch of times. The band, fronted by Jeff Spencer, appeared at High on the Hog in 1980 and ‘81, when the annual throwdown was still being staged in the alley behind Chuck Wrenn’s house. Every year, it seemed, they would show up with a new bass player, as a fourth. Bill Coover (guitar, saxophone) and Terry Bingham (drums) were the other two regulars for the whole ride.

HOTH, each second Saturday of Hogtober since 1977, moved across the street into Libby Hill Park in 1983 to go legit; MRB returned to appear there in 1984, ‘85, ‘86 and ‘87. Six times, that’s got to be the record for HOTH appearances.

Over the last week, like many of my readers, I’ve given much thought to those salad days. I've seen so many faces from that time at the Harveys memorials. Bryan Harvey’s band then was The Dads. Dancing was enjoying a revival then, too. The Dads were a peppy band with quite a following among the region’s young Rock ‘n’ Rolls girls. It was a happening scene. Like any scene, I suppose you had to be there...

Here’s a link to a Memphis Rockabilly Band web site. I don’t know who put it up, but the facts look close to the truth. I did the illustration of Bill Coover above in 1984 for a series of Fan District trivia cards.