Rockabilly in Virginia

At STYLE Weekly Brent Baldwin writes about a new CD release that documents Rockabilly in Virginia.

Thanks to a double CD set, released just last week, “Virginia Rocks! The History of Rockabilly in the Commonwealth” (on British label, JSP Records) — unsung local rockabilly acts such as the Rock-A-Teens are finally getting their due. The collection, part of a larger exhibit from the Blue Ridge Institute and Museum at Ferrum College in Southwest Virginia, features the likes of “female Elvis” Janis Martin, Roy Clark, Patsy Cline, Link Wray, Wayne Newton and Norfolk legend Gene Vincent — hero to future rock gods John Lennon, Bob Dylan and Jim Morrison.

“This is a part of Virginia history that rarely gets talked about,” says Don Harrison of local blog Save Richmond fame. Harrison and Charlottesville’s Brent Hosier spent the last several years conducting more than 75 interviews and writing extensive liner notes for the project from research funded by the Virginia Foundation for the Humanities.

Click here to read the entire piece.