Haskel Adkins: “Teeny Weeny Waddy Kiss”
Let’s hear it for Haskel Adkins, one of the Wild Talents of American rockabilly, who gives new meaning to the phrase “self-produced.” In the fifties, he was a one-man band. He recorded in his garage, playing guitar, singing along and hitting a sock cymbal with his foot at the same time, to produce lo fi singles with handwritten labels that he hawked to hash houses and truck stops across his native West Virginia, where a fortunate few got to hear them on juke boxes. In the 80s and 90s, the Cramps and the psychobilly-rock Flat Duo Jets claimed Haskel as an influence.
Let’s hear it too for Phil Lee who didn’t release an album until he was a 47. Then he came out with The Mighty King of Love. He’s an amalgam of the Stones’ Keith Richards and any number of C&W stars.
Both remind me of Jerry Lee Lewis but run a though different filter. Haskel was pure rockabilly, raw as could be. Phil Lee is more C&W bag, with blues/rock influences.
Lastly, hurrah for Sleepy LaBeef, 6′ 7″, who, with six decades of rockabilly under his belt, is the only basso profound blues singer I know (except maybe for Screamin’ Jay). What about him?
They all three made good music, not just because it rocked but because it pushesdthe boundaries a bit. All three lie at the edge of performing respectability. That’s got be worth something. That they produced good music is a bonus.
ADDITIONAL LISTENING
Phil Lee: “She Ran Out of Give (Before I Ran Out of Take)”
Sleepy LaBeef: “Boogie Woogie Country Girl”
MUSIC & ME 