Hometown Celebration of the Birth of Rockabilly
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JACKSON, Tenn. – After all the fireworks have ended, the music of Elvis Presley will fill the air as a celebration reminder of the birth of Rockabilly. On July 5, 1954 ‘The King’ introduced the world to rockabilly. Harry Harrison is the founder and president of the International Rockabilly Hall of Fame museum and said the radio announcement was something one could not forget. “It sounded like this, ‘Hello all you cats out there. This is your friend Dewey Philips, I am at the Hotel Chisca on the magazine floor bringing you the red, hot, and blue and you’re listening to WHBQ,'” he said. Following that, the sound of Elvis Presley’s first record “That’s All Right Mama” aired and the audiences went wild. Lee Gaugh is a volunteer at the International Rockabilly Hall of Fame museum and explained, “In many ways this was a pivotal point. Some people would say is the birth of rock and roll, Elvis Presley record, ‘That’s All Right” brought the world stage this sound we call rockabilly this mixture of blues or hill billy or country and gospel.” Nearly 60 years later, Henry Harrison wantED to recreate history of the music. “We are bringing in magazines, video tapes of what actually happened in Elvis’s life and especially when his first record was aired and we’re very very fortunate to have some of his band member’s tell those great stories,” Harrison said. A birthday celebration of music in the hometown where many believe Rockabilly was born. “We celebrate that here and it’s important to remember history and remember where it came from,” said Gaugh. “You know truthfully, Elvis Presley has never left the business even today, July the 5th of 2013, he is still everywhere,” Harrison added.
