Photo: Constancio in leather, Las Vegas, 2005. © Alexander Thompson.
Chicos in plaid Western shirts spotted on way to car show, Las Vegas, 2005. © Alexander Thompson.
In the 1950s, Rockabilly music burst on the scene in the form of Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Buddy Holly, and Bill Haley. Coming out of the American South, it fused country music with rhythm & blues, bluegrass, and boogie woogie into a sound all its own.
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But it wasn’t just a sound: it was a style and attitude as well, defined by James Dean in Rebel Without a Cause and Marlon Brando in The Wild One. It was leather jackets and jeans, pompadours and tattoos, pin-up girls and burlesque, hot rods and drag races. It was an act of defiance against an oppressive society.
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In the decades since, Rockabilly has taken different forms, enjoying a resurgence in the 1970s with the Teddy Boys and Girls in London and an American revival with the Stray Cats during the 1980s. Since then, it’s maintained its place among subcultures, paying homage to the roots of teenage rebellion in music, fashion, and cars – most notably among the Latinx community on the West Coast.
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Photo: Paulina dancing with beau, Las Vegas, 2006. © Alexander Thompson.
Turban head, Las Vegas, 2010. © Alexander Thompson.