Lee Rocker took on his role as one of the founding members of the rockabilly revival band Stray Cats when he was only 17 years old. When the Stray Cats formed in 1979 and made their initial musical mark in England before coming back to the U. S. as an early 80's rage, most people thought of rockabilly as a nostalgic form of music only good for "Back To The 50's" parties. Stray Cats meteoric rise brought the original rock n' roll into the modern age.
Although Stray Cats have long since disbanded (except for a short lived reunion in 1986), of the three original members of Stray Cats (including Brian Setzer and Slim Jim Phantom), upright bassist Rocker has remained most faithful to his musical roots. In addition to his other bands, including Phantom, Rocker & Slick and Big Blue, Rocker has worked with several other giants of rockabilly including Dave Edmunds and the late, great Carl Perkins.
Rocker has maintained an active solo career since Stray Cats, most recently heard in his current release on 33rd Street Records, Bulletproof. Along with band mates Brophy Dale (guitar, vocals, slide), Tara Novick (guitar, acoustic guitar) and Jimmy Sage (drums), Rocker continues to work hard to preserve the character and authenticity of one of the original styles of American music.
Eight of the fourteen songs on Bulletproof are written or co-written by Lee Rocker in collaboration with Dale, Novick or former musical partner Jim Phantom. Additionally, Tara Novick provides two original songs of his own, the opener, "Evil," and "Little Lies." The four other songs on the CD are covers by the likes of Carl Perkins ("One More Shot"), Johnny Cash ("Johnny, Frankie's Man") and Lennon/McCartney ("I'll Cry Instead").
Throughout Bulletproof, Rocker and his compadres remain true to the musical style, not trying to turn it into something different, or offering "new" or "updated" variations. In fact, the rockabilly version of a song like Lennon and McCartney's, "I'll Cry Instead," lends itself very well to the rockabilly style and Rocker pulls off his version of the song quite nicely. The other members of the band are talented musicians and the result is a very tight and clean sound. Rocker handles most of the lead vocals on the recording with a couple of songs that appear to feature Brophy Dale on vocals.
Iif you are a lover of good rockabilly, or original American music as referred to by Rocker, you will find Bulletproof to be a well-made and entertaining recording that is guaranteed to get you shimmyin' and shakin' throughout. To find out more about Lee Rocker's latest release, Bulletproof, visit his website at www.leerocker.com.
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