Gothabilly
{{Use mdy dates|date=November 2022}}
{{short description|Music genre}}
{{Infobox music genre
| name = Gothabilly
| image = File:Cramps1982-07.jpg
| caption = The Cramps in 1982
| other_names = Hellbilly
| stylistic_origins = {{flatlist|
}}
| cultural_origins = Late 1970s, United States
| regional_scenes = Mainly the United States and England but growing in popularity in many Scandinavian countries.
| other_topics = {{Flatlist|*Gothic country
}}
Gothabilly (sometimes hellbilly) is music genre influenced by rockabilly and the goth subculture. The name is a portmanteau word that combines gothic and rockabilly, first used by the Cramps in the late 1970s to describe their somber blend of rockabilly and punk rock.{{cite news|last = Uutela|first = Deanna|title = Case of the Zombies|place = Eugene, Oregon|newspaper = Eugene Weekly|date = October 4, 2007|url = http://www.eugeneweekly.com/2007/10/04/music4.html|access-date = April 16, 2009|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20090430170259/http://www.eugeneweekly.com/2007/10/04/music4.html|archive-date = April 30, 2009|url-status = dead}} Since then, the term has come to describe a fashion style influenced by gothic fashion, as seen in its use of black silks, satins, lace and velvet, corsets, top hats, antique jewellery, PVC, and leather.
Characteristics
Gothabilly is distinctly different in sound from psychobilly. While psychobilly fuses 1950s rockabilly with 1970s punk rock in a faster, more aggressive sound, gothabilly fuses bluesy rockabilly with gothic piano and guitar, and is defined by having slower tempos and emphasizing mood over aggression.{{cite web |url=https://auxiliarymagazine.com/2009/03/05/an-introspective-into-gothabilly/ |title=An introspective into gothabilly |last=Hendrickson |first=Meagan |date=March 5, 2009 |website= |publisher=Auxiliary Magazine |access-date=2022-11-29 |archive-date=November 29, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221129134607/https://auxiliarymagazine.com/2009/03/05/an-introspective-into-gothabilly/ |url-status=dead }}
History
The Cramps have been credited with coining the term "gothabilly". The term was not popularized until the release of a series of international gothabilly compilation albums released by Skully Records in the mid-1990s.Valarie Thorpe: Interview with [https://web.archive.org/web/20041215103634/http://www.reallyscary.com/interviewghoultown.asp Ghoultown's Count Lyle], reallyscary.com. Retrieved on April 14, 2009{{cite news |last = Kirst|first = Sean|title = A Halloween Greatest Hit...The Tale of Skully Records|newspaper = The Post-Standard|place = Syracuse, New York|date = October 31, 2007|url = http://www.syracuse.com/kirst/index.ssf/2007/10/a_halloween_greatest_hit_the_t.html|access-date = April 16, 2009}}
Gothabilly is particularly active in the western portion of the United States, with many of today's bands originating in California.Johnson, Daniel (April 9), "The Growth of Gothabilly", RSEE, Riverside County, CA.