| Cockadoodledon't | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 2003 | |||
| Recorded | 2002–03, The Wagon, East Nashville, Tennessee | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Label | Bloodshot | |||
| Producer | J.D. Wilkes Mark Robertson | |||
| Legendary Shack Shakers chronology | ||||
| ||||
Cockadoodledon't is the third studio album by American rock band Legendary Shack Shakers. Released on April 22, 2003, the album established the band's presence on the alternative country scene. [3]
The Houston Press categorized Cockadoodledon't as an "atomic psychobilly album". [1] According to PopMatters , the style of Cockadoodledon't is defined by the Legendary Shack Shakers' detours from the album's overall sound, [4] which The Cleveland Scene said sounded like "if Tom Waits, Southern Culture on the Skids, and the brain trust behind Ren and Stimpy holed up in Johnny Cash's country cabin with an ample supply of beef jerky and moonshine". [2] AllMusic said that the album was defined by "horror-movie vocals by frontman 'Colonel' J. D. Wilkes straight out of the Lux Interior school and a hardcore, ragged combination of frayed blues, twisted bluegrass and ornery swamp". [5] The Cleveland Scene wrote that "Cockadoodledon't is to rockabilly these days what the Reverend Horton Heat was in the early 1990s and the Cramps were in the early 1980s [...] Intimately connected to the rhythm of the blues, but hell-bent on destroying rockabilly's constricting boundaries and image". [2] PopMatters wrote, "Even as the press release accompanying the album notes, Cockadoodledon't ain’t your typical alt-country. As a frame of reference they suggest imagining Iggy Pop fronting Southern Culture on the Skids [...] Their mastery over the 'old-timey' sound give them free rein to incorporate punk, blues, Southern rock and rockabilly into whatever psychotic stew they please." [4] The Cleveland Scene said that guitarist JoeBuck's playing on the album showed him as a "learned disciple of Ennio Morricone and Link Wray." [2]
"Bullfrog Blues" is a traditional song, while "Shake Your Hips" is a cover of a Slim Harpo song; the Legendary Shack Shakers' version incorporates the bassline from ZZ Top's "La Grange". [4] "Blood on the Bluegrass" is based on Rod Ferrell, a self-professed "vampire", who at the age of 16, murdered the parents of one of his 15-year-old followers. [4] According to PopMatters, this song resembles a murder ballad, in contrast to Wilkes' statement that the Legendary Shack Shakers "don’t do murder ballads, we do murder boogies". [4]
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| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [5] |
The album was reviewed by Stephen Haag of PopMatters.com, who concluded "All-at-once reverent, revisionist, greasy, and fun as hell, with summer upon us Cockadoodledon't should be the soundtrack to a thousand barbecues." [4] Bob Gendron writing for AVguide stated "A mind-blowing assault on bluegrass rhythms, cowboy country, roadhouse blues, and sweaty rock and roll fury, Cockadoodledon't makes Reverend Horton Heat sound like The Eagles." [6] Mojo magazine rated the album 3 stars out of 5 - "...Featuring fine ensemble work and blues harmonica. A real rush of blood to the head...". [7] And Hal Horowitz, writing for AllMusic, said "The music is fun, frantic, and nerve-wracking." [5]
Additional personnel: Mark Robertson, Paul Simmons, Donnie Herron, Jason Brown, "Handsome" Andy Gibson
Rockabilly is one of the earliest styles of rock and roll music. It dates back to the early 1950s in the United States, especially the South. As a genre it blends the sound of Western musical styles such as country with that of rhythm and blues, leading to what is considered "classic" rock and roll. Some have also described it as a blend of bluegrass with rock and roll. The term "rockabilly" itself is a portmanteau of "rock" and "hillbilly", the latter a reference to the country music that contributed strongly to the style. Other important influences on rockabilly include western swing, boogie-woogie, jump blues, and electric blues.
The Legendary Shack Shakers are an American rock band from Murray, Kentucky that was formed in 1995 by J.D. Wilkes. The original line-up formed the band out of a shared interest in rockabilly, blues and Western swing. Subsequently, the band gained prominence in the alternative country scene with a sound that encompassed rockabilly, blues, country and punk rock and a lyrical focus on Southern Gothic themes. Over time, the band's sound shifted to emphasize country music.
Joshua "J. D." Wilkes is an American visual artist, musician, amateur filmmaker and author. He is best known as the singer for the rock band Legendary Shack Shakers, and is also an accomplished harmonica player, having recorded for such artists as Merle Haggard, Sturgill Simpson, John Carter Cash, Mike Patton, and Hank Williams III in the American Masters film "Hank Williams: Honky Tonk Blues". His song "Swampblood" can be heard on the Grammy-nominated soundtrack for HBO's True Blood series. Wilkes is a resident of Paducah, Kentucky and is the author of two books, The Vine That Ate The South and Barn Dances and Jamborees Across Kentucky.
Joe Buck is the stage name of Jim Finklea, an American country and punk rock musician from Murray, Kentucky. His primary instruments are double bass and guitar.
Peter Hamilton Rowan is an American bluegrass musician and composer. He plays guitar and mandolin, yodels and sings. He is a seven-time Grammy Award nominee.
Roderick Justin "Rod" Ferrell is an American murderer and cult leader. He was a member of a loose-knit gang of teenagers from Murray, Kentucky, known as the "Vampire Clan". Ferrell claimed to be a 500-year-old vampire named Vesago, a character he created for himself after becoming obsessed with the role playing game Vampire: The Masquerade. It was his mother, Sondra Gibson, who first introduced this game to Rod. In 1998, Ferrell pleaded guilty to the double slaying of a couple from Eustis, Florida, becoming the youngest person in Florida on Death Row at that time. Originally sentenced to death, Ferrell's penalty has since been reduced to life imprisonment. In 2023, he married Stephanie Ferrell.
Swamp rock is a genre of rock music that originated in the mid-1960s as a fusion of rockabilly and soul music with swamp blues, country music and funk. The genre originated in Louisiana by artists such as Tony Joe White, but was subsequently popularized by California band Creedence Clearwater Revival.
"Shake Your Hips" is a song written by Louisiana bluesman Slim Harpo. He recorded it in February 1966 for producer J. D. Miller for a follow-up single to his hugely successful "Baby Scratch My Back". Miller's Excello Records released it as a single in June 1966 and in October, the song became the lead track for Slim Harpo's 1966 album Baby Scratch My Back, which was a long-term release in Excello's catalogue.
The Pine Hill Haints are an American traditional bluegrass/folk/honky tonk/country band from Alabama, though the band members themselves describe their unique southern roots music as "Alabama Ghost Music."
Believe is the fourth studio album by American rock band Legendary Shack Shakers, released in 2004. This album, along with Pandelirium (2006) and Swampblood (2007), form a trilogy of albums referred to as the "Tentshow Trilogy" by the band.
Pandelirium is the fifth studio album by American rock band Legendary Shack Shakers. It is the second album in the band's "Tentshow Trilogy", which began with Believe (2004) and concluded with Swampblood (2007).
Swampblood is the sixth studio album by American rock band Legendary Shack Shakers. It is the third and final entry in the band's "Tentshow Trilogy" of albums, after Believe (2004) and Pandelirium (2006).
JD Wilkes & The Dirt Daubers are an American roots music band. The frontman for the band is JD Wilkes of the Legendary Shack Shakers.
AgriDustrial is the seventh studio album by American rock band Legendary Shack Shakers. Released on April 13, 2010, the album was the only release by the band to feature guitarist Duane Denison as part of the band's line-up.
Kentucky Knife Fight was an American rock band from St. Louis, Missouri. Active since 2005, the band had been a congruent force alongside Pokey LaFarge, So Many Dynamos and Sleepy Kitty in bringing national attention to a re-emerging St. Louis music scene. Their sound is generally classified as Noir Blues, combining pre-rock elements of blues, dark-bluegrass, and jazz with punk, pop, and twang influences.
The Yawpers are a three-piece rock and roll band from Denver, Colorado. Their name is derived from a Walt Whitman poem, entitled "Song of Myself" from Leaves of Grass: "I sound my barbaric yawp over the roofs of the world." The Yawpers play in a unique setting of two acoustic guitar players and drummer, yet their music is played with "raucous glee comparable to seeing a metal band".
The Hooten Hallers are an American blues and rock and roll band that formed in Columbia, Missouri, in 2007.
Gothic country is a genre of country music rooted in early jazz, gospel, Americana, gothic rock, and post-punk. Its lyrics focus on dark subject matters. The genre has a regional scene in Denver.
