Twangs for the memories

of a niche musical preference these days, but rockabilly is one of the most influential genres in the development of modern music. It's also an awful lot of fun to see live - as local fans of twangy, country-influenced retro 1950s rock will soon have a chance to find out for themselves.

The Dirty Boogie Rockabilly Festival, which takes place at the Fringe Club on July 20, brings together a collection of Asia's quiffiest, most sharp-suited rockers for a celebration of the style of music that dominated the early days of rock 'n' roll: The Bembol Rockers from The Philippines; Sugar Lady from Taiwan; and Hong Kong's very own The Boogie Playboys. With The Bembol Rockers' DJ Marc Steady also spinning, and a retro dress code emphasising a distinctly dapper '50s look, along with live tattooing and hairdressing, it should be quite a party. Steady says he and his band have visited Hong Kong four or five times during the five years since they formed, and "compared to when we started playing there, the crowd right now is getting much bigger. It's a very nice crowd in Hong Kong - a real party crowd."

But then rockabilly has always been party music. It emerged in the early 1950s, mostly in the American South, as a fast, rhythm-driven, danceable form of popular music that drew on many traditions; its name is a portmanteau of "rock" and "hillbilly", the latter a common name for country music at the time. It was then that it developed its characteristic sound, still intact today: a propulsive, stomping blend of classic three-chord rock guitar sequences and a pitch-bending country twang, with a hefty dollop of echo and reverb.

That sound has a good case for being the most important and influential genre in the formation of modern music. Its emergence was a pivotal moment in mid-20th-century musical history, laying the path for rock 'n' roll and all that followed. Specifically, it was the point where "white" country and bluegrass met "black" blues, R&B and jazz.

It was the bedrock of the music produced by many of the greats of early rock 'n' roll: Elvis Presley, Carl Perkins, Johnny Cash, Gene Vincent, Bill Haley, Buddy Holly, Roy Orbison, Eddie Cochran - all made rockabilly music.As well as bands that faithfully follow the '50s template, many other musicians have been influenced by the genre, from The Beatles to the Rolling Stones to The Who to Led Zeppelin; even Morrissey dabbled in the 1990s. Plus there's a Rockabilly Hall of Fame, launched in 1997, with Gene Vincent the first inductee - predictably, it's in Nashville.

As well as "pure" rockabilly bands with an authentic, retro, '50s sound, the genre has also proved most adept at drawing in other influences. During the late '70s and early '80s, at the same time as the '50s-revivalist Stray Cats were sweeping all before them, rockabilly also got spiked with everything from punk to metal to goth, in the process creating edgier, campier, horror-influenced work such as that of The Cramps and The Meteors - the latter the standard bearers for the combative sub-genre known as psychobilly. Other rockabilly hits of that era ran the gamut from the infectiously catchy (Queen's Crazy Little Thing Called Love) to the monstrously cheesy (the entire output of Shakin' Stevens).