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Tag: rockabilly

Hillbilly Boogie to Psychobilly
RockabillyView: Hillbilly Boogie to Psychobilly StompBy Midddagh Goodwin A key component and root sound of Rockabilly and, in turn, Rock n’ Roll can be traced back to the Doghouse slap bass style of Fred Maddox. The Maddox Brothers and Rose started playing music in Modesto in 1937 and garnered crowds wherever they played. Bill Black, […]

The Beat is Back in Modesto
MAMAView: The Beat is Back in ModestoBy Middagh Goodwin If your New Year resolution was to go to more live concerts, then 2023 will start with one heck of a bang. On the third weekend of January, it will feel like music in Modesto is officially back. There will be four not to miss musical […]

RockabillyView: Celebrating Modesto’s Roots in Music
RockabillyView: Celebrating Modesto’s Roots in MusicBy Middagh Goodwin A key component and root sound of Rockabilly and in turn Rock n’ Roll can be traced back to the Doghouse slap bass style of Fred Maddox. The Maddox Brothers and Rose started playing music in Modesto back in 1937 and garnered crowds wherever they played. Bill […]

GoDowntown: Rockabilly Cruise Night
GoDowntown: Rockabilly Cruise NightIt has been over 6 years since America’s premier psychobilly band, the Koffin Kats have played the 209(the Gypsy Shack in Sonora) and longer since they last graced a stage in Modesto. They have not played the West Coast for over 2 years due to the pandemic and are ready to get […]

Walk of Fame Legends of the Cruise 2021
The Walk of Fame By Chris Murphy Back in 2012, when I approached George Lucas about getting involved in the Modesto Historic Cruise Route, I explained that our mission was simply to tell the stories behind the story that he told. He liked the idea and made a video that you can view at www.modestocruiseroute.com […]

2021 Legends of the Cruise Walk of Fame – Modesto Area Street Rods
Modesto Area Street Rod Association by Ray Lee 46 years ago, a group of guys and gals with a passion for street rods started our club, the Modesto Area Street Rod Association. Remember the year 1975? Cruising the streets of Modesto was still legal and cruising we did. This was our form of communication. What […]

2021Graffiti Legends of the Cruise Sam Gottshall
Sam Gottshall By Gayle Gottshall Sam Gottshall was born and raised in Modesto. Sam attended Downey High School and Modesto Junior College. He has been involved with old cars and hot rods since the age of 12. Sam’s cousin, whom was 6 years older, had a 1941 Willies Quarter mile car, and from that time […]

2021 Legends of the Cruise Walk of Fame – John Kearney
John Kearney My family moved to Modesto, CA in 1949. I attended Thomas Downey High School and graduated in 1961 one year ahead of George Lucas. Upon graduation I joined the United States Air Force and served 4 years in Strategic Air Command as an MP. While I was still in high school I started […]

2021 Graffiti Legends of the Cruise Walk of Fame – Jack Flower
Jack Flower Jack Flower was one of Downey High class of 1960s fastest graduates. Driving a 1955 2- door Chevy Bel Air, his car was known around the region. Soon after graduation, Jack went to work for George Reed, Inc, essentially building the streets he was cruising and driving on. In 1969 he had the […]

2021 Legends of the Cruise Mike Fenley
Mike Fenley By Chris Murphy Mike Fenley met his future wife Lisa when she picked him up to cruise McHenry in 1968 and the rest is history. Mike worked in his family business of the 5 Minute Car Wash since he was 12 years old. The first location at McHenry & Mensinger opened in 1963 […]

2021 Legends of the Cruise Walk of Fame – Marvin Narbaitz
Marvin Narbaitz By Dennis Wilson Marvin moved to Modesto in 1958 and was a classmate of George Lucas in Downey 1962. At 16 he started driving his mom’s car that he took to Smitty’s muffler where they’d heat your coils for $2 a side to lower front but only did one coil hoping she wouldn’t […]

MAMAView: Sounds of Summer
MAMAView: Sounds of Summer By Middagh Goodwin It is Summer and usually, that means lots of live music being played out on the patio and in the bars. Last year, for the most part, was silent, this year we have been able to hear music on the patio and in courtyards and things are picking […]
RockabillyView – The Pendletons are Back
Tony Trevino and the Pendletons By Chris Murphy Something wonderful in the local music world has happened. As we talk about Women’s History Month, one of Modesto’s adopted greats is Rose Maddox. In 1938, she and her brothers, Fred and Clay, began a band on KTRB that would be hillbilly boogie, later with her family, […]

BigView – The 1950s A Decade Full of Optimism
A Decade of Optimism, Growth, and Prosperity By Ken White Let’s rewind to a valley not so far away, not so long ago. To a nostalgic decade when the world was simpler, Ike was president, the music sweeter, and cruising was king. It was an innocent time in Modesto. Native-son George Lucas described it as […]

1937 – The Birth of Rockabilly
Modesto’s Rockabilly Roots put the “Rock” in the Roll By Chris Murphy In 1937, the first notes of Rock and Roll aired over Modesto radio station KTRB 860. The trail of the history of Rock and Roll and the music and the people that inspired Rock and Roll leads directly to Modesto’s doorstep. Yes my […]