The Rebels was a

rockabilly 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 Southern United States, South. As a genre it blends the sound of Western music (North America), Western music ...

band from Dallas, Texas that recorded "

School of Rock 'n Roll "School of Rock 'n Roll" is a song composed by James McClung in 1958 and published by Song Productions, BMI the same year. It was originally recorded by American rockabilly singer Gene Summers and his Rebels, and was first released in Februar ...

" and " Straight Skirt" with

Gene Summers David Eugene Summers (January 3, 1939 – February 17, 2021) was an American rockabilly singer, songwriter and guitarist. His most famous recordings include the late 50s "School of Rock 'n Roll", "Straight Skirt", " Nervous", "Gotta Lotta That ...

. The group consisted of James McClung (guitar), Gary Moon (drums) and Benny Williams (slap bass). They were soon joined by pianist Bill Brown who played on some of their early personal appearances. They were one of the first

rock 'n roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock 'n' roll, or rock 'n roll) is a genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It originated from African-American music such as jazz, rhythm an ...

bands to record using the name "Rebels" (February 1, 1958), preceding

Duane Eddy Duane Eddy (born April 26, 1938) is an American rock and roll guitarist. In the late 1950s and early 1960s, he had a string of hit records produced by Lee Hazlewood, which were noted for their characteristically "twangy" sound, including "Rebel- ...

's Rebels by at least six months and the "

Wild Weekend "Wild Weekend" is an instrumental written by Phil Todaro and Tom Shannon and performed by The Rockin' Rebels. It reached #8 on the U.S. pop chart and #28 on the U.S. R&B chart in 1963. The song was originally recorded as the theme for Shanno ...

" Rebels by more than two years.

History

The Rebels began their musical career in 1957 while in high school at

Duncanville, Texas Duncanville is a city in southwest Dallas County, Texas, in the United States. Duncanville's population was 40,706 at the 2020 census. The city is part of the Best Southwest area, which includes Duncanville, Cedar Hill, DeSoto, and Lancaster ...

, joining forces with another classmate and singer

. They appeared together on high school assembly programs and soon were playing gigs at the

Carswell Air Force Base Carswell Air Force Base is a former United States Air Force (USAF) base, located northwest of Fort Worth, Texas. For most of its operational lifetime, the base's mission was to train and support heavy strategic bombing groups and wings. Carswe ...

which at that time was located Northwest of Ft. Worth, Tx. At one of these shows they met a country music comedian nicknamed "Cornbread" who was appearing on a TV show hosted by Neal Jones on KRLD-TV in Dallas. Cornbread was impressed with Summers and The Rebels and invited them to appear on the TV program. This led them to a regular, weekly spot on another television program, also on KRLD, called "Joe Bill's Country Picnic" in the fall of 1957. It was while appearing on this show that they were discovered by songwriter Jed Tarver. He wanted them to record his songs " Straight Skirt", " Nervous", "

I'll Never Be Lonely ''I'll Never Be Lonely'' is a song written by Mary Tarver in 1958 and published by Ted Music, BMI. It was first recorded by Gene Summers and His Rebels in 1958 and issued by Jan/Jane Records that same year. "I'll Never Be Lonely" was recorded a ...

", "

Gotta Lotta That "Gotta Lotta That" is a song written by Bernice Bedwell in 1958 and published by Song Productions, BMI. It was first recorded by Gene Summers and His Rebels in 1958 and issued by Jan/Jane Records. The "Gotta Lotta That" recording session took pl ...

" and "

Twixteen "Twixteen" is a song written by Mary Tarver in 1958 and published by Ted Music, BMI. It was first recorded by Gene Summers and His Rebels in 1958 and issued by Jan/Jane Records. The "Twixteen" recording session took place at the Liberty Records ...

". With the assistance of their manager/agent, Thomas Wolverton, Tarver was able to get them an audition with Jan Records, a newly formed Dallas label. Their first release on Jan was on February 1, 1958 and featured Tarver's " Straight Skirt" composition flipped with an original James McClung song "

". "Straight Skirt" became a regional chart hit and The Rebels found themselves appearing at record hops, concerts and radio and television shows throughout the country. After touring for several months, Williams and Moon decided to pursue other interests and left the band. McClung and Summers replaced them with other musicians and The Rebels continued to perform until 1961. After this, the group disbanded. Summers continued a solo career and was still recording and touring well into the 21st century in both the USA and abroad.

References

* * * * *Solly, Bob. (2005). "100 Greatest Rock 'n' Roll Records". Diamond Publishing Company LTD, UK. . UPC 9-771746805006. *''Go Cat Go'' by Craig Morrison (published by University Of Illinois Press United States 1998) *Article and sessionography in issue No. 15 of New Kommotion Magazine 1977 UK *Article and sessionography in issue 23 (1980) of New Kommotion Magazine UK *Feature article with photo spread in issue 53 of Bill Griggs' Rockin' 50s Magazine, 2002 United States *Feature article with photo spread in issue 54 of Bill Griggs' Rockin' 50s Magazine, 2002 United States *Feature article and sessionography in issue 74 (1999) of Rockin' Fifties Magazine Germany *Full Cover photo and article in issue 28 of UK Rock Magazine, 2006 UK *Liner notes, '' The Ultimate School Of Rock & Roll'' CD 1997 United States *Liner notes, ''Rockaboogie Shake'' CD 1999 UK *Liner notes, ''School Of Rock 'n Roll'' 1994, Netherlands
Rockabilly Hall of Fame Page
retrieved on August 6, 2008. {{DEFAULTSORT:Rebels, The Rockabilly music groups Musical groups established in 1957 Musical groups disestablished in 1961 Musical groups from Dallas Jubilee Records artists Apex Records artists University of Texas at Arlington alumni