The Cramps
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The Cramps were an American rock band formed in 1976 and active until 2006. Their lineup rotated frequently during their existence, with the husband-and-wife duo of singer Lux Interior and guitarist Poison Ivy the only ever-present members. The band are credited as progenitors of the
psychobilly Psychobilly is a rock music fusion genre that fuses elements of rockabilly and punk rock. It's been defined as "loud frantic rockabilly music", it has also been said that it "takes the traditional countrified rock style known as rockabilly, ram ...
subgenre, uniting elements of punk rock with
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 South. As a genre it blends the sound of Western musical styles such as country with that of rhythm and b ...
. The addition of guitarist Bryan Gregory and drummer Pam Balam resulted in the first complete lineup in April 1976. They released their debut album '' Songs the Lord Taught Us'' in 1980. The band split after the death of lead singer Interior in 2009.


History


1970s

Lux Interior (born Erick Lee Purkhiser) and Poison Ivy (born Kristy Marlana Wallace) met in
Sacramento, California ) , image_map = Sacramento County California Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Sacramento Highlighted.svg , mapsize = 250x200px , map_caption = Location within Sacramento C ...
, in 1972. In light of their common artistic interests and shared devotion to record collecting, they decided to form the Cramps. Lux took his
stage name A stage name is a pseudonym used by performers and entertainers—such as actors, comedians, singers, and musicians. Such professional aliases are adopted for a wide variety of reasons and they may be similar, or nearly identical, to an individu ...
from a car ad, and Ivy claimed to have received hers in a dream (she was first Poison Ivy Rorschach, taking her last name from that of the inventor of the
Rorschach test The Rorschach test is a projective psychological test in which subjects' perceptions of inkblots are recorded and then analyzed using psychological interpretation, complex algorithms, or both. Some psychologists use this test to examine a pe ...
). In 1973, they moved to
Akron, Ohio Akron () is the fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Summit County. It is located on the western edge of the Glaciated Allegheny Plateau, about south of downtown Cleveland. As of the 2020 Census, the city ...
, and then to New York in 1975, soon entering into CBGB's early punk scene with other emerging acts like
Suicide Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Mental disorders (including depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, personality disorders, anxiety disorders), physical disorders (such as chronic fatigue syndrome), and ...
, the
Ramones The Ramones were an American punk rock band that formed in the New York City neighborhood of Forest Hills, Queens, in 1974. They are often cited as the first true punk rock group. Despite achieving a limited commercial appeal in the United St ...
, Patti Smith,
Television Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertising, ...
, Blondie,
Talking Heads Talking Heads were an American rock band formed in 1975 in New York City and active until 1991.Talki ...
, and Mink DeVille. The lineup in 1976 was Poison Ivy Rorschach, Lux Interior, Bryan Gregory (guitar), and his sister Pam "Balam" (drums). In a short period of time, the Cramps changed drummers twice; Miriam Linna (later of Nervus Rex, the Zantees, and the A-Bones and co-owner of Norton Records) replaced Pam Balam, and Nick Knox (formerly with the
Electric Eels The electric eels are a genus, ''Electrophorus'', of neotropical freshwater fish from South America in the family Gymnotidae. They are known for their ability to stun their prey by generating electricity, delivering shocks at up to 860 volts ...
) replaced Linna in September 1977. In the late 1970s, the Cramps briefly shared a rehearsal space with
the Fleshtones The Fleshtones are an American garage rock band from Queens, New York, United States, formed in 1976. History 1976–1979 The Fleshtones were formed in 1976 in Whitestone, New York, by Keith Streng (born September 18, 1955, New York City) an ...
, and performed regularly in New York at clubs such as
CBGB CBGB was a New York City music club opened in 1973 by Hilly Kristal in Manhattan's East Village. The club was previously a biker bar and before that was a dive bar. The letters ''CBGB'' were for '' Country'', '' BlueGrass'', and '' Blues'', Kri ...
and
Max's Kansas City Max's Kansas City was a nightclub and restaurant at 213 Park Avenue South in New York City, which became a gathering spot for musicians, poets, artists and politicians in the 1960s and 1970s. It was opened by Mickey Ruskin (1933–1983) in Decem ...
, releasing two independent singles produced by Alex Chilton at
Ardent Studios Ardent Studios is an American recording studio located in Memphis, Tennessee, United States. History Ardent Studios was founded by John Fry and were initially a studio in his family's garage, where he recorded his first 45s for the Ardent ...
in Memphis in 1977 before being signed by
Miles Copeland III Miles Axe Copeland III (born May 2, 1944) is an American music and entertainment executive and former manager of The Police. Copeland later managed Sting's musical and acting career. In 1979, Copeland founded the I.R.S. Records label, producing ...
to the young
I.R.S. Records I.R.S. Records was an American record label founded by Miles Copeland III, Jay Boberg, and Carl Grasso in 1979. I.R.S. produced some of the most popular bands of the 1980s, and was particularly known for issuing records by college rock, new wave ...
label. Their first tour of Great Britain was as supporting act to
the Police The Police were an English rock band formed in London in 1977. For most of their history the line-up consisted of primary songwriter Sting (lead vocals, bass guitar), Andy Summers (guitar) and Stewart Copeland (drums, percussion). The Polic ...
on that band's first UK tour promoting '' Outlandos d'Amour''. In June 1978, they gave a landmark free concert for patients at the California State Mental Hospital in Napa, recorded on a
Sony , commonly stylized as SONY, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. As a major technology company, it operates as one of the world's largest manufacturers of consumer and professional ...
Portapak video camera by the San Francisco collective
Target Video Target Video (aka TargetVideo77) is a San Francisco-based studio, founded by artist Joe Rees, who collaborating with Jackie Sharp, Jill Hoffman, Sam Edwards and others, archived early art performance, punk and hardcore bands on video and film. Per ...
and later released as ''Live at Napa State Mental Hospital.'' Once back to the east coast, they played the revamped 1940s
swing Swing or swinging may refer to: Apparatus * Swing (seat), a hanging seat that swings back and forth * Pendulum, an object that swings * Russian swing, a swing-like circus apparatus * Sex swing, a type of harness for sexual intercourse * Swing ri ...
club "The Meadowbrook" in New Jersey, which had a huge stage and dance floor. Next they recorded two singles in New York City, which were later re-released on their 1979 '' Gravest Hits'' EP, before Chilton brought them back that year to Memphis to record their first full-length album, '' Songs the Lord Taught Us'', at Phillips Recording, operated by former Sun Records label owner Sam Phillips.


1980s

The Cramps relocated to Los Angeles in 1980 and hired guitarist Kid Congo Powers of the Gun Club. While recording their second LP, '' Psychedelic Jungle'', the band and Miles Copeland began to dispute royalties and creative rights. The ensuing court case prevented them from releasing anything until 1983, when they recorded '' Smell of Female'' live at New York's
Peppermint Lounge The Peppermint Lounge was a popular discotheque located at 128 West 45th Street in New York City that was open from 1958 to 1965, although a new one was opened in 1980. It was the launchpad for the global Twist craze in the early 1960s. Many claim ...
; Kid Congo Powers subsequently departed. Mike Metoff of
the Pagans The Pagans were an American punk rock band from Cleveland, Ohio, United States, that was originally active from 1977 to 1979. They reformed several times, from 1982-1983, from 1986-1989 and again in 2014-2017. Along with fellow Cleveland band ...
(cousin of Nick Knox) was the final second guitarist – albeit only live – of the Cramps' pre-bass era. He accompanied them on an extensive European tour in 1984 (that had been canceled twice because they could not find a suitable guitarist) which included four sold out nights at the
Hammersmith Palais The Hammersmith Palais de Danse, in its last years simply named Hammersmith Palais, was a dance hall and entertainment venue in Hammersmith, London, England that operated from 1919 until 2007. It was the first ''palais de danse''  to be ...
. They also recorded performances of "Thee Most Exalted Potentate of Love" and "You Got Good Taste" which were broadcast on 'The Midsummer Night's Tube 1984.' ''Smell of Female'' peaked at No. 74 in the
UK Albums Chart The Official Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales and (from March 2015) audio streaming in the United Kingdom. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the Official Charts ...
. The band appears in the 1982 film '' Urgh! A Music War''. In 1985 the Cramps recorded a one-off track for the horror movie ''
The Return of the Living Dead ''The Return of the Living Dead'' is a 1985 American comedy horror film written and directed by Dan O'Bannon in his directorial debut, and starring Clu Gulager, James Karen, Thom Matthews and Don Calfa. The film tells the story of how a wareh ...
'' called "Surfin' Dead", on which Ivy played bass as well as guitar. With the release of 1986's '' A Date With Elvis'', the Cramps permanently added a bass guitar to the mix, but had trouble finding a suitable player, so Ivy temporarily filled in as the band's bassist. Jennifer "Fur" Dixon joined them on the world tour to promote the album. Their popularity in the UK was at its peak as evidenced by the six nights at Hammersmith in London, three at the Odeon (as well as many other sell out dates throughout the UK) and then three at the Palais when they returned from the continent. Each night of the tour opened with the band coming on one at a time each: Knox, Fur, Ivy and then Lux before launching into their take on Elvis' "Heartbreak Hotel". The album featured what was to become a predominating theme of their work from here on: a move away from the B-movie horror focus to an increased emphasis on sexual double entendre. The album met with differing fates on either side of the Atlantic: in Europe, it sold over 250,000 copies, while in the U.S. the band had difficulty finding a record company prepared to release it until 1990. It also included their first
UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...
hit: "Can Your Pussy Do the Dog?" It was not until 1986 that the Cramps found a suitable permanent bass player: Candy del Mar (of Satan's Cheerleaders), who made her recorded debut on the raw live album '' RockinnReelininAucklandNewZealandxxx'', which was followed by the studio album '' Stay Sick'' in 1990. It spent one week at No. 62 in the UK Albums Chart in February 1990.


1990s

Candy del Mar and Knox left the band in 1991. The Cramps hit the Top 40 in the UK for the first and only time with "Bikini Girls with Machine Guns"; Ivy posed as such both on the cover of the single and in the promotional video for the song. The Cramps went on to record more albums and singles through the 1990s and 2000s, for various labels. When the band signed to The Medicine Label, a Warner Brothers imprint, in 1994 – the label made the announcement via a limited edition (500 copies) 12" live album of the Cramps' first two Max's Kansas City shows, given away to all ticket holders as they exited a secret CBGB show in early January of that year. In 1994, the Cramps made their national US television debut on '' Late Night with Conan O'Brien'' performing "Ultra Twist". In 1995 the Cramps appeared on the TV-series '' Beverly Hills, 90210'' in the Halloween episode "Gypsies, Cramps and Fleas". They played two songs in the episode: "Mean Machine" and "Strange Love". Lux Interior started the song by saying "Hey boys and ghouls, are you ready to raise the dead?". In honor of the success of the Cramps, the
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (RRHOF), sometimes simply referred to as the Rock Hall, is a museum and hall of fame located in downtown Cleveland, Ohio, United States, on the shore of Lake Erie. The museum documents the history of rock music and ...
has on display a shattered bass drum head that Lux's head went through during a live show.


2000s

On January 10, 2001, Bryan Gregory died at Anaheim Memorial Medical Center of complications following a
heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which ma ...
. He was 49. In 2002, the Cramps released their final album, ''Fiends of Dope Island'', on their own label, Vengeance Records. That same year, Lux Interior did a voiceover for the lead singer character of the band The Bird Brains on the animated TV show
SpongeBob SquarePants ''SpongeBob SquarePants'' (or simply ''SpongeBob'') is an American Animated series, animated Television comedy, comedy Television show, television series created by marine science educator and animator Stephen Hillenburg for Nickelodeon. It ...
singing 'Underwater Sun.' The song was written and composed by Stephen Hillenburg and Peter Strauss. The Cramps played their final shows in Europe in the summer of 2006 and their last live show was on November 4, 2006, at the
Marquee Theater Marquee Theatre (originally known as the Red River Opry or the Red River Music Hall) is a music venue in Tempe, Arizona. The theater sits on the north side of Tempe Town Lake near the Mill Avenue Bridge, at the intersection of Mill Avenue and ...
in
Tempe, Arizona , settlement_type = City , named_for = Vale of Tempe , image_skyline = Tempeskyline3.jpg , imagesize = 260px , image_caption = Tempe skyline as se ...
. On February 4, 2009, Lux Interior died at the Glendale Memorial Hospital after suffering an aortic dissection which, contrary to initial reports about a pre-existing condition, was "sudden, shocking and unexpected".


Style and influences

The Cramps' music is played at varying tempos, with a minimal drumkit. An integral part of the early Cramps sound was dual guitars, without a
bassist A bassist (also known as a bass player or bass guitarist) is a musician who plays a bass instrument such as a double bass (upright bass, contrabass, wood bass), bass guitar (electric bass, acoustic bass), synthbass, keyboard bass or a low b ...
. The focus of their songs' lyrical content and their image was camp humor, sexual double-entendre, and retro horror/sci-fi
b-movie A B movie or B film is a low-budget commercial motion picture. In its original usage, during the Golden Age of Hollywood, the term more precisely identified films intended for distribution as the less-publicized bottom half of a double feat ...
iconography. Their sound was heavily influenced by early
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 South. As a genre it blends the sound of Western musical styles such as country with that of rhythm and b ...
, such as
Jerry Lott Jerry may refer to: Animals * Jerry (Grand National winner), racehorse, winner of the 1840 Grand National * Jerry (St Leger winner), racehorse, winner of 1824 St Leger Stakes Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Jerry'' (film), a 2006 Indian film ...
AKA The Phantom, whose 1958 single 'Love Me' they covered,
rhythm and blues Rhythm and blues, frequently abbreviated as R&B or R'n'B, is a genre of popular music that originated in African-American communities in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predominantly ...
, and
rock and 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 ...
like
Link Wray Fred Lincoln "Link" Wray Jr. (May 2, 1929 – November 5, 2005) was an American guitarist, songwriter, and vocalist who became popular in the late 1950s. ''Rolling Stone'' placed Wray at No. 45 of the 100 greatest guitarists of all time. In 2013 ...
and Hasil Adkins, 1960s surf music acts such as the Ventures and Dick Dale, 1960s
garage rock Garage rock (sometimes called garage punk or 60s punk) is a raw and energetic style of rock and roll that flourished in the mid-1960s, most notably in the United States and Canada, and has experienced a series of subsequent revivals. The sty ...
artists like
the Standells The Standells are an American garage rock band from Los Angeles, California, formed in the 1960s, who have been referred to as a "punk band of the 1960s", and said to have inspired such groups as the Sex Pistols and Ramones. They are best kno ...
, the Trashmen, the Green Fuz and the Sonics, as well as the post- glam/early punk scene from which they emerged, as well as citing Ricky Nelson as being an influence during numerous interviews. They also were influenced by the
Ramones The Ramones were an American punk rock band that formed in the New York City neighborhood of Forest Hills, Queens, in 1974. They are often cited as the first true punk rock group. Despite achieving a limited commercial appeal in the United St ...
and Screamin' Jay Hawkins. Poison Ivy stated, "The failure of outsiders to acknowledge the influence of
blues Blues is a music genre and musical form which originated in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues incorporated spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts, chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads from the ...
and R&B on The Cramps is an omission bordering on racism. Rockabilly is rooted in the blues and we consider ourselves a blues band." The band used the phrases
gothabilly Gothabilly (sometimes hellbilly) is music genre influenced by rockabilly and 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 o ...
,
psychobilly Psychobilly is a rock music fusion genre that fuses elements of rockabilly and punk rock. It's been defined as "loud frantic rockabilly music", it has also been said that it "takes the traditional countrified rock style known as rockabilly, ram ...
and "rockabilly voodoo" to market their music. The term "psychobilly" was first used in the lyrics to the
country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, whi ...
song "
One Piece at a Time "One Piece at a Time" is a country novelty song written by Wayne Kemp and recorded by Johnny Cash and the Tennessee Three in 1976. It was the last song performed by Cash to reach No. 1 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles chart and the last of ...
", written by
Wayne Kemp Wayne Kemp (June 11, 1940 – March 9, 2015) was an American country music singer-songwriter. He recorded between 1964 and 1986 for JAB Records, Decca, MCA, United Artists, Mercury and Door Knob Records, and charted twenty-four singles on the ...
for
Johnny Cash John R. Cash (born J. R. Cash; February 26, 1932 – September 12, 2003) was an American country singer-songwriter. Much of Cash's music contained themes of sorrow, moral tribulation, and redemption, especially in the later stages of his c ...
, which was a Top 10 hit in the United States in 1976. The lyrics describe the construction of a "psychobilly
Cadillac The Cadillac Motor Car Division () is a division of the American automobile manufacturer General Motors (GM) that designs and builds luxury vehicles. Its major markets are the United States, Canada, and China. Cadillac models are distributed ...
using stolen auto parts." The Cramps have since rejected the idea of being a part of a psychobilly subculture, noting that "We weren't even describing the music when we put 'psychobilly' on our old fliers; we were just using carny terms to drum up business. It wasn't meant as a style of music." Nevertheless, The Cramps, along with artists such as Screamin' Jay Hawkins, are considered important precursors to psychobilly. Critics and journalists classified the Cramps' sound as psychobilly, gothabilly, garage punk, rockabilly, garage rock, horror punk, neo-rockabilly, punk rock and surf. The Cramps have influenced countless subsequent bands in the garage, punk and revival rockabilly styles.


Members

Final lineup * Lux Interior (Erick Purkhiser) – vocals, harmonica, percussion * Poison Ivy (Kristy Wallace) – guitar, theremin, bass *Harry Drumdini (Harry Meisenheimer) – drums


Timeline

ImageSize = width:800 height:auto barincrement:20 PlotArea = left:140 bottom:80 top:0 right:5 Alignbars = justify DateFormat = dd/mm/yyyy Period = from:01/01/1976 till:04/02/2009 TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal format:yyyy Legend = orientation:vertical position:bottom columns:1 ScaleMajor = unit:year increment:2 start:01/01/1976 scaleMinor = unit:year increment:1 start:01/01/1976 Colors = id:vocals value:red legend:Vocals id:guitar value:teal legend:Lead_guitar id:guitar2 value:brightgreen legend:Rhythm_guitar id:bass value:blue legend:Bass id:drums value:orange legend:Drums id:perc value:claret legend:Percussion id:lines1 value:black legend:Studio_album id:bars value:gray(0.95) BackgroundColors = bars:bars LineData = at:05/01/1980 color:black layer:back at:05/01/1981 color:black layer:back at:12/01/1986 color:black layer:back at:12/02/1990 color:black layer:back at:01/11/1991 color:black layer:back at:10/11/1994 color:black layer:back at:06/01/1997 color:black layer:back at:10/01/2003 color:black layer:back BarData = bar:LuxInterior text:Lux Interior bar:PoisonIvy text:Poison Ivy bar:BryanGregory text:Bryan Gregory bar:KidCongoPowers text:Kid Congo Powers bar:IkeKnox text:Ike Knox bar:ClickMort text:Click Mort bar:TouchHazard text:Touch Hazard bar:Fur text:Fur bar:CandyDelMar text:Candy del Mar bar:SlimChance text:Slim Chance bar:DoranShelley text:Doran Shelley bar:SugarPieJones text:SugarPie Jones bar:ScottFranklin text:Scott '"'Chopper'"' Franklin bar:SeanYseult text:Sean Yseult bar:PamBalam text:Pam Balam bar:MiriamLinna text:Miriam Linna bar:NickKnox text:Nick Knox bar:JimSclavunos text:Jim Sclavunos bar:NickeyAlexander text:Nickey Alexander bar:HarryDrumdini text:Harry Drumdini bar:BillBateman text:Bill '"'Buster'"' Bateman bar:JenHanrahan text:Jen Hanrahan bar:JimChandler text:'"'Jungle'"' Jim Chandler PlotData= width:11 bar:LuxInterior from:01/01/1976 till:end color:vocals bar:PoisonIvy from:01/01/1976 till:end color:guitar bar:PoisonIvy from:01/05/1980 till:01/12/1980 color:guitar2 width:3 bar:PoisonIvy from:05/01/1981 till:01/01/1985 color:bass width:3 bar:PoisonIvy from:01/11/1983 till:01/01/1984 color:guitar2 width:7 bar:PoisonIvy from:01/07/1984 till:01/01/1985 color:guitar2 width:7 bar:PoisonIvy from:01/01/1985 till:01/09/2002 color:guitar2 width:3 bar:PoisonIvy from:01/02/2006 till:end color:guitar2 width:3 bar:HarryDrumdini from:01/02/1993 till:01/07/2003 color:drums bar:HarryDrumdini from:01/09/2006 till:end color:drums bar:BryanGregory from:01/01/1976 till:01/05/1980 color:guitar2 bar:KidCongoPowers from:01/12/1980 till:01/09/1983 color:guitar2 bar:IkeKnox from:01/10/1983 till:01/11/1983 color:guitar2 bar:IkeKnox from:01/01/1984 till:01/07/1984 color:guitar2 bar:ClickMort from:01/01/1984 till:01/05/1984 color:guitar2 bar:ScottFranklin from:01/09/2002 till:01/02/2006 color:guitar2 width:3 bar:ScottFranklin from:01/09/2002 till:01/02/2006 color:bass bar:TouchHazard from:01/01/1985 till:01/12/1985 color:bass bar:Fur from:01/03/1986 till:01/05/1986 color:bass bar:CandyDelMar from:01/07/1986 till:01/01/1991 color:bass bar:SlimChance from:01/03/1991 till:01/08/1998 color:bass bar:DoranShelley from:01/08/1998 till:01/12/1999 color:bass bar:SugarPieJones from:01/01/2000 till:01/12/2000 color:bass bar:SeanYseult from:01/10/2006 till:01/11/2006 color:bass bar:PamBalam from:01/01/1976 till:01/09/1976 color:drums bar:MiriamLinna from:01/10/1976 till:01/06/1977 color:drums bar:NickKnox from:01/07/1977 till:01/01/1991 color:drums bar:JimSclavunos from:01/01/1991 till:01/12/1991 color:drums bar:NickeyAlexander from:01/06/1991 till:01/01/1993 color:drums bar:BillBateman from:01/06/2004 till:01/08/2006 color:drums bar:JenHanrahan from:01/06/2000 till:01/08/2000 color:perc bar:JimChandler from:01/01/2003 till:01/12/2003 color:perc


Discography


Studio albums

* '' Songs the Lord Taught Us'' (1980, Illegal) * '' Psychedelic Jungle'' (1981, I.R.S.) * '' A Date with Elvis'' (1986, Big Beat) * '' Stay Sick!'' (1990, Enigma) * ''
Look Mom No Head! ''Look Mom No Head!'' is the fifth studio album and the 10th album overall by the American rock band the Cramps. It was released in November 1991 by Restless/ Enigma, and licensed to Ace Records under Big Beat in the UK. It was recorded and mi ...
'' (1991, Enigma) * '' Flamejob'' (1994, The Medicine Label) * '' Big Beat from Badsville'' (1997,
Epitaph An epitaph (; ) is a short text honoring a deceased person. Strictly speaking, it refers to text that is inscribed on a tombstone or plaque, but it may also be used in a figurative sense. Some epitaphs are specified by the person themselves be ...
) * '' Fiends of Dope Island'' (2003, Vengeance)


EPs

* '' Gravest Hits'' (1979, Illegal) * ''Blues Fix'' (1992, Big Beat)


Live albums

* '' Smell of Female'' – (live at the Peppermint Lounge) (1983, Big Beat) * '' RockinnReelininAucklandNewZealandXXX'' (1987, Vengeance)


Compilations

* '' Off the Bone'' (1983, Illegal) * '' Bad Music for Bad People'' (1984, I.R.S.) * '' How to Make a Monster'' (2004, Vengeance) * ''The Cramps: File Under Sacred Music Early Singles 1978–1981'' (2012, Munster)


References


Further reading

* ''The Wild Wild World of the Cramps'' by Ian Johnston, 1990, Omnibus Press,


External links

*
Long Live Lux Interior
''Trebuchet Magazine'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Cramps, The 1976 establishments in New York (state) 2009 disestablishments in New York (state) American psychobilly musical groups Creation Records artists I.R.S. Records artists Gothabilly groups Musical groups established in 1976 Musical groups disestablished in 2009 Punk rock groups from New York (state) Surf music groups