''Cockadoodledon't'' is the third studio album by American rock band

Legendary Shack Shakers The Legendary Shack Shakers (originally Those or Th' ) are an United States, 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 ...

. Released on April 22, 2003, the album established the band's presence on the

alternative country Alternative country (commonly abbreviated to alt-country; also known as alternative country rock, insurgent country, Americana, or y'allternative) is a loosely defined subgenre of country music and/or country rock that includes acts that diffe ...

scene.

Musical style

The Houston Press The ''Houston Press'' is an online newspaper published in Houston, Texas, United States. It is headquartered in the Midtown area. It was also a weekly print newspaper until November 2017. The publication is supported entirely by advertising ...

'' categorized ''Cockadoodledon't'' as an "atomic

psychobilly Psychobilly (or punkabilly) is a rock music fusion genre that fuses elements of rockabilly and punk rock. It has been defined as "loud frantic rockabilly music", it has also been said that it "takes the traditional country rock, countrified rock ...

album". According to ''

PopMatters ''PopMatters'' is an international online magazine of cultural criticism that covers aspects of popular culture. ''PopMatters'' publishes reviews, interviews, and essays on cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, ...

'', the style of ''Cockadoodledon't'' is defined by the

' detours from the album's overall sound, which '' The Cleveland Scene'' said sounded like "if

Tom Waits Thomas Alan Waits (born December 7, 1949) is an American musician, composer, songwriter, and actor. His lyrics often focus on society's underworld and are delivered in his trademark deep, gravelly voice. He began in the American folk music, fo ...

Southern Culture on the Skids Southern Culture on the Skids, also sometimes known as SCOTS, is an American rock band from Chapel Hill, North Carolina. The band released their debut EP ''Voodoo Beach Party'' in 1984, followed by their self-titled debut album the following ...

, and the brain trust behind ''

Ren and Stimpy ''The Ren & Stimpy Show'', commonly referred to as simply ''Ren & Stimpy'', is an American animated comedy television series created by John Kricfalusi for Nickelodeon. The series follows the misadventures of Ren Höek, an emotionally unstab ...

'' holed up in

Johnny Cash John R. Cash (born J. R. Cash; February 26, 1932 – September 12, 2003) was an American singer-songwriter. Most of his music contains themes of sorrow, moral tribulation, and redemption, especially songs from the later stages of his career. ...

's country cabin with an ample supply of beef jerky and moonshine". ''

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

'' said that the album was defined by " horror-movie vocals by frontman 'Colonel' J. D. Wilkes straight out of the

Lux Interior Erick Lee Purkhiser (October 21, 1946 – February 4, 2009), better known by the stage name Lux Interior, was an American singer and a founding member of the American rock band the Cramps from 1976 until his death in 2009 at age 62. Early life B ...

school and a hardcore, ragged combination of frayed

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form that originated among African Americans in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues has incorporated spiritual (music), spirituals, work songs, field hollers, Ring shout, shouts, cha ...

, twisted bluegrass and ornery swamp". ''The Cleveland Scene'' wrote that "''Cockadoodledon't'' is to

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 musi ...

these days what

the Reverend Horton Heat The Reverend Horton Heat is the stage name of American musician James C. Heath (born 1959) as well as the name of his psychobilly trio from Dallas. Heath is a singer, songwriter, and guitarist. A reviewer for the magazine Prick (magazine), ''Pr ...

was in the early 1990s and

the Cramps The Cramps were an American rock band formed in 1976 and active until 2009. 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. T ...

were in the early 1980s ..Intimately connected to the rhythm of the blues, but hell-bent on destroying rockabilly's constricting boundaries and image". ''PopMatters'' wrote, "Even as the press release accompanying the album notes, ''Cockadoodledon't'' ain’t your typical

alt-country Alternative country (commonly abbreviated to alt-country; also known as alternative country rock, insurgent country, Americana, or y'allternative) is a loosely defined subgenre of country music and/or country rock that includes acts that diffe ...

. As a frame of reference they suggest imagining

Iggy Pop James Newell Osterberg Jr. (born April 21, 1947), known professionally as Iggy Pop, is an American singer, musician, songwriter, actor and radio broadcaster. He was the vocalist and lyricist of proto-punk band the Stooges, who were formed in 1 ...

fronting

..Their mastery over the 'old-timey' sound give them free rein to incorporate

punk Punk or punks may refer to: Genres, subculture, and related aspects * Punk rock, a music genre originating in the 1970s associated with various subgenres * Punk subculture, a subculture associated with punk rock, or aspects of the subculture s ...

Southern rock Southern rock is a subgenre of rock music and a genre of Americana. It developed in the Southern United States from rock and roll, country and blues, and is focused generally on electric guitars and vocals. History 1950s and 1960s: origin ...

and

into whatever psychotic stew they please." ''The Cleveland Scene'' said that guitarist

JoeBuck 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. Joe Buck's first serious musical project was called Gringo. They released self-titled ...

's playing on the album showed him as a "learned disciple of

Ennio Morricone Ennio Morricone ( , ; 10 November 19286 July 2020) was an Italian composer, Orchestration, orchestrator, conductor, trumpeter, and pianist who wrote music in a wide range of styles. With more than 400 film score, scores for cinema and televisi ...

and

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. His 1958 Instrumental rock, instrumental single "Rumble (instrumental), Rumble", reached the ...

." "Bullfrog Blues" is a traditional song, while "

Shake Your Hips "Shake Your Hips" (sometimes known as "Hip Shake") 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 Excel ...

" is a cover of a

Slim Harpo Slim Harpo (born Isiah Moore or James Isaac Moore; February 11, 1924 – January 31, 1970)Martin Hawkins, "Slim Harpo at 100", ''Blues & Rhythm'', No.384, June 2024, p.23 was an American blues musician, a leading exponent of the swamp blues styl ...

song; the Legendary Shack Shakers' version incorporates the bassline from

ZZ Top ZZ Top is an American rock band formed in Houston, Texas, in 1969. For almost 56 years, it consisted of vocalist-guitarist Billy Gibbons, drummer Frank Beard (musician), Frank Beard, and bassist-vocalist Dusty Hill prior to his death in 2021. ZZ ...

's " La Grange". "Blood on the Bluegrass" is based on Rod Ferrell, a self-professed "

vampire A vampire is a mythical creature that subsists by feeding on the Vitalism, vital essence (generally in the form of blood) of the living. In European folklore, vampires are undead, undead humanoid creatures that often visited loved ones and c ...

", who at the age of 16, murdered the parents of one of his 15-year-old followers. According to ''PopMatters'', this song resembles a

murder ballad Murder ballads are a subgenre of the traditional ballad form dealing with a crime or a gruesome death. Their lyrics form a narrative describing the events of a murder, often including the lead-up and/or aftermath. The term refers to the conten ...

, in contrast to Wilkes' statement that the Legendary Shack Shakers "don’t do murder ballads, we do murder

boogie Boogie is a repetition (music), repetitive, swung note, swung note or shuffle rhythm,Burrows, Terry (1995). ''Play Country Guitar'', p.42. Dorling Kindersley Limited, London. . groove (music), "groove" or pattern used in blues which was origina ...

s".

Reception

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." 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 The Eagles are an American rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1971. With five number-one singles, six number-one albums, six Grammy Awards and five American Music Awards, the Eagles were one of the most successful musical acts of the 1970s in ...

." 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...".Mojo Magazine (10/03, p.120) And Hal Horowitz, writing for AllMusic, said "The music is fun, frantic, and nerve-wracking."

Track listing

# "Pinetree Boogie" # "CB Song" # "Help Me from My Brain" # "Shakerag Holler" # "Hunkerdown" # "Clodhopper" # "Bullfrog Blues" # "Blood on the Bluegrass" # "Devil's Night Auction" # "Wild Wild Lover" # "

" # "Hoptown Jailbreak"

Personnel

* Col. J.D. Wilkes -

vocals Singing is the art of creating music with the voice. It is the oldest form of musical expression, and the human voice can be considered the first musical instrument. The definition of singing varies across sources. Some sources define sing ...

banjo The banjo is a stringed instrument with a thin membrane stretched over a frame or cavity to form a resonator. The membrane is typically circular, and in modern forms is usually made of plastic, where early membranes were made of animal skin. ...

harmonica The harmonica, also known as a French harp or mouth organ, is a free reed wind instrument used worldwide in many musical genres, notably in blues, American folk music, classical music, jazz, country, and rock. The many types of harmonica incl ...

, keyboards *

guitar The guitar is a stringed musical instrument that is usually fretted (with Fretless guitar, some exceptions) and typically has six or Twelve-string guitar, twelve strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming ...

, banjo,

mandolin A mandolin (, ; literally "small mandola") is a Chordophone, stringed musical instrument in the lute family and is generally Plucked string instrument, plucked with a plectrum, pick. It most commonly has four Course (music), courses of doubled St ...

, key accordion,

upright bass The double bass (), also known as the upright bass, the acoustic bass, the bull fiddle, or simply the bass, is the largest and lowest-pitched string instrument, chordophone in the modern orchestra, symphony orchestra (excluding rare additions ...

drums The drum is a member of the percussion instrument, percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel–Sachs classification system, it is a membranophones, membranophone. Drums consist of at least one Acoustic membrane, membrane, c ...

Additional personnel: Mark Robertson,

Paul Simmons Paul Simmons may refer to: * Paul Allen Simmons (1921–2014), U.S. federal judge * Paul Simmons (drummer), American drummer (Th' Legendary Shack Shakers, The Reverend Horton Heat, Petra) * Paul Simmons (American football), American football coach ...

, Donnie Herron, Jason Brown, "Handsome" Andy Gibson

References

{{Authority control 2003 albums Alternative country albums by American artists Legendary Shack Shakers albums Bloodshot Records albums Psychobilly albums