The Legendary Shack Shakers (originally Those or Th' ) are an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...

rock band from

Murray, Kentucky Murray is a Home rule in the United States, home rule-class city in Calloway County, Kentucky, United States. It is the County seat, seat of Calloway County and the 19th-largest list of Ky cities, city in Kentucky. The city's population was 17,3 ...

that was formed in 1995 by

J.D. Wilkes Joshua "J. D." Wilkes (born April 18, 1972) is an American visual artist, musician, amateur filmmaker and author. He is best known as the singer for the rock band Legendary Shack Shakers, and is also an accomplished harmonica player, having recor ...

. The original line-up formed the band out of a shared interest in

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 ...

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 ...

and

Western swing Western swing, country jazz or smooth country is a subgenre of American country music that originated in the late 1920s in the West and South among the region's Western string bands. It is dance music, often with an up-tempo beat, which att ...

. Subsequently, the band gained prominence in 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 with a sound that encompassed rockabilly, blues, country and

punk rock Punk rock (also known as simply punk) is a rock music genre that emerged in the mid-1970s. Rooted in 1950s rock and roll and 1960s garage rock, punk bands rejected the corporate nature of mainstream 1970s rock music. They typically produced sh ...

and a lyrical focus on

Southern Gothic Southern Gothic is an artistic subgenre of Gothic fiction, fiction, Popular music, music, Gothic film, film, theatre, and television that are heavily influenced by Gothic fiction, Gothic elements and the Southern United States, American South. ...

themes. Over time, the band's sound shifted to emphasize country music.

History

Formation

Singer and harmonica player

developed an interest in

Delta blues Delta blues is one of the earliest-known styles of blues. It originated in the Mississippi Delta and is regarded as a regional variant of country blues. Guitar and harmonica are its dominant instruments; slide guitar is a hallmark of the s ...

music as a teenager living in Paducah, Kentucky as a result of disinterest in the decade's popular music styles, familiarizing himself with the music of

Muddy Waters McKinley Morganfield (April 4, 1913April 30, 1983), better known as Muddy Waters, was an American blues singer-songwriter and musician who was an important figure in the post-World War II blues scene, and is often cited as the "father of moder ...

Lightning Hopkins Samuel John "Lightnin'" Hopkins (March 15, 1912 – January 30, 1982) was an American country blues singer, songwriter, guitarist and occasional pianist from Centerville, Texas. In 2010, ''Rolling Stone'' magazine ranked him No. 71 on its list ...

Brownie McGhee Walter Brown "Brownie" McGhee (November 30, 1915 – February 16, 1996) was an American folk and Piedmont blues singer and guitarist, best known for his collaboration with the harmonica player Sonny Terry. Life and career McGhee was bor ...

and

Charlie Patton Charlie Patton (April 1891 (probable) – April 28, 1934), more often spelled Charley Patton, was an American Delta blues musician and songwriter. Considered by many to be the "Father of the Delta Blues", he created an enduring body of America ...

before moving backward into older styles of music "to see the roots of the roots". He formed the Legendary Shack Shakers in Paducah with members of another band, Solid Rocket Boosters, who shared his interest in

and

; according to Wilkes, the only difference between the two bands was that they have different drummers. The original lineup of the Legendary Shack Shakers consisted of Wilkes, guitarists Nathan Brown and Brian Berryman, upright bassist Todd Anderson and drummer Chris Dettloff -- three of which were Murray State art majors, while the remaining two were a physics major and a psychology major. The band's line-up subsequently changed to Wilkes on lead vocals and harmonica, JoeBuck on guitar, Mark "The Duke" Robertson on upright bass, and Pauly Simmonz on drums, all of which alternatively played for local

country music Country (also called country and western) is a popular music, music genre originating in the southern regions of the United States, both the American South and American southwest, the Southwest. First produced in the 1920s, country music is p ...

acts, most notably with Wilkes and

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 ...

touring as members of

Hank Williams III Shelton Hank Williams (born December 12, 1972), known professionally as Hank Williams III, is an American singer, songwriter, and multiinstrumentalist. He was the drummer of hardcore punk band Arson Anthem, and bassist of Phil Anselmo's band ...

backing band A backup band or backing band is a Band (music), musical ensemble that typically Accompaniment, accompanies a single artist who is the featured performer. The situation may be a live performance or in a Studio recording, recording session, and the ...

Breakthroughs

Legendary Shack Shakers' 2002 album, ''

Cockadoodledon't ''Cockadoodledon't'' is the third studio album by American rock band Legendary Shack Shakers. Released on April 22, 2003, the album established the band's presence on the alternative country scene. Musical style ''The Houston Press'' categoriz ...

'', established their prominence in the

scene. After self-releasing their recordings, including ''Cockadoodledon't'', the self-classified "insurgent country" record label

Bloodshot Records Bloodshot Records is an independent record label based in Chicago, Illinois, which specializes in alternative country music. History Bloodshot Records was founded in 1994 by Nan Warshaw, Rob Miller, and Eric Babcock, who knew each other from ...

reissued ''Cockadoodledon't'' in 2003. After JoeBuck left the band to join Hank Williams III's band full time, David Lee became the Legendary Shack Shakers' new guitarist, and the band signed with

Yep Roc Records Yep Roc Records is an American independent record label based in Hillsborough, North Carolina, and owned by Redeye Distribution. Since 1997, the label has released albums from North Carolina and international artists, including Fountains of Wayne ...

. In 2005, Simmonz left the band and was replaced by Brett Whitacre. that year,

Robert Plant Robert Anthony Plant (born 20 August 1948) is an English singer and songwriter. He was the lead singer and lyricist of the rock band Led Zeppelin from its founding in 1968 until their breakup in 1980. Since then, he has had a successful solo ca ...

asked the Legendary Shack Shakers to open for him on his European tour. The following year, the band opened for

Marty Stewart John Marty Stuart (born September 30, 1958) is an American country and bluegrass music singer, songwriter, and musician. Active since 1968, Stuart initially toured with Lester Flatt, and then in Johnny Cash's road band before beginning work as ...

and

Travis Tritt James Travis Tritt (born February 9, 1963) is an American country music, country singer-songwriter. He signed to Warner Bros. Records in 1989, releasing seven studio albums and a greatest hits package for the label between then and 1999. In t ...

in 2006 at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville, Tennessee. Subsequently, the band experienced increased mainstream media attention when

GEICO The Government Employees Insurance Company (GEICO ) is an American vehicle insurance company headquartered in Chevy Chase, Maryland. In addition to auto insurance, GEICO provides motorcycle, ATV, RV, boat, snowmobile, travel, pet, event, hom ...

featured their song "CB Song" in one of their commercials, and the band's song "Swampblood" was included on the soundtrack to the

HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American pay television service, which is the flagship property of namesake parent-subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is based a ...

series ''

True Blood ''True Blood'' is an American fantasy Horror fiction, horror Drama (film and television), drama television series produced and created by Alan Ball (screenwriter), Alan Ball. It is based on ''The Southern Vampire Mysteries'', a series of novels ...

'', earning the band a

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious ...

nomination. 2009 saw the addition of

Duane Denison Duane Denison (born January 21, 1959) is an American guitarist best known for work with the punk rock band The Jesus Lizard. He is also a founding member of super-group Tomahawk. Biography Denison began his musical career by studying classica ...

, formerly of

the Jesus Lizard The Jesus Lizard is an American Rock music, rock band formed in 1987 in Austin, Texas by vocalist David Yow, guitarist Duane Denison and bassist David Wm. Sims. They relocated to Chicago, Illinois, in 1989, where they found kindred spirits in ...

, to the line-up. The band released their seventh studio album; '' AgriDustrial'', on April 13, 2010 on their own Colonel Knowledge

record label "Big Three" music labels A record label or record company is a brand or trademark of Sound recording and reproduction, music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a Music publisher, ...

. The band would subsequently go on hiatus from 2010 to 2015, after which they reformed with a new line-up consisting of Wilkes on vocals, harmonica and banjo, Robertson on bass, Rod Hamdallah on guitar, and Brett Whitacre on drums, and signed with

Alternative Tentacles Alternative Tentacles is an independent record label established in 1979 by Dead Kennedys vocalist Jello Biafra and guitarist East Bay Ray in San Francisco, California, with the intention to release the Dead Kennedys' self-produced single " C ...

. In 2017, Wilkes released his first solo album, ''Fire Dream'', and the Legendary Shack Shakers' line-up changed to Wilkes, Hamdallah and new rhythm section, bassist Fuller Condon and drummer Preston Corn, before the band recorded and released the album ''After You've Gone'', a song cycle inspired by Wilkes' divorce. In 2019, the band performed on the

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of educat ...

television series ''Sun Studio Sessions'', and released an album of this performance under the title ''Live from Sun Studio''. In 2020, the band planned to play in Aurora, Kentucky, but the performance was cancelled due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

and subsequently delayed until the following year. With a new line-up consisting of Wilkes, guitarist Gary Siperko, upright bassist Fuller Condon and drummer Preston Corn, the band released ''Cockadoodledeux'', an album of traditional country and

Western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

songs which includes guest appearances by seven former members of the band, as well as Alternative Tentacles founder

Jello Biafra Eric Reed Boucher (born June 17, 1958), known professionally as Jello Biafra, is an American singer, spoken word artist and political activist. He is the former lead singer and songwriter for the San Francisco punk rock band Dead Kennedys. Init ...

Musical style

''Bass Frontiers'' wrote that Legendary Shack Shakers "have been billed as everything from

gothic country Gothic country (sometimes referred to as gothic Americana, Southern Gothic, the Denver sound, or dark country) is a genre of country music rooted in early jazz, gospel, Americana, gothic rock, and post-punk. Its lyrics focus on dark subject ma ...

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 ...

and alt. country".

says that the original incarnation of the Legendary Shack Shakers focused on playing rockabilly, "

hillbilly ''Hillbilly'' is a term historically used for White people who dwell in rural area, rural, mountainous areas in the United States, primarily in the Appalachian region and Ozarks. As people migrated out of the region during the Great Depression, ...

" music,

Memphis blues The Memphis blues is a style of blues music created from the 1910s to the 1930s by musicians in the Memphis area, such as Frank Stokes, Sleepy John Estes, Furry Lewis and Memphis Minnie. The style was popular in vaudeville and medicine sho ...

and

. Wilkes described the Legendary Shack Shakers' music as " Americana rockabilly"; ''Vail Daily'' said that the band performs a mix of

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wale ...

, and

. The ''Phoenix New Times'' said that "the southern gothic rockabilly act goes above and beyond much of those genres to throw down their captivating version of hillbilly blues-rock." The ''Kalamazoo Gazette'' described the Legendary Shack Shakers' music as "mutant

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 ...

". ''

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 ...

'' described the Legendary Shack Shakers as a "raucous

roots rock Roots rock is a genre of rock music that looks back to rock's origins in contemporary folk music, folk, blues, and country music. First emerging in the late 1960s, it is seen as a response to the perceived excesses of the then dominant psychedel ...

band". According to ''City Beast'', the band's musical style also encompasses

country blues Country blues (also folk blues, rural blues, backwoods blues, or downhome blues) is one of the earliest forms of blues music. The mainly solo vocal with acoustic fingerstyle guitar accompaniment developed in the rural Southern United States in t ...

and carnival music. Wilkes publicly disavowed the psychobilly label the band is sometimes categorized under, considering the genre's performers "all pompadour and no substance", stating of the scene, "These new bands trying to sound like

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 ...

or doing the ‘hellbilly’ thing — they only pick up on the clichés of it." Wilkes took issue with the genre's fans' lack of familiarity with rockabilly artists like

Charlie Feathers Charles Arthur Feathers (June 12, 1932 – August 29, 1998) was an American musician most associated with the rockabilly scene of the 1950s. Although not initially recognized for his contributions to rockabilly, over time his presence would bec ...

and dismissed psychobilly performers as " mall punk with pompadours", calling psychobilly fans "pompadork". Additionally, Wilkes "openly expressed disdain for alt-country and its musical carpetbaggers", according to ''

The A.V. Club ''The A.V. Club'' is an online newspaper and entertainment website featuring reviews, interviews, and other articles that examine films, music, television, books, games, and other elements of pop-culture media. ''The A.V. Club'' was created in ...

''. Wilkes stated regarding the band's use of the term "

", "I don’t think we’re Goth in the sense of veils and black clothing, people in perpetual mourning, funereal mode. ..It’s the traditional term, rather than the trendy, Americanized, fad version of it. .. outhern Gothictakes an angle that there’s something grotesque and beautiful in the traditions of the South, the backdrop of Southern living." Wilkes connects the many styles the band performs to the blues, saying that he considers rockabilly "the white man's version of blues" and

klezmer Klezmer ( or ) is an instrumental musical tradition of the Ashkenazi Jews of Central and Eastern Europe. The essential elements of the tradition include dance tunes, ritual melodies, and virtuosic improvisations played for listening; these wou ...

to be "the

Jew Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, religion, and community are highly inte ...

's blues". He described the band's performance as being "like a Pentecostal church revival, whipping them into a frenzy and getting them involved in the moment." When

joined the band, the Legendary Shack Shakers shifted their sound again, with Wilkes calling this new sound "agridustrial", explaining that it is "kind of chunky industrial patterns, but give it kind of a rustic feel ..like the sounds of farm implements, that clanking cacophony of rural industry. Kind of like how

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. ...

used a train rhythm." Since 2015, the Legendary Shack Shakers have predominantly played country music. Wilkes cited as musical influences

Little Walter Marion Walter Jacobs (May 1, 1930 – February 15, 1968), known as Little Walter, was an American blues musician, singer, and songwriter, whose revolutionary approach to the harmonica had a strong impact on succeeding generations, earning him ...

Howlin' Wolf Chester Arthur Burnett (June 10, 1910January 10, 1976), better known by his stage name Howlin' Wolf, was an American blues singer, guitarist and harmonica player. He was at the forefront of transforming acoustic Delta blues into electric Chica ...

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 ...

the Louvin Brothers The Louvin Brothers were an American musical duo composed of brothers Ira and Charlie Louvin (''né'' Loudermilk). The brothers are cousins to John D. Loudermilk, a Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame member. The brothers wrote and performed ...

Dock Boggs Moran Lee "Dock" Boggs (February 7, 1898 – February 7, 1971) was an American old-time singer, songwriter, and banjo player. His style of banjo playing, as well as his singing, is considered a unique combination of Appalachian folk music and A ...

James Harman James Gary Harman (June 8, 1946 – May 23, 2021) was an American blues harmonica player, singer, and songwriter. The music journalist Tony Russell described Harman as an "amusing songwriter and an excellent, unfussy blues harp player". Biograp ...

and

Roscoe Holcomb Roscoe Holcomb (born Roscoe Halcomb; September 5, 1912 – February 1, 1981) was an American singer, banjo player, and guitarist from Daisy, Kentucky. A prominent figure in Appalachian folk music, Holcomb was the inspiration for the term "high, ...

. Outside of musical influences,

Gary Larson Gary Larson (born August 14, 1950) is an American cartoonist who created ''The Far Side'', a single-panel cartoon series that was syndicated internationally to more than 1,900 newspapers for fifteen years. The series ended on January 1, 1995, ...

's ''

The Far Side ''The Far Side'' is a single-panel comic created by Gary Larson and syndicated by Chronicle Features and then Universal Press Syndicate, which ran from December 31, 1979, to January 1, 1995 (when Larson retired as a cartoonist). Its surrea ...

'' cartoon " Cow Tools" inspired the name of one of the band's introductions.

Discography

; Studio albums *'' J.D.'s Tasteless Chill Tonic '' (Conan Records, 1996) *'' Hunkerdown ''(Spinout, 1998) *''

'' ( Bloodshot, 2003) *''

Believe Believe may refer to: *Belief, a psychological state in which an individual holds a proposition or premise to be true, with or without proof for such proposition *Faith, a belief in something which has not been proven Arts, entertainment, and me ...

'' (

YepRoc Yep Roc Records is an American independent record label based in Hillsborough, North Carolina, and owned by Redeye Distribution. Since 1997, the label has released albums from North Carolina and international artists, including Fountains of Wayne ...

, 2004) *''

Pandelirium ''Pandelirium'' is the fifth studio album by American rock band Legendary Shack Shakers. It is the second album in the band's "Tentshow Trilogy", which began with ''Believe'' (2004) and concluded with '' Swampblood'' (2007). Musical style J.D ...

'' (YepRoc, 2006) *''

Swampblood ''Swampblood'' is the sixth studio album by American rock band Legendary Shack Shakers. It is the third and final entry in the band's "Tentshow Trilogy" of albums, after ''Believe'' (2004) and '' Pandelirium'' (2006). Musical style According t ...

'' (YepRoc, 2007) *'' AgriDustrial'' (Colonel Knowledge, 2010) *''The Southern Surreal'' (Alternative Tentacles Records, 2015) *''After You've Gone'' (Last Chance Records, 2017) *''Cockadoodledeux'' (Alternative Tentacles, 2021) ;Live albums *'' Lower Broad Lo-Fi ''(Arkam Records, 2007) *'' Live from Sun Studio '' (Chicken Ranch Records, 2020)

Filmography

* '' Seven Signs'', shown at the

Raindance Film Festival Raindance is an independent film festival and film school that operates in major cities including London, Los Angeles, New York, Vancouver, Toronto, Montreal, Budapest, Berlin, and Brussels. The festival was established in 1992 by Elliot Grove ...

2008

References

External links

Artist Page on YepRoc Records

Artist Page on Bloodshot Records
;Interviews and reviews
Interview and Performance on Corporate Country Sucks TV show.
*

{{DEFAULTSORT:Legendary Shack Shakers, The Alternative Tentacles artists American blues rock musical groups American punk rock groups American southern rock musical groups Bloodshot Records artists Country music groups from Kentucky Gothic country groups American rockabilly music groups Roots rock music groups Yep Roc Records artists