When most modern rockabilly fans think of the genre, the image that comes to mind is probably a three-piece band consisting of a drummer, a stand-up bassist, and a singer who also plays electric guitar. That’s the typical rockabilly lineup in modern times. But the piano played a pivotal role in rockabilly music from a very early age. Let’s take a look at some rockabilly acts that made the piano an important aspect of their sound.

1. jerry lee lewis: This one is obvious! Jerry Lee, “The Killer”, is famous for his wacky style and piano antics. Lewis started out as a session man at Sam Phillips’ Memphis Recording Service studios and played piano on many early releases on Sun Records (which was also owned by Phillips). Before long, Phillips gave Lewis a shot at his own recordings, and he made the most of them. . Lewis played and performed like a savage and actually set the piano on fire, literally in at least one instance! In his style and playing, he was the showman of the consumer. Lewis set the standard for rock and roll pianists to follow for years to come.
2. great to collapse: Big Al was a bit of a weirdo in his early years. He was a simple country boy from Oklahoma who taught himself to play piano on an old, half-functional upright piano someone gave his parents as a gift. He started playing country music, which isn’t that unusual for a white musician, but for a black man (actually just a kid about 14 when he first started getting noticed) country music was really unusual. He also learned a lot from R&B pianists and it was his R&B playing that ultimately landed him a gig playing with Bobby Poe and the Poe Cats. Eventually, the Poe Cats became rockabilly queen Wanda Jackson’s band and toured extensively with her, as well as playing on some of her rockiest recordings like “Let’s Have a Party.” Downing’s piano playing became a big part of Wanda’s sound. Downing continued to play music and performed with countless artists until his death in 2005.
3. Sonny Burgess and the Pacers: Sonny Burgess and his band The Pacers were one of the wildest acts in rockabilly. In addition to a piano, his lineup included a trumpet; as far as I know, they were the only rockabilly band to feature such an instrument! The Pacers’ pianist was Kern Kennedy, who became Phillips’ go-to pianist after Jerry Lee rose to fame. Eventually, Kennedy sat in on a session with Burgess, and the two became lifelong friends. Kennedy’s style was very similar to Lewis’s and was a perfect fit for the savagery of Burgess’s act.
4. Jerry Lee “Smoochy” Smith: Yeah; another pianist named Jerry Lee. Smith became another of Sam Phillips’s session pianists and appeared on many Sun recordings from 1957 to 1959. His style was similar to that of the other Jerry Lee and the two have become known as innovators of the “single piano” sound. pumping” of the day. He played on records by Billy Lee Riley, Warren Smith, Ace Cannon and others, although he often isn’t credited for his recordings because he was young and naive and not a member of the musicians’ union. He was sometimes credited to Lewis and other times the name Jimmy Wilson was used.
5. rich charlie: Rich is another big name who got his start at Sun Records. He brought a much more melodic, country-sounding piano to his rockabilly recordings and would, of course, become a country music star in later years.

The music these men made with their pianos is just as rockabilly as the records made without a piano. The piano brought a different dimension to rockabilly music and these pianists brought a lot of crazy antics to the rockabilly stage!