Rockabilly Hall of Fame

Rockabilly Hall of Fame – A hybrid of the new style of “rock-n-roll” and country (“hillbilly”), “rockabilly” was a stylistic label in the mid to late 1950s with Carl Perkins, Jerry Lee Lewis and Elvis among its prototypes. Although most rockabilly giants came out of Sun Records in Memphis, the Midwest was also a breeding ground for young rockabilly artists. In fact, the following artists with local connections ended up in the Rockabilly Hall of Fame (established in Jackson, Tennessee in 1997): Lonnie Mack, Bobby Helms (see under “Country”); Art Adams, who still performs in Indianapolis; Ronnie Haig, a graduate of Arsenal Tech and still releasing CDs; Danny Dollar (Dowler), a local singer who imitated Elvis; Dale Wright, a Dayton native who performed with several Hoosier bands such as Keetie and the Kats, the Dawnbeats, and the Crowns; Boyd Bennett, one-time owner of the Thunderbird of Indianapolis; Lattie Moore, who lived in worked in Inianapolis for several years; Keith O'Conner Murphy, a Peru native; Tommy Sands, a pop star who later in life settled in Fort Wayne; and Dennis Puckett, who was born and raised in Fort Wayne.