The Chillbillies – Elvis' 78th Birthday Party

The Center for the Arts presents
Saturday, January 5, 8:00PM
Special guests: Lorraine Gervais, Kate Haight, Peter Wilson & Bob Gubber
$12 member, $15 non-member

On January 8, 1935 Elvis Aaron Presley was born in Tupelo, Mississippi. In 2010 Nevada County’s rock-a-billy quartet, The Chillbilles, threw a dance party at the Center for the Arts to commemorate Elvis’ birthday. The concert was a stunning success leading to a command performance at the Nevada County Fairgrounds Fourth of July celebration.

L to R – (standing) – Ty Smith, Tom Menig,John Girton, Charlie Faber (seated) Kate Haight, Peter Wilson, Lorraine Gervais

Continuing the tradition, the Chillbillies and special guests will dust off the Elvis Presley song book for another tribute to the King of rock and roll. Sing along and dance to rousing renditions of rockers like “Blue Suede Shoes”, “Jailhouse Rock” and “Hound Dog” along with touching renditions of great ballads – “Love Me Tender” and “I Can\”™t Help Falling in Love with You.”

Elvis began his career in Memphis in 1954 when Sun Records owner Sam Phillips, eager to bring the sound of African American music to a wider audience, saw in Presley the means to realize his ambition. Accompanied by guitarist Scotty Moore and bassist Bill Black, Presley was one of the originators of rockabilly, an up-tempo, backbeat-driven fusion of country and rhythm and blues. “That\”™s All Right”, was released on July 19, 1954, along with an “Elvis Presley, Scotty and Bill” version of Bill Monroe’s waltz, “Blue Moon of Kentucky”. That recording launched a career that would soon define rock & roll.

The Chillbillies feature John Girton (Dan Hicks, Maria Muldaur), Tom Menig (Alela Diane, The Deadbeats), Charlie Faber (Lorraine Gervais, The Dogtones) and Ty Smith (Huclebucks, Bob Mora & the Third Degree Blues Band). The band formed in the mid-nineties to join the wave of rockabilly revival bands that included the Stray Cats, Big Band Voodoo Daddy and Cherry Poppin’ Daddies. Rockabilly is one of the earliest styles of rock and roll – combining rock & roll, hillbilly, western swing, boogie woogie, and rhythm and blues. Joining the Chillbillies on vocals are Lorraine Gervais, Kate Haight and Peter Wilson.  Returning on keyboards is Bob Gubber.

Join the Center in celebrating 78 years of Elvis!