Article below written by BY ALEX MACON in D-Magazine:
How Rock ‘n’ Roll History Was Made—and Nearly Forgotten—in Dallas
Sid King and the Five Strings were one of North Texas' biggest bands, coming up alongside the likes of Elvis and Buddy Holly. Until, suddenly, they weren't.
In 1980, Sid Erwin began receiving some unusual visitors at his Richardson barbershop.
Their hair was often slicked back or otherwise greased up in the pompadours of another era. Most did not need haircuts. A few called ahead, to make sure Erwin would be in. Almost all of them had come a long way, traveling from England, from Europe, from Australia. At least one visitor told Erwin that he had three destinations on his American holiday: Graceland, Elvis Presley’s estate in Memphis; Lubbock, the hometown of Buddy Holly and the site of the bespectacled rock ‘n’ roller’s museum; and Sid’s, this nondescript barbershop in the Dallas suburbs.
Erwin would see them coming to the unremarkable shopping center off U.S. 75 and Belt Line. They’d be dressed like tourists from the 1950s, aiming their cameras at the barber’s pole in the parking lot and the plainspoken sign on the storefront.
“I said, ‘My God, who are these people?’” Erwin remembers.
Inside, the visitors would look at the old photos and posters hanging on the walls of the shop. It’s no Graceland, but Sid’s is full of memorabilia from the early days of rock ‘n’ roll, and from one band in particular.
Formed in Denton in 1952 while its lead members were still in junior high school—a full-page Columbia Records ad in Billboard would eventually dub them “the youngest band in the land”—the group that was first known as the Western Melody Makers, before turning into Sid King and the Five Strings, helped pioneer a sound in its infancy. Revivalists would later call it rockabilly, but it was just good music to Sid and his brother Billy, who were inspired by the country western and rhythm and blues records they loved.
Sid and Billy were regulars on North Texas radio, and then on the “Big D Jamboree,” a popular live show held at the Dallas Sportatorium and broadcast on KRLD-AM. They signed a deal with Columbia. At the dawning of rock ‘n’ roll, they rubbed elbows with music industry bigwigs and artists who would become legends. They co-headlined shows with Elvis Presley and Johnny Cash, and helped Buddy Holly book his first performances in Dallas, letting the reedy singer from Lubbock stay with them at their parents’ house.
Early Rockabilly live on KTAE Tyler, Texas.
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Article below written by BY ALEX MACON in D-Magazine:
How Rock ‘n’ Roll History Was Made—and Nearly Forgotten—in Dallas
Sid King and the Five Strings were one of North Texas' biggest bands, coming up alongside the likes of Elvis and Buddy Holly. Until, suddenly, they weren't.
In 1980, Sid Erwin began receiving some unusual visitors at his Richardson barbershop.
Their hair was often slicked back or otherwise greased up in the pompadours of another era. Most did not need haircuts. A few called ahead, to make sure Erwin would be in. Almost all of them had come a long way, traveling from England, from Europe, from Australia. At least one visitor told Erwin that he had three destinations on his American holiday: Graceland, Elvis Presley’s estate in Memphis; Lubbock, the hometown of Buddy Holly and the site of the bespectacled rock ‘n’ roller’s museum; and Sid’s, this nondescript barbershop in the Dallas suburbs.
Erwin would see them coming to the unremarkable shopping center off U.S. 75 and Belt Line. They’d be dressed like tourists from the 1950s, aiming their cameras at the barber’s pole in the parking lot and the plainspoken sign on the storefront.
“I said, ‘My God, who are these people?’” Erwin remembers.
Inside, the visitors would look at the old photos and posters hanging on the walls of the shop. It’s no Graceland, but Sid’s is full of memorabilia from the early days of rock ‘n’ roll, and from one band in particular.
Formed in Denton in 1952 while its lead members were still in junior high school—a full-page Columbia Records ad in Billboard would eventually dub them “the youngest band in the land”—the group that was first known as the Western Melody Makers, before turning into Sid King and the Five Strings, helped pioneer a sound in its infancy. Revivalists would later call it rockabilly, but it was just good music to Sid and his brother Billy, who were inspired by the country western and rhythm and blues records they loved.
Sid and Billy were regulars on North Texas radio, and then on the “Big D Jamboree,” a popular live show held at the Dallas Sportatorium and broadcast on KRLD-AM. They signed a deal with Columbia. At the dawning of rock ‘n’ roll, they rubbed elbows with music industry bigwigs and artists who would become legends. They co-headlined shows with Elvis Presley and Johnny Cash, and helped Buddy Holly book his first performances in Dallas, letting the reedy singer from Lubbock stay with them at their parents’ house.
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https://www.dmagazine.com/arts-entertainment/2017/03/how-rock-n-roll-history-was-made-and-nearly-forgotten-in-dallas/