- Bill Flagg
Bill Flagg (born in 1934) is an American country and
rockabilly singer, who was the first to use the term, "rockabilly".Life
Childhood and youth
Bill Flagg was born and raised in Waterville,
Maine . Shortly after the start ofWorld War II , the family moved toConnecticut .Career
Flagg began his career in radio as a "singing cowboy" calling himself "The Lone Pine Cowboy". He then moved to bluegrass before he and his friend, John Sligar, changed to rockabilly in 1954. Flagg is the first musician known to use this term.Fact|date=February 2008 The musical style as such had already existed and had been played by musicians such as
Hardrock Gunter and Roy Hall. Because of his rising popularity on the radio, he got a recording contract withTetra Records inNew York City . With his band members, Cat Gibson and Ted Barton, henceforth calling themselves "The Rockabillies", Flagg recorded his first record in 1956. These first singles, including "Go Cat Go" and "Guitar Rock", recorded with acontrabass and twoacoustic guitars , placed relatively well on the Billboard charts. The records were marketed as "rockabillie" by Tetra.In 1958, Flagg changed to
MGM Records and released his last single. After that, he worked in his family's business and helped his father, who had previous suffered a heart attack. He only appeared in bars on weekends. Twenty-seven years after his musical career, his son, Bob, persuaded him to actively join the music scene again. After that, Flagg started a bluegrass band called "Hobo Bill and the Last Ride". Since then, Bill Flagg has again been making appearances in the public.Discography
References
External links
* [http://www.unitymaine.org/theater/archive2005.htm Biography]
* [http://rcs.law.emory.edu/rcs/artists/f/flag1000.htm Discography with audio samples]
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