Rock

Stopover of the Beatles
In 1964, the world’s most popular music group, the Beatles, visited the Lawrence County town of Walnut Ridge...
Black Oak Arkansas
Black Oak Arkansas, a popular rock and roll band of the 1970s from rural Arkansas near Black Oak (Craighead Co...
Roy Buchanan (1939–1988)
aka: Leroy Buchanan
Leroy (Roy) Buchanan was a guitar innovator whose skill inspired an...
Sonny Burgess (1929–2017)
aka: Albert Austin Burgess
Albert Austin “Sonny” Burgess was best known as one of the orig...
Walter Garnett “Punky” Caldwell (1929–1978)
Walter Garnett “Punky” Caldwell was a musician who caught the attention of some of the best performers of ...
Johnny Cash (1932–2003)
aka: J. R. Cash
Johnny Cash was a world-renowned singer/songwriter of country music...
Bud Deckelman (1927–1998)
Gene Darrell “Bud” Deckelman was a country and rockabilly musician who had brief success in Memphis, Tenne...
Joseph Dewitt “Sonny” Deckelman (1933–2016)
Joseph Dewitt “Sonny” Deckelman was a musician, songwriter, and record label owner active in the Memphis, ...
Ben Dickey (1977–)
Ben Dickey is an Arkansas-born musician, actor, singer, and songwriter. In addition to his music, he is known ...
Jim Dickinson (1941–2009)
Jim Dickinson was a musician, record producer, and author. Born in Little Rock (Pulaski County), he briefly li...
Beth Ditto (1981–)
aka: Mary Beth Patterson
White County native Beth Ditto achieved renown as the singer and so...
E&M Recording Company and My Records
aka: My Records
In the 1960s, Little Rock (Pulaski County) was home to E&M Reco...
Evanescence
Evanescence, a popular alternative rock band from Little Rock (Pulaski County) established in 1999, is known f...
Tav Falco (1945–)
aka: Gustavo Antonio Falco
Tav Falco is an innovative rock musician who combines rockabilly, ...
Adam Faucett (1982–)
Adam Faucett is a singer, songwriter, and guitarist from Benton (Saline County). With his trademark long beard...
Narvel Felts (1938–)
Albert Narvel Felts is a singer and songwriter best known for a string of commercially successful country musi...
Garage Bands
With the arrival of the Beatles on American shores in 1964, the “British Invasion” became a national pop-c...
Dale Hawkins (1938?–2010)
aka: Delmar Allen Hawkins
Delmar Allen (Dale) Hawkins Jr., a member of the Rockabilly Hall of...
Ronnie Hawkins (1935–2022)
aka: Ronald Cornett Hawkins
Ronald Cornett (Ronnie) Hawkins, a rock and roll singer and bandlea...
Levon Helm (1940–2012)
aka: Mark Lavon Helm
Mark Lavon (Levon) Helm was best known as the drummer and singer fo...
Wayne Jackson (1941–2016)
Wayne Jackson was a musician from West Memphis (Crittenden County) who played trumpet for Stax Records before ...
Roland Janes (1933–2013)
Roland Janes was a well-known session guitar player who worked with Sam Phillips at the legendary Sun Studios ...
Sleepy LaBeef (1935–2019)
aka: Thomas Paulsley LaBeff
Sleepy LaBeef was a rockabilly musician who performed in the United...
Long Line Rider [Song]
“Long Line Rider” is a 1968 rock song written by Bobby Darin based on the Arkansas prison scandals of that...
Jim Dandy Mangrum (1948–)
James Leslie “Jim Dandy” Mangrum is the flamboyant frontman for the southern rock group Black Oak Arkansas...
Pallbearer
Pallbearer is a doom metal band from Little Rock (Pulaski County). Drawing early influence from seminal genre ...
Bob Palmer (1945–1997)
aka: Robert Franklin Palmer Jr.
Robert Franklin (Bob) Palmer Jr. was an author, music critic, music...
Elvis Presley (Arkansas Performances of)
Elvis Presley started his meteoric musical career in 1954 in Memphis, Tennessee, recording for Sam Phillips’...
Teddy DeLano Riedel (1937–2014)
aka: Teddy Redell
Teddy DeLano Riedel was a professional musician and songwriter. He ...
Billy Lee Riley (1933–2009)
Billy Lee Riley was a rockabilly musician whose career began in the Arkansas Delta and peaked in the 1950s aft...
Rock 'n' Roll Highway 67
Rock ’n’ Roll Highway 67 is a segment of U.S. Highway 67 running approximately 111 miles through White, Ja...
Rock and Roll Music
Although the roots of rock and roll music can be traced back much farther, the genre made its musical debut in...