Rock

View Media (38)
grid photo of four young white men
Stopover of the Beatles
In 1964, the world’s most popular music group, the Beatles, visited the Lawrence County town of Walnut Ridge...
Five white men with long hair on lawn furniture below tree, accompanied by two white women
Black Oak Arkansas
Black Oak Arkansas, a popular rock and roll band of the 1970s from rural Arkansas near Black Oak (Craighead Co...
White man with long hair and beard in a hat playing a Fender Telecaster style electric guitar on stage
Roy Buchanan (1939–1988)
aka: Leroy Buchanan
Leroy (Roy) Buchanan was a guitar innovator whose skill inspired an...
Older white man in a yellow shirt and black hat playing an electric guitar on stage in front of a microphone
Sonny Burgess (1929–2017)
aka: Albert Austin Burgess
Albert Austin “Sonny” Burgess was best known as one of the orig...
Two African-American and two white musicians playing their instruments in room
Walter Garnett “Punky” Caldwell (1929–1978)
Walter Garnett “Punky” Caldwell was a musician who caught the attention of some of the best performers of ...
white man in black embroidered alongside white woman in dark suit and hat carrying roses amid a crowd of people
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, ...
White man with long hair and beard in hat and long coat
Ben Dickey (1977–)
Ben Dickey is an Arkansas-born musician, actor, singer, and songwriter. In addition to his music, he is known ...
Book cover with bearded white man wearing hat and carrying a guitar across his shoulder
Jim Dickinson (1941–2009)
Jim Dickinson was a musician, record producer, and author. Born in Little Rock (Pulaski County), he briefly li...
Book cover featuring dark-haired woman in black dress raised up in the back
Beth Ditto (1981–)
aka: Mary Beth Patterson
White County native Beth Ditto achieved renown as the singer and so...
Vinyl record in album cover slip showing five white men in roman costumes and text saying "Ill Find a Way" and "You Do Something to Me"
E&M Recording Company and My Records
aka: My Records
In the 1960s, Little Rock (Pulaski County) was home to E&M Reco...
Young white woman in white dress with black hair and black knee-high boots lounging on red velvet bed with four white men in suits on or near the bed with red wallpaper behind them
Evanescence
Evanescence is a band whose two founding members are from Little Rock (Pulaski County). The group is known for...
White man and woman dancing the tango
Tav Falco (1945–)
aka: Gustavo Antonio Falco
Tav Falco is an innovative rock musician who combines rockabilly, ...
Young white man with glasses and long beard
Adam Faucett (1982–)
Adam Faucett is a singer, songwriter, and guitarist from Benton (Saline County). With his trademark long beard...
White man with dark eyes and wavy hair in collared shirt
Narvel Felts (1938–)
Albert Narvel Felts is a singer and songwriter best known for a string of commercially successful country musi...
Five young white men in white jackets and black pants playing instruments on stage in front of a backdrop with palm trees
Garage Bands
With the arrival of the Beatles on American shores in 1964, the “British Invasion” became a national pop-c...
White man in ball cap and Hawaiian shirt playing acoustic guitar on stage
Dale Hawkins (1938?–2010)
aka: Delmar Allen Hawkins
Delmar Allen (Dale) Hawkins Jr., a member of the Rockabilly Hall of...
Older white man with beard and glasses singing at microphone with younger white woman on stage
Ronnie Hawkins (1935–2022)
aka: Ronald Cornett Hawkins
Ronald Cornett (Ronnie) Hawkins, a rock and roll singer and bandlea...
Older white man in white shirt and black pants smiling behind drum set on stage
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 ...
Older white man in button down shirt wearing black framed glasses
Roland Janes (1933–2013)
Roland Janes was a well-known session guitar player who worked with Sam Phillips at the legendary Sun Studios ...
White man in suit and bow tie with dark pompadour and sideburns seated smiling with his arm on acoustic guitar
Sleepy LaBeef (1935–2019)
aka: Thomas Paulsley LaBeff
Sleepy LaBeef was a rockabilly musician who performed in the United...
Portrait of young white man posing at an angle
Long Line Rider [Song]
“Long Line Rider” is a 1968 rock song written by Bobby Darin based on the Arkansas prison scandals of that...
shirtless white man with long hair and tight pants holding washboard and singing into a microphone on stage
Jim Dandy Mangrum (1948–)
James Leslie “Jim Dandy” Mangrum is the flamboyant frontman for the southern rock group Black Oak Arkansas...
Four white men one in middle holding up both hands curling fingers
Pallbearer
Pallbearer is a doom metal band from Little Rock (Pulaski County). Drawing early influence from seminal genre ...
five people with instruments and two without standing and sitting in studio
Bob Palmer (1945–1997)
aka: Robert Franklin Palmer Jr.
Robert Franklin (Bob) Palmer Jr. was an author, music critic, music...
"Popular recording star Elvis Presley with the Moonlighters" concert flyer
Elvis Presley (Arkansas Performances of)
Elvis Presley started his meteoric musical career in 1954 in Memphis, Tennessee, recording for Sam Phillips’...
Close-up of vinyl record with red label and deer illustrations
Teddy DeLano Riedel (1937–2014)
aka: Teddy Redell
Teddy DeLano Riedel was a professional musician and songwriter. He ...
White man with gray hair in green jacket and black shirt playing harmonica
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" sign with street and red truck
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...
Four white men sleeping under Arkansas flag blanket
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...