Editing The Cramps (section)

== Style and influences ==
[[File:The Cramps live in Belgium, 2006.jpg|thumb|upright|left|The Cramps are considered progenitors of psychobilly.]]
{{Quote box |quote=The Cramps weren't thinking of this weird subgenre when we coined the term "[[psychobilly]]" in 1976 to describe what we were doing. To us all the '50s [[rockabilly|rockabillies]] were psycho to begin with; it just came with the turf as a given, like a crazed, sped-up [[hillbilly]] [[boogie-woogie|boogie]] version of [[country music|country]].

We hadn't meant playing everything superloud at superheavy [[hardcore punk]] tempos with a whole style and look, which is what "psychobilly" came to mean later in the '80s. We also used the term "rockabilly voodoo" on our early flyers. |source=—[[Poison Ivy (musician)|Poison Ivy Rorschach]]<ref name=Spitz>{{cite book |last1=Spitz |first1=Marc |author-link1=Marc Spitz |last2=Mullen |first2=Brendan |author-link2=Brendan Mullen |title=We Got the Neutron Bomb: The Untold Story of L.A. Punk |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BXyCHYk3C90C&q=we+got+the+neutron+bom |access-date=May 8, 2010 |edition=1st |year=2001 |publisher=[[Three Rivers Press]] |location=[[New York City]] |isbn=0-609-80774-9 |pages=34–35}}</ref>|align=right |salign=right |width=30%}}
The Cramps' music is played at varying tempos, with a minimal drumkit. An integral part of the early Cramps sound was dual guitars, without a [[bass guitar|bassist]].  The focus of their songs' lyrical content and their image was camp humor, sexual double-entendre, and [[retro]] horror/sci-fi [[b-movie]] iconography. Their sound was heavily influenced by early [[rockabilly]], such as [[Jerry Lott]]  AKA The Phantom, whose 1958 single 'Love Me' they covered,<ref>{{cite web | url=https://secondhandsongs.com/performance/906367 | title=Original versions of Love Me by the Cramps &#124; SecondHandSongs | website=SecondHandSongs }}</ref> [[rhythm and blues]], and [[rock and roll]] like [[Link Wray]] and [[Hasil Adkins]], 1960s [[surf music]] acts<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=100311525|title=Cramps Frontman Lux Interior Dies At 62
|last=Gotrich|first=Lars|website=[[NPR]]|date=February 5, 2009
|access-date=January 18, 2022}}</ref> such as [[the Ventures]] and [[Dick Dale]], 1960s [[garage rock]] artists like [[the Standells]], [[the Trashmen]], [[the Green Fuz]] and [[the Sonics]], as well as the post-[[glam rock|glam]]/early [[punk music|punk]] scene from which they emerged, as well as citing [[Ricky Nelson]] as being an influence during numerous interviews. They also were influenced by the [[Ramones]] and [[Screamin' Jay Hawkins]].<ref>{{cite news|title=Lux Interior: maniacal front man of the Cramps|newspaper=[[The Times]]|date=February 6, 2009 |url=https://www.thetimes.com/sunday-times-rich-list/profile/article/lux-interior-maniacal-front-man-of-the-cramps-wfprz0vhjj5|access-date=October 20, 2009}}</ref> Poison Ivy stated, "The failure of outsiders to acknowledge the influence of [[blues]] and R&B on The Cramps is an omission bordering on racism. Rockabilly is rooted in the blues and we consider ourselves a blues band."<ref>{{cite book |last=Porter |first=Dick |date=2007 |title=The Cramps, A Short Rock n Roll History |publisher=Plexus |page=144 |isbn=978-0-85965-368-8 }}</ref>

The band used the phrases [[gothabilly]],<ref name=Breen /> [[psychobilly]]<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.suicidegirls.com/girls/missy/blog/2678807/the-cramps/|title=The Cramps by Missy|last=Epstein|first=Daniel Robert|date=July 15, 2003|website=[[SuicideGirls]]|access-date=December 18, 2012}}</ref> and "rockabilly voodoo" to market their music.<ref name=Spitz /><ref name=Downey /> The term "psychobilly" was first used in the lyrics to the [[country music|country]] song "[[One Piece at a Time]]", written by [[Wayne Kemp]] for [[Johnny Cash]], which was a Top 10 hit in the United States in 1976. The lyrics describe the construction of a "psychobilly [[Cadillac (automobile)|Cadillac]] using stolen auto parts."<ref name=Downey>{{cite magazine |first=Ryan J. |last=Downey |title=Psyched to Be Here |magazine=[[Alternative Press (magazine)|Alternative Press]] |date=November 2004 |pages=77–78}}</ref> The Cramps have since rejected the idea of being a part of a psychobilly subculture, noting that "We weren't even describing the music when we put 'psychobilly' on our old fliers; we were just using [[carny]] terms to drum up business. It wasn't meant as a style of music."<ref name=Downey /> Nevertheless, The Cramps, along with artists such as Screamin' Jay Hawkins, are considered important precursors to psychobilly.<ref name=Downey /> Critics and journalists classified the Cramps' sound as psychobilly,<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1986/07/30/arts/the-pop-life-evolution-of-psychobilly-on-new-cramps-album.html |title=THE POP LIFE; EVOLUTION OF PSYCHOBILLY ON NEW CRAMPS ALBUM |last=Palmer |first=Robert |date=July 30, 1986 |work=The New York Times |access-date=August 6, 2022 }}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine |last1=Morris |first1=Chris |date=March 13, 1999 |title=Declarations of Independents |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6A0EAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA72 |magazine=Billboard  |volume=111 |issue=11 |pages=72 |doi= |access-date=August 7, 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.altpress.com/10_essential_psychobilly_bands/ |title=10 essential psychobilly bands you need to know |last=Bobbitt |first=Melissa |date=June 28, 2016 |publisher=AltPress |access-date=August 7, 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/artist/the-cramps-mn0000137580/biography|title=The Cramps {{!}} Biography & History|last=Deming|first=Mark|website=[[AllMusic]]|access-date=December 23, 2019}}</ref> gothabilly,<ref name=Breen>{{cite news |last = Breen|first = Meagan|title = An Introspective into Gothabilly|publisher = Auxiliary Magazine|date = March 5, 2009|url = http://auxiliarymagazine.com/fashion/2009/03/an-introspective-into-gothabilly/|access-date = April 16, 2009}}</ref><ref name=Uutela>{{cite news|last = Uutela|first = Deanna|title = Case of the Zombies|place = [[Eugene, Oregon]]|newspaper = [[Eugene Weekly]]|date = October 4, 2007|url = http://www.eugeneweekly.com/2007/10/04/music4.html|access-date = April 16, 2009|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20090430170259/http://www.eugeneweekly.com/2007/10/04/music4.html|archive-date = April 30, 2009|url-status = dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=van Elferen |first=Isabella |date=2015 |title=Goth Music: From Sound to Subculture |publisher=Taylor & Francis |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OuA0CwAAQBAJ&pg=PT34 |page=34 |isbn=978-1-317-96297-7}}</ref> [[Garage punk (fusion genre)|garage punk]],<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0OOyjRx-vF8C&pg=PA250|title=Visual Vitriol: The Street Art and Subcultures of the Punk and Hardcore Generation|last=Ensminger|first=David A.|date=2011|publisher=Univ. Press of Mississippi|isbn=978-1-60473-969-5|page=250}}</ref><ref>{{AllMusic|class=album|id=r631871|tab=review |label="The Cramps: ''Fiends of Dope Island'' Review" |first=Eduardo |last=Rivadavia |accessdate=September 11, 2011}}</ref> rockabilly,<ref>{{cite magazine|date=November 11, 2020|title=The 80 Greatest Albums of 1980|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-lists/best-albums-of-1980-1075743/79-the-cramps-songs-the-lord-taught-us-1078509/|access-date=November 12, 2020|magazine=[[Rolling Stone]]}}</ref><ref name=Cummings>{{cite journal |last1=Cummings |first1=Sue |date=June 1986 |title=The Cramps: A Date With Elvis |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rOtx9nPM4ncC&pg=PA32 |journal=Spin |volume=2 |issue=3 |pages=32 |doi= |access-date=August 10, 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/reviews/album/118771/review/5945024/staysick |title=The Cramps: ''Stay Sick!'' [Bonus Tracks] |first=Evelyn |last=McDonnell |date=May 3, 1990 |issue=RS 577 |magazine=[[Rolling Stone]] |publisher=Wenner Media |issn=0035-791X |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20071106071334/http://www.rollingstone.com/reviews/album/118771/review/5945024/staysick |archivedate=November 6, 2007}}</ref> [[horror punk]],<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TQPXAQAAQBAJ&pg=PA502|title=Music in American Life: An Encyclopedia of the Songs, Styles, Stars, and Stories That Shaped Our Culture|last=Ph.D|first=Jacqueline Edmondson|date=2013|publisher=ABC-CLIO|isbn=978-0-313-39348-8|page=502}}</ref> [[garage rock]],<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/guide-to-the-cramps/ |title=The Guide to Getting into The Cramps, Garage Rock's True Freaks |last=Mandel |first=Leah |date=May 2, 2019 |publisher=[[Vice Media|Vice]] |access-date=March 12, 2023}}</ref> punk rock<ref name=Cummings /> and surf.<ref name=Cummings />

The Cramps have been cited as an influence by musicians including [[45 Grave]],<ref>{{cite book |last1=Bean |first1=Mikey |title=Phantoms: The Rise of Deathrock from the LA punk scene |date=2019 |page=19}}</ref> [[the Nomads (Swedish band)|the Nomads]],<ref>[http://www.nkvdrecords.com/nomads.htm] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081007053215/http://www.nkvdrecords.com/nomads.htm|date=October 7, 2008}}</ref>  [[Zombina and the Skeletones]],<ref>{{cite web|last1=Rivera|first1=Alberto|title=Unearthing Zombina and the Skeletones|url=http://indiemusic.co/2011/12/24/unearthing-zombina-and-the-skeletones/|website=Indiemusic.co|access-date=11 December 2016}}</ref> [[Inca Babies]],<ref>Strong, Martin C. (1999) "The Great Alternative & Indie Discography", Canongate, {{ISBN|0-86241-913-1}}</ref> [[Creeper (band)|Creeper]],<ref>{{cite web |last1=Goodman |first1=Eleanor |title=Do you want to join Creeper's fright club? |url=https://www.loudersound.com/features/do-you-want-to-join-creeper-s-fright-club |website=[[Metal Hammer]] |date=18 August 2015 |accessdate=5 August 2019}}</ref> [[the Black Keys]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nzherald.co.nz/entertainment/news/article.cfm?c_id=1501119&objectid=10769942|title=The Black Keys get back into the groove|work=[[The New Zealand Herald]]|first=Scott|last=Kara|date=December 1, 2011|access-date=December 8, 2011|archive-date=December 10, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111210122814/http://www.nzherald.co.nz/entertainment/news/article.cfm?c_id=1501119&objectid=10769942|url-status=live}}</ref> [[the White Stripes]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://blogs.guardian.co.uk/music/2007/07/why_the_white_stripes_want_to.html |title=Why The White Stripes want to join the Gun Club |first= Owen |last= Adams |work= Guardian |format= Music Blogs |date=July 18, 2007 |access-date=August 30, 2008 | location=London}}</ref> [[The Sisters of Mercy (band)|the Sisters of Mercy]],<ref>{{cite news |url=https://scontent-cdg2-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/103730521_128910842153007_8688588499968291404_o.jpg?_nc_cat=108&ccb=1-3&_nc_sid=cdbe9c&_nc_ohc=CO8rD-Mvc1QAX9AvIQl&_nc_ht=scontent-cdg2-1.xx&oh=128522e489ae624fca8cf89f21d5b726&oe=60871E29 |first=Nadine|last=Milo |title=La Métaphore Reptilienne Sisters Of Mercy |newspaper=Rock The Town |date=October 1983 |issue=10|page=16|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210329005042/https://scontent-cdg2-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/103730521_128910842153007_8688588499968291404_o.jpg?_nc_cat=108&ccb=1-3&_nc_sid=cdbe9c&_nc_ohc=CO8rD-Mvc1QAX9AvIQl&_nc_ht=scontent-cdg2-1.xx&oh=128522e489ae624fca8cf89f21d5b726&oe=60871E29|archive-date=29 March 2021|quote=Tous nos groupes préférés sont de vieux groupes éteints, à part Motorhead, les Cramps, les Banshees, et les Psychedelic Furs (''All of our favorite bands are old, dead bands apart from Motorhead, the Cramps, the Banshees, and the Psychedelic Furs''.)}}<br />{{cite news |url=http://www.ultimatesistersguide.org/images/mag_french/mag_fren1.jpg|first=Olivier |last=Lefevre |title=Merci Les Soeurs |newspaper=En Attendant |date= September 1983|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160811035546/http://www.ultimatesistersguide.org/images/mag_french/mag_fren1.jpg |archive-date=11 August 2016 |quote=Peu de nos contemporains possèdent une véritable dimension, les Banshees, les Psychedelic Furs. Les autres ne sont pas honnêtes. (''Few of our contemporaries have got a true dimension. The Banshees, the Psychedelic Furs. The other bands are not honest''.)}}</ref> [[My Bloody Valentine (band)|My Bloody Valentine]],<ref>{{cite book|last1=McGonial|first1=Mike|title=Loveless|series=[[33⅓]]|year=2007|publisher=[[Continuum International Publishing Group|Continuum]] |location=[[New York City|New York]]|isbn=978-0-8264-1548-6 |page=21}}</ref> [[Faith No More]]<ref>{{cite web |first=Jon |last=Wiederhorn |url=http://www.revolvermag.com/news/interview-faith-no-more-give-update-from-the-studio.html |title=Interview: Faith No More Give Update from the Studio |work=Revpmver |date=November 4, 2014 |access-date=November 12, 2014}}</ref> and [[Southern Culture on the Skids]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.allmusic.com/artist/southern-culture-on-the-skids-mn0000003669/biography|title=Southern Culture On The Skids Biography |last=Huey |first=Steve |website=Allmusic |publisher=  |access-date=2022-12-28}}</ref>