Colin Winski

Oblivious to all passing pop music trends, retro-rockabilly cat Colin Winski proudly carried the torch for vintage rock & roll from the punk era onward. Winski was born in Hollywood in 1957 and raised in Venice, CA, and his early infatuation with <a href="spotify:artist:43ZHCT0cAZBISjO8DG9PnE">Elvis Presley</a> led him to explore the music of <a href="spotify:artist:5VAHm7V5mnsxvQrWw3KHmx">Gene Vincent</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:0JDkhL4rjiPNEp92jAgJnS">Roy Orbison</a>, and others. In 1970, Winski became the protégé of Ronny Weiser, himself a rockabilly fanatic who published a magazine named Rollin' Rock; together they sought out <a href="spotify:artist:1dCuGaCG60TlWCLjFJ69N3">Ray Campi</a>, an obscure rockabilly performer known among collectors for singles including "Caterpillar" and "Scrumptuous Baby." <a href="spotify:artist:1dCuGaCG60TlWCLjFJ69N3">Campi</a> agreed to cut a record for Weiser's fledgling label, also called <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Rollin%27+Rock%22">Rollin' Rock</a>, and the session proved so successful that the singer formed a new group dubbed the Rockabilly Rebels, tapping a then-15-year-old Winski to play guitar. (The band's other guitarist was none other than the young <a href="spotify:artist:1Tiua1xuAlTj0nqZZGsbHc">Billy Zoom</a>, later to join the legendary L.A. punk band <a href="spotify:artist:54NqjhP2rT524Mi2GicG4K">X</a>.)

The Rockabilly Rebels also backed Winski on his debut single, which featured the track "Dig Those Squeaky Shoes"; to achieve the squeaking noises in the song's background, Winski rubbed the sleeves of <a href="spotify:artist:5VAHm7V5mnsxvQrWw3KHmx">Gene Vincent</a>'s leather jacket, a gift bequeathed to fan Weiser on the singer's deathbed. After making an appearance in the 1977 rockabilly porno movie Teenage Cruisers, <a href="spotify:artist:1dCuGaCG60TlWCLjFJ69N3">Campi</a> and the Rockabilly Rebels recorded the LP Born to Rock, followed in 1979 by Wildcat Shakeout, issued on the Radar label. <a href="spotify:artist:65Gh3BfK84aTIugiRCgLBA">Dave Edmunds</a> and <a href="spotify:artist:3BqaUtuQmqIHg7B5Bc7fP7">Nick Lowe</a> were to produce the band's third LP, but <a href="spotify:artist:1dCuGaCG60TlWCLjFJ69N3">Campi</a> nixed the offer; at that point Winski and guitarist Jerry Sikorski exited to form their own group, simply called <a href="spotify:artist:5DHZNhnoDoZuzDQejFO7h6">the Rebels</a>, and opened shows for <a href="spotify:artist:3RGLhK1IP9jnYFH4BRFJBS">the Clash</a> and <a href="spotify:artist:2UZMlIwnkgAEDBsw1Rejkn">Tom Petty</a>. In 1980, Winski issued his full-length solo debut, Rock Therapy; the LP stiffed, however, and he spent the next decade working a variety of jobs ranging from ditch-digger to security guard. Winski finally returned to music in the early '90s, issuing Helldorado in 1993. ~ Jason Ankeny, Rovi