Ronnie Haig
Still Kickin' Butt!!

A contemporary of both rock-and-roll legends like Chuck Berry and his own compatriots in the Rockabilly Hall of Fame, Ronnie Haig has returned from a long, self-imposed exile. After an initial burst of fame, followed by 20 years of life as a salesman, his self-produced new release, Still Kickin' Butt!! stays true to his unique combination of whipsmart rockabilly and twangy rock-and-roll.

The disc leads with a new version of Haig's 1958 hit, "Don't You Hear Me Calling Baby," a snappy little rocker that will live forever for the notoriety of being banned in Boston for reputedly containing a dirty word (it didn't), years before the Kingsmen would suffer a similar fate with "Louie, Louie." The next song, "Million Dollar Quartet," contains some of Haig's best writing, detailing not only the famous gathering between Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins and The King at Sun Records in Memphis, but also Haig's own love affair with rockabilly music.

The remaining 20 songs give a good taste of one of rockabilly's genuine and original voices, who can still take songs like "Rockabilly Queen," and "Tattooed Head to Toe," and give them a hot shuffle. The guy may have lost his place in history to the Beatles but he's returned to give us a taste of how rock-and-roll started in the first place.

—S. Clayton Moore