I hadn't heard of Ms. Lewis before stumbling over this 2014 album online, but I'm happy to let folks know that there are still rockabillies out there keeping the spirit of original rock 'n roll alive, and she's one of them for sure. Of course, over the years people have come to conflate rockabilly with country music because the folks who created this style of music came from the country music heartland. Take Annie Marie, whose name is actually Dolan but she's the daughter of Linda Gail Lewis, sister of Jerry Lee and performer in her own right. My pick to click from this album is "Hush Lil' Baby (Merry Christmas)," which is a revisitation of "Hey Bo Diddley," which itself is a reimagined "Mockingbird," and such are the ways in which history are made. But then I've always been a sucker for a well-played tune based in the Diddley beat. "Little Drummer Boy" gets the jungle drums treatment as well. "Rock 'n Roll Christmas" is a nice straight upbeat rocker, possibly an original as I can't remember another version. "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen" gets an interesting rock arrangement as well. The rest of the album is classic carols and popular holiday tunes like "Blue Christmas," "I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus," "The First Noel," "Santa Baby," "Frosty the Snowman," and "Merry Christmas Baby." Ms. Lewis' vocals are generally good, but unfortunately a lot of this sounds a bit by-the-numbers when heard all at once. Nevertheless, there are some good tunes here to lend some historical gravitas to your Christmas mixes.
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