… And he’s still the undisputed king of rock n’ roll.
If it weren’t for Elvis, the gap between black music and white music may never have been freely crossed to and fro, rockabilly music wouldn’t have been heard around the world, and the pompadour probably wouldn’t be as tall as it is today. Not to mention, you probably wouldn’t be reading this blog. And with that, we say thank you, Elvis. Thank you.
Posted in Hair, Influences, Music, Pompadour, Rockabilly
Tagged Elvis Presley, Hair, influences, Pomp, Pompadour
Elvis Presley – Don’t Be Cruel
Posted in Hair, Influences, Pompadour, Rockabilly, Tuesday Tunes
Tagged Don't Be Cruel, Ed Sullivan Show, Elvis Presley, Music, Pompadour, The Jordanaires
While I’ve had this post planned for some time now, VLV pretty much solidified the fact that this post needed to be made. I mean, you expect everyone to be lookin’ their bests, so why not pay attention to detail, especially when it comes to your hair? Too many dudes there lacked the ducktail.
When people think of rockin’ a pomp, they think of how high or big they want it, or whether or not they want to wear it with a part or not. While that’s fine and all, and I can appreciate a sharp part, which is a very much-needed detail btw, it’s not what I’m going to address today. Today, we’re gonna be focusing on forgotten legend… The Duck Ass.
History:
Just kidding, I’m not gonna give a history lesson on this. If you dig pompadours or any hairstyle from the 40s-60s like I do, you should know this by now. But when thing you cats don’t realize, is that you don’t need a pompadour to rock a ducktail. I’ve seen it rocked on several hairstyles. I’m gonna be switching between the different nicknames in this post, so it gets seared in your heads!
While a lot of folks nowadays associate the D.A. to the ever so popular pompadour, it wasn’t exclusive to that hairstyle at all. In the day, it was a way to finish styling a slicked hairstyle. Whether it was a pomp, a contour, a part, a waterfall, whatever… It was the finishing touches to the hairstyle. Why have everything all pretty in the front and sides, but leave the back all sloppy?
Elvis, had perfect hair. So it’s a little unfair to use him as an example. But, he always paid attention to detail when styling his hair. And of course, rocked the ducktail all proper like.
Hell, there’s a few Mad Men episodes, where they show the duck ass. While of course, the hairstyling in that show was refined and professional, there were still a few moments in the series where the ducktail would make its iconic appearance. And hey, that’s why I love Mad Men. The writers and stylists really paid attention to detail, when it came to the era. The hairstyling is real proper in this show. The back of the hairstyles weren’t lacking, like they are today.
I’ve even seen an old cat, rock it with his remaining hair slicked back! He had it dead centered. No stray hairs, not bunched up at the center, slightly swept down and not just straight across. You know he was rockin’ a D.A. back then. Keep up fellas!
Styling & The Cut:
Now, styling this thing, is pretty damn simple, or you’d like to think it were that simple. Just comb everything back till it meets in the center. While it seems simple and all, it’s something too many cats either forget or neglect. The majority don’t rock it or rock it sloppy and not centered. It’s these sort of details, that make a good pompadour bad. It’s really lacking the details. It’s like finishing that Packard with white wall tires. Yeah, you know how much prettier than beast looks with the white walls, so why not give such attention to detail to yourself?
Your hair could be as short as one inch, to as long as you want 5 inches, and you can still rock a good-looking ducktail. Hell, I even appreciate it when the do is tapered, and one can rock a slight D.A. towards the crown of the head. As shown below:
Photo courtesy of: Shorem Haarsnijder En Barbier
When my barber cuts my duck ass (doesn’t that sound funny,) he’ll cut the center area a little shorter than the outer parts, so that when it sweeps in towards the center, it doesn’t bunch up all weird like. I know this, because there’s been a time where he forgot to trim down the center, and it bunched up! Your barber should know how to cut your hair for a D.A. If they don’t, it’s off to the next one!
As you slick the sides back, you don’t gotta just aim straight across for the center. If you want it to be lookin’ slick, you can sweep it down towards the nape of your neck. Just as long as everything is centered and even, it’s all that really matters, as far as styling goes. But if it’s offcentered and the left side goes straight across and the right side goes downwards, you might wanna take another look in the mirror.
The Tools:
Now that we’ve covered the fact that the duck ass is a very much-needed detail to your new-found hairstyle, what are you gonna use to style it up?
1) Grease
Well, you don’t necessarily need grease to style it up… But we do love our pomades, so why the fuck wouldn’t you use it???
I like the feel of a lighter grease on the sides, as it’s a lot easier to slick the sides during the day. But a thicker grease is also good to use for the sides, as it’ll keep the D.A. in place, making it so you don’t have to slick it during the day. But I won’t lie, I dig slicking my hair in public. Of course, only when I have to. I don’t just stop while crossing the street, to slick my hair for the cars waiting to go. This ain’t a fuckin’ show!
2) Mirror-Mirror-On-The-Wall
3) Handheld Mirror
While you think you know where the center of your head is, you more than likely have no clue as to where it is. So you’ll need these important tools, a mirror and a second mirror. This is probably why a lot of cats rock it at a weird angle, because they don’t use a second mirror to see whether or not the duck ass is centered or not. But trust me, you’ll need to double-check!
If y’all think I have to list a comb, I’m gonna smack you upside the head. You should know better by now! Of course you use a damn comb!
We’ll there you have it folks. The importance of the duck ass. The D.A. The ducktail. The finishing touches, to a badass hairstyle. If you think your hair is good as it is, without a D.A. you are surely mistaken my friend! I mean, there’s a damn song about the ducktail!
Joe Clay – Ducktail.
Hopefully by now, you all will understand the importance of the details in a hairstyle, especially when rockin’ the pompadour. Whether it’s the sharp ass part, the greasy sheen, or the slicked ducktail, it’s the details that really make your hair different from the rest. And with the pompadour becoming ever so popular, you’ll need these details to keep you lookin’ slick, while the rest look like… Well, you get the picture.
I’ll elaborate more on this topic later down the road! But until next time…
Pomp Hard.
What a fuckin way to kick off 2011, eh?
A badass show by The Chop Tops. And now this…
Remember my post about Mr. Ducktail’s shop and how my sister bought me a tin of pomade? Well…
Luckily, she didn’t wait until my birthday (this Thursday,) to give me my gifts! Pretty fuckin awesome. My cousin, who also went with her to London, picked up the shirt for me. And my sister bought two more tins of pomade and shampoo. And I can tell ya… The shampoo. Smells. AMAZING.
Plus, gotta love your local record shop.
And for those who don’t know. Or are wondering…
Yes it is.
Looks like 2011 is shaping up nicely. And I should also have a new pomade to review. And trust me folks, by the looks of it, it looks to be promising. VERY promising. So stay tuned, and I’ll have a new pomade to share with the rest of the world.
Until then folks,
Pomp Hard.
Posted in Hair, Music, Pomade, Pompadour, Rockabilly
Tagged dawn shipley and the sharp shooters, Elvis Presley, hairgum, Mr. Ducktail pomade, shampoo
Simple because I was watching Viva Las Vegas yesterday. Why the hell not? Plus… Ann Margaret…. mmmmmmm…
Elvis Presley – Come On Everybody
Posted in Hair, Movies, Music, Pompadour, Rockabilly, Tuesday Tunes
Tagged ann margaret, come on everybody, Elvis Presley, Rockabilly, Tuesday Tunes, Viva Las Vegas
Not just with what they sang about and what not. But sometimes the actual guitar riffs, instrumentals, and hell… even the tempo of the singing and set up. It’s not necessarily a bad thing. But damn fellas, you could’ve changed it up a bit!
Here are a couple of songs that are just a little too similar.
Bobby Wall/Bracey Everett – Lovers Curse
Bobby Wall/Bracey Everett – Baby It’s Too Much
Of course with these two, the video/audio quaility is different, so to some of you it’ll sound different. Aside from the lyrics. But trust me… Baby it’s too similar. (ZING)
Here’s a couple more.
Conway Twitty – Long Black Train
Elvis Presley – Mystery Train
Ok. Trains. Similar enough. But you know what… Well, you guys SHOULD be able to hear the similarities.
That’s the couple of songs I got for ya’ll, for now. Don’t worry, there are a whole lot more than that!
In the past, I remember reading sites that would post some cover songs, that they thought were better than the original. I agree with some of them, some reggae songs translate well into punk, rap to spoof rock, and the list goes on.
Here’s some songs, that I love both the original and the cover.
Original – Eddie Cochran
Cover – Sid Vicious
Original – Little Walter
Cover – Elvis Presley
Original – Nine Inch Nails
Cover – Johnny Cash
The one I have to say I like better, (should be obvious,) is Johnny Cash’s cover. Of course the song means something to Johnny Cash, more than just the sound or lyrics. But it’s meaning, and where it touched Johnny Cash’s soul. Which makes his cover a lot more meaningful and better than NIN version.
Lee Jackson at It's Something Hells Barbershop
No not Elvis, but close enough!
Lee Jackson definitely has one of the best pomps around. He has to… He’s one of the major Elvis impersonators out there. Gotta give it up to him, at least he puts his own flare into his impersonation, rather than just trying to copy Elvis in every way. ESPECIALLY the way he sings… When people try too hard to sound like the original, it just ruins it… It being anything and everything that went into that impersonation.
Here’s Lee performing one of my favorite songs by Elvis. Such A Night.
Even though he ISN’T Elvis, when he performs he still gets the ladies screaming out of their seats, hoping for a kiss on the cheek…
Well, maybe not to the extremities as Elvis has done, but you get the picture…
Click to check his site and maybe catch one of his shows in the UK.
Posted in Hair, Music, Pomade, Pompadour, Rockabilly, Rockabilly Events, Uncategorized
Tagged Elvis Presley, Grease, Hair, Lee Jackson, Pomade, Pomp, Pompadour
The Rebel Rouser 
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