Mention “rockabilly” to most people not involved in the scene and you may get references to ‘80s rockers the Stray Cats, hot rods and tattoos. What surprises many people is the large number of Latinos involved in the scene. Not just in the Southwest, but as far north as my native Chicago, you will find Latinos embracing rockabilly music and style with their own take on the sub-culture. No element of the sub-culture shows the extensive Latino influence of the rockabilly scene like the music. His-Panic Stomp Girls 2010 is a wonderful introduction to the music of Latino Rockabilly. Best of all, it is available for free via http://hispanicstomp.blogspot.com/!

The album is 14 tracks of female-dominated rockabilly, all with different degrees of Latin flavor. The names of the bands are pretty fantastic, ranging from The Sparkles to The Cosmic Vampires to Los Yabbadabbadoos. The music ranges from horror-tinged psycho-billy to guitar heavy surf. The Latin influence on the music ranges from Spanish lyrics to maracas as percussion. The variety is incredibly diverse, with something for every taste. My favorite is the very unique take on “Chattanooga Choo Choo” by El Trio Chikiboom.

This album is a fine introduction to a sometimes forgotten segment of Rockabilly. The download includes 14 tracks (MP3 format) plus labels and jewel box inserts. It also includes several pin-up photos of the young ladies involved with the album. There are samplers from past years available for download, so add some to your MP3 player for the duration of the summer. They are a great soundtrack for the remaining summer days, especially for that last road trip before Labor Day.