Activity (Years):
1976 – 2009 (33 years)
Founded:
New York, New York, USA
Members:
- Bill Bateman
- Bryan Gregory (1976 – 1980)
- Candy Del Mar (1986 – 1991)
- Harry Drumdini (1993 – 2009)
- Jim Sclavunos
- Julien Hechtlinger (1980 – 1980)
- Kid Congo Powers (1981 – 1983)
- Lux Interior
- Mike Metoff
- Miriam Linna (1976 – 1977)
- Nick Knox (1977 – 1991)
- Nickey “Beat” Alexander
- Poison Ivy
- Slim Chance
Biography
The Cramps was an American rock band formed in 1973 that, in 1975–1976, became one of the leaders of the New York punk movement centered around CBGB. The lineup of The Cramps changed frequently over the years, but the core of the group was the married duo of Lux Interior (vocals) and Poison Ivy (guitar).
Combining punk rock with rockabilly, The Cramps were ahead of their time and later became known as pioneers of the psychobilly genre and garage punk classics. Notable artists such as the Birthday Party, The White Stripes, George Eggplant’s One Man Band, Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, and The Strokes have cited The Cramps as a significant influence. Lux Interior passed away on February 4, 2009, from aortic dissection at Glendale Memorial Hospital in California.
Initially, The Cramps emerged as the pioneers of the psychobilly style, heavily influenced by old-school rockabilly and 1960s punk. They even released a series of records called “Born Bad”—six volumes showcasing those who influenced their music.
The band was formed in 1976 in New York City, USA. For decades, The Cramps have remained a foundational force in the punk-alternative scene, celebrated for their blend of rockabilly guitar and zany humor. Often referred to as the founders of the “psychobilly” genre, they believe they might have coined the term.
In their debut EP, “Gravest Hits” (1976), The Cramps expressed their vision: “While punk rock was spreading in New York, we dived deeper into the rock ‘n’ roll psyche for the most primal of rhythmic impulses—rockabilly—rooted in Southern culture.” They also explored other psychotic depths of the previous rock era, including instrumental rock, surf, psychedelia, and 1960s punk.
Thus, The Cramps were formed in New York in 1976. The original members were Lux Interior (vocals), Poison Ivy Rorschach and Bryan Gregory (guitars), with Miriam Linna on drums—yes, a female! Interior and Rorschach were from Cleveland, Ohio, and later married. When asked by New York Newsday correspondent Ira Robbins why the band had no bassist, Rorschach later responded, “We weren’t trying to be radical. It’s just that none of us wanted to play bass. We collected a huge assortment of old records, and if there is a bass in them, I don’t hear it. The difference seems insignificant.” The presence of two women in the band, Rorschach and Linna, made The Cramps unique in the testosterone-filled punk scene of Greenwich Village.
“Gravest Hits” seemed to proclaim a new cult among those already officially established—the cult of The Cramps. The band was invited to open for The Police during their UK tour in 1979. It was also at this time that Linna was replaced by Nick Knox on drums, and journalist Penny Kiley described the band in Melody Maker as “the American answer to the New Wave.” The Cramps were known for their outrageous “theatrical performances” on stage and their retro-inspired appearance, which resembled a combination of punk and trash culture.
References to B-movies (horror films) and light sadomasochism inevitably seeped into their lyrics and performances, leading Rorschach to explain in Melody Maker: “You can’t separate music from other aspects of culture; what we do is not just music. Everything I’ve ever seen on TV, everything I’ve ever eaten, everything I’ve ever heard on the radio—all of it influences us. We celebrate pop culture.” In this spirit, the band was one of the first to utilize video as a new medium for fans to see The Cramps not only at concerts. They shot a four-minute promotional clip themed around classic 1950s horror films at the end of the ’70s.
In the ’80s, the solo guitarist dropped her old nickname “Rorschach” and became known as Poison Ivy. At that time, her husband performed in a skin-tight rubber suit with steel-toed boots. Chicago Tribune journalist Greg Kot wrote: “This union…is far from traditional: a man as a sexual object and a woman as a solo guitarist…all this upends decades of rock stereotypes.” The first record released in the ’80s, “Songs the Lord Taught Us” (1980) on IRS Records, was described by Dave Marsh of Rolling Stone as “the culture of another planet that develops rock ‘n’ roll parallel to the musical lines of our earth.” The following year, “Psychedelic Jungle” was released, marked by the departure of guitarist Bryan Gregory and the arrival of Congo Powers on bass.
In 1984, IRS released “Bad Music for Bad People,” a compilation of previously released tracks from “Gravest Hits” and “Songs the Lord Taught Us,” along with songs released only in the UK. MTV news anchor Kurt Loder, who was a big fan of The Cramps at the time, wrote about “Bad Music for Bad People”: “This is the rock ‘n’ roll that has never been on the radio, but is just what you imagined.”
However, public perception never translated into significant financial success, and for many years, most of the vinyl material was self-financed by the band. At that time, Interior and Ivy attempted to sell their completed material to record companies. “A Date with Elvis” was The Cramps’ fifth release and their third full album, released in 1986, during a period when the press speculated about what Elvis’s fiftieth birthday might be like. Ivy mentioned in Melody Maker: “This is our tribute album to Elvis…Elvis has always been with us, but this year especially since it was like a national Elvis year or something like that.” “A Date with Elvis” received some criticism for its more provocative lyrics in songs like “Hot Pool of Womanhood” and “Cornfed Dames.” Simon Reynolds, reviewing the album for Melody Maker, found “a few surprises, without the slightest hint of the musical radicalism” that characterized The Cramps’ earlier releases.
By the late ’80s, The Cramps paused the release of new material, continuing to appear on various compilations and imports. Absurd deals and legal disputes also left little time for recording new material. For the 1990 album “Stay Sick,” the band—now with new bassist Candy Del Mar—recorded a couple of covers of lesser-known rockabilly tracks, “Bikini Girls with Machine Guns” and “Journey to the Center of a Girl.” Evelyn McConnell gave the album a very positive review in Rolling Stone, noting “the presence of Roy Orbison’s ghost in the guitar sound and vocals throughout the album, despite the music coming from hell…”
Changes in the band lineup followed the release of “Stay Sick.” Del Mar left, and Slim Chance joined. Long-time drummer Nick Knox also departed, replaced by Harry Drumdini. Both new musicians participated in the recording of the 1994 album “Flame Job,” the band’s first on a major label, Medicine, a division of Warner Bros. The band felt much more relaxed at the new label. “Some record companies in the past told us they had no room for us, or that we needed to make a rave album, or that we should give a demo of the new album to some DJ for a new mix—terrible things like that,” Interior told Boston Globe. “We had to spend a lot of time in the past saying no, no, don’t do it, again no…feeling like we came from Mars.”
“Flame Job” was characterized by The Cramps’ whirlpool of psychobilly with tracks like “Swing the Big Eyed Rabbit,” “Sado County Auto Show,” and “Ultra Twist.” In a review of the album in Rolling Stone, Paul Evans noted that this psycho-whirl and the entire trash culture of The Cramps had become a familiar niche for several contemporary bands, such as White Zombie. During 1994-1995, The Cramps played several very successful concerts in major cities. Journalist Lorraine Ali described their sold-out concert in Los Angeles, stating that their “enthusiasm, coupled with their uniqueness, is the key to the band’s longevity.”
Their refusal to capitulate despite the many challenges faced in the music industry played a significant role in the success of The Cramps. In a 1994 interview with Sullivan for Boston Globe, Interior explained why he and Ivy never considered quitting: “Maybe we would have said to hell with it if we knew there was something else we could do and have fun.”
Lux Interior passed away on February 4, 2009.
Website: thecramps.com