Tweakabilly: An Overview of a Jittery Genre

Once all the rage at truckstops and vacant lots from coast to coast, Tweakabilly music has now mostly faded from the public eye. To be quite honest, most people seem to have forgotten that it existed at all. The following essay was intended to serve as the main Wikipedia entry for the genre. It was rejected by the gatekeepers at Wikipedia, though, due to its “factual preposterousness” and “weak grasp of reality.” It is presented here at Popwell for the first time, uncut and unedited. It’s barely even been proofread!

Tweakabilly

Tweakabilly is a popular musical genre that enjoyed a brief vogue during the mid 2000s. The genre combined elements of hip-hop, country, bluegrass and EDM, usually featuring quickly rapped lyrics over beats delivered at breakneck speed. Tweakabilly songs typically contained elements that were not often found in other electronic dance music, specifically country & western instruments such as banjos, steel guitars, and earthenware jugs. The genre flourished for only a few years, but many of its elements have worked their way into contemporary country music, notably in the work of Blake Shelton and Carrie Underwood.

Tweakabilly History

Most critics trace the genre’s origins to the late 70s hit “The Devil Went Down to Georgia,” by the Charlie Daniels Band. The single contained many of the elements that would later be associated with the movement, including rap-style vocals, hillbilly fiddle playing, and lyrics dealing with methamphetamine-inspired hallucinations.

The genre didn’t come into its own until the 2002 release of the CD Up All Night by Nashville band Punky Brewster. The 48-track, 55-minute album became the template for all future tweakabilly releases, filled with short, fast songs about drug use, life in the back country, and trucks. The song “Tractor Pull” became an underground hit throughout the midwest and south, paving the way for a slew of tweakabilly releases over the next few years.

Tweakabilly did not enjoy much chart success, but a few notable singles did manage to make something of a splash on the national scene. Cleveland’s Cowboy Tweekers had a mid-size hit with their 2003 single “Jitters,” and their follow-up song “Losin’ My Keys” was featured prominently in an episode of the CBS sitcom Two and a Half Men. Other hits of the era included Poke & the Picks’ “12 Teeth Left,” Chet Winters’ “How’d Them Fish Die?” and the Loganberry Scones’ “Gimmer Pipe.”

Perhaps the most well-known tweakabilly release was Garth Brooks’ ill-fated foray into the genre, 2004’s Garth Tweaks. The album was greeted with confusion and rage by the singer’s fans, most of whom had never heard of tweakabilly before. Clocking in at 70 minutes long and consisting of 64 tracks, the concept album centered on three days of meth-fueled wakefulness.

Fans didn’t take to Brooks’ rapid-fire tweakabilly takes on late-night TV, cigarettes, and porn, and the album quickly disappeared from the country charts. Recently, though, critics have started to reassess the album, and it is now generally considered to be the high-water mark for the genre, despite the public scorn it received at the time.

Within a few years, even the most meth-addicted country fans had had their fill of the jittery genre, and it quickly faded into obscurity. Most tweakabilly bands changed with the times, moving on to other newly popular country sub-genres such as funkabilly, electrosleep, or banjopunk. The genre did leave its mark on the music scene, though, and tweakabilly songs continue to be popular background music at tractor pulls and minor league baseball games.

Notable Tweakabilly Albums

Punky Brewster – Up All Night (2002)

Punky Brewster – Still Awake (2003)

Punky Brewster – Cain’t Talk Right Now (2004)

Garth Brooks – Garth Tweaks (2004)

Cowboy Tweekers – What Did You Call My Girlfriend? (2003)

Travis Tritt – Tweekin’ & Truckin’ (2003)

Kool Keith – Methin’ Around in the Country (2002)

Various Artists – The Buck Owens Remix Project (2003)