HASIL ADKINS - THE KING OF ROCK AND ROLL - R.I.P.

Hasil is gone. I'm lucky to have known him and honored that he considered me a friend.
See you on the other side...
Angry

CHARLESTON, W.Va. Apr 27, 2005 — Hasil Adkins

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) Rock-a-billy artist Hasil Adkins, a one-man band whose screaming vocals and freestyle approach to rhythm landed a cult following, has died. He was 67.

Adkins' body was found Tuesday at his home, where he lived alone. The cause of death had not been determined but it did not appear to be suspicious.

Known to his fans as The Haze, Adkins struggled for decades to be noticed. In a 2002 interview, he said he mailed out thousands of tapes and records over a 30-year period while fishing for a record deal.

Adkins was the original star of Norton Records, a label built around the primal recordings he produced in his mountain home, beginning in the Eisenhower era.

Adkins, who claimed to have written more than 7,000 songs, first emerged hooting and wailing in the 1950s, only to disappear again.

European fans kept the rock-a-billy rage alive, and when the Cramps did an early 1980s remake of Adkins' "She Said," his records suddenly became hot again.

His "Chicken Walk" and "The Hunch" became two short-lived dance fads.