The Reverend Horton Heat

Led by Texan guitarist and singer Jim Heath, aka Reverend Horton Heat, The Reverend Horton Heat formed in Dallas in the mid-1980s as a trio featuring guitar, upright bass and drums. Rooted in the psychobilly movement, the band blends 1950s rockabilly with punk rock, country, surf and touches of swing, often delivering narrative songs steeped in images of bars, highways and American suburbs. Gaining attention on the Texas club circuit, they recorded Smoke ’Em If You Got ’Em in 1990, which established Reverend Horton Heat’s sonic signature, and went on to release several albums through the 1990s while intensifying national touring. The Full-Custom Gospel Sounds of the Reverend Horton Heat (1993) and Liquor in the Front (1994) consolidated a fast, dry aesthetic in which slap upright bass underpins Heath’s riffs, while slower tracks reveal a country influence. Across the 2000s and 2010s — notably with Revival (2004), Rev (2014) and Whole New Life (2018) — The Reverend Horton Heat continued to move between independent labels and alternative rock circuits, maintaining a steady touring presence in the United States and Europe, where they have become a lasting part of international psychobilly and rockabilly networks.