If I ask you to picture the classic rockabilly look, you might imagine the T-Birds from Grease. Sure, but where do you think those guys got their style? In his new book Razabilly, Nicholas F. Centino writes:

As early as World War II, Chicano boys were cuffing their blue jeans, rolling cigarette packs into their t-shirt sleeves, and slicking back their hair in exaggerated pompadours with ducktails — a look that would be adopted as the white working-class tough guy a decade later in the 1950s.

The Beach Boys were initially named the Pendletones in honor of Pendleton shirts, another style that white youth of the '50s and '60s copped from Latina/o kids.

Razabilly isn't a brief about the erasure of BIPOC communities in the whitewashing of the 1950s in popular culture, but Centino cites the role of Latina/o music and culture in mid-century history by way of reminding any unaware readers what many of today's Latinx rockabilly fans know well: the rock and roll era was never just about Black and white, but about every shade of American skin.

Even so, it was far from obvious that rockabilly music — one particular style of early rock and roll — would become hugely popular in 21st century L.A. Latinx communities. (Centino opens the book with an extended discussion of the perennially debated nomenclature for Spanish-speaking groups; while "Latinx" is growing in popularity today, the author typically uses "Latina/o" and "Chicana/o" because those were the terms in most common use among the communities he's describing over the course of his research.) Razabilly chronicles the rise of rockabilly among La Raza (a 20th century term for Spanish-speaking communities), offering a fascinating cultural history without reducing the story to any misleadingly simple arguments.

The story starts with the rise of rockabilly as we know it. While the high-energy guitar-driven music was born during the 1950s rock and roll explosion, the term "rockabilly" wasn't necessarily embraced at the time by artists who didn't care for the "hillbilly" connotation that went into the coinage. As an aesthetic, rockabilly really only came into its own when it became fully retro. It first flourished in Britain, which did niche music subcultures like no other nation in the 20th century. Retro purists embraced rockabilly as a more "authentic" form of rock and roll than the more pop-leaning hits favored by the teddy boys...and if I've already lost you, that's fine. Let's skip ahead to the Stray Cats.

As Centino notes, "Rock This Town" ended up being more of a novelty hit than the start of a rockabilly landslide on MTV. Even so, the Stray Cats' massive popularity sent Americans in search of more rockabilly music and helped plant the seeds for the '90s swing revival. That, too, came and went, but a lot of today's Razabilly musicians grew up in that era and learned to love the pure drive of classic twang.

Characteristic of his nuanced study, Centino notes that the rise of latter-day Razabilly has been the subject of two very different arguments about Latina/o culture. On the one hand, rockabilly is seen as a music of rebellion: it's not your parents' music, and it doesn't fit any prevailing mainstream stereotype of what Latinx youth would be getting down to. On the other hand, it is your grandparents' music; the intertwining of Latinx music and culture with classic rockabilly means that Razabilly is, in a very real sense, heritage music. So, take your pick.

The bulk of Razabilly is a tour through the L.A. rockabilly scene that's grown up among Latina/o communities since the '90s. (The bulk of Centino's research, including extensive ethnography, was conducted about ten years ago. If that seems like a long time to wait for the book, you've never tried to publish an academic study.) He visits venues like Rudolpho's: a former haunt of Razabilly influencer "Rockin' Ruthie" Hernández, a fan of British New Wave music who started listening to the Smiths and followed their rockabilly influences (once you start to hear them, you can't unhear them) down a rabbit hole.

Centino considers the dimensions of Razabilly fashion, which combines accessibility with layers of esoteric detail that dedicated thrift-shoppers can pursue. Centino also notes that, for all the highly-gendered sexuality of women's va-va-voom dresses, rockabilly fashion also leaves ample room to challenge the gender spectrum with, for example, brightly colored suits for men. It's a fun look, but it's also dignified: sharp, snazzy, and put together. For those who can't or would prefer not to source their Razabilly looks at vintage shops, there are entrepreneurs like David Contreras, whose Tarantula Clothing Company makes fresh threads for today's hepcats.

When it comes to music, rocking Razabilly may take some digging depending on how deep your record collection is. Even iconic artists like Vicky Tafoya ("southern California's doo-wop queen") and Lil' Luis y Los Wild Teens (who took classic Spanish-language rock songs and amped them up for the 21st century) can be hard to find on mainstream music services. The L.A. Latinx rockers you might be most familiar with — Los Lobos, say, or Ritchie Valens — are respected, but they're not really rockabilly. (Centino allows that Valens's "Cry, Cry, Cry" might be occasionally spun as a stroller.) Razabilly will send you first to YouTube, and then perhaps beyond, where you can buy vinyl from online retailers or L.A. record shops. It'll be worth the investment.

Razabilly takes on a special significance, Centino notes, in these deeply troubling times when nostalgia is weaponized as the cultural apparatus of white supremacy. When Latina/o Americans are falsely demonized as interlopers, the flair and pride of Razabilly reminds the world that the sound and the look of the '50s and '60s belonged — and belong — to all Americans.

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Tune in to The Current at 8:30 a.m. (Central) every Thursday morning to hear Jay Gabler and Jill Riley talk about a new book. Also, find Jay's reviews online.

August 19: It Ain't Retro: Daptone Records & the 21st Century Soul Revolution by Jessica Lipsky

August 26: Nothing Compares 2 U: An Oral History of Prince by Touré; and Prince and the Parade and Sign O' the Times Era Studio Sessions: 1985 and 1986 by Duane Tudahl

September 2: White Line Fever: The Autobiography (new edition) by Lemmy Kilmister

September 9: Skaboom! An American Ska & Reggae Oral History by Marc Wasserman