A
rockabilly revival band from the late 70's and early 80's. They are still around, but it's just
Phil Alvin and his band. They never quite had a hit, despite searing vocals by Phil, and great songwriting by
Dave Alvin.
Some of their minor hits include Marie Marie, American Music, Border Radio, Trouble, So Long Baby, Goodbye.
They played a searing set, which endeared them to their audiences, who were generally punk rockers. Any archive of LA punk LA punk posters will reveal that they were often on bills with classic punk bands like The Circle Jerks, D.I., DOA, The Plugz, Black Flag, X and Social Distortion.
Hollywood liked them, and they eventually became the band to score most of the Streets of Fire soundtrack, known for the soul hit I Can Dream About You by Dan Hartman.
Dave eventually went on to an acclaimed, but small solo career that has produced a Grammy winning album, Public Domain.
That's fitting, as The Blasters helped create an LA club environment that would nurture The Knitters, Dwight Yoakam, and Victoria Williams. They, in turn, would be the forerunners of the No Depression alt-country scene.
Some "adult alternative" and country fans of Dave Alvin might not believe all this, that you owe something to LA punk, but the proof exists, and it's at:
http://bullwinkle.as.utexas.edu/~sjk/blasters.html