Psychobilly band debuting in 1976. Originally had a sound characterized by two guitars and no bass and amazing lyrics inspired by b-movies and too much late night TV. The original setting was Lux Interior on vocals, Poison Ivy Rorschach and Bryan Gregory playing guitar and Bryans sister Pam Balam on drums. Pam Balam left shortly after to be replaced by Nick Knox.
Their first releases was the songs "Surfin' Bird" and "The Way I Walk" on their own label Vengeance, recorded by Alex Chilton in Memphis, 1977. The Cramps was later signed on to the International Record Syndicate (I.R.S.), who released their first album, Songs the Lord Taught Us. They toured Europe and the U.S. for a while, until Bryan Gregory drove off in the Cramps van with all their equipment, never to be heard of again. After a brief appearance of Julien Griensnatch, Kid Congo Powers joined the band as a guitarist, and they released their 2nd album Psychedelic Jungle.
The Cramps then got tangled up in a legal suit against their record label I.R.S., which prohibited them from releasing new material for a period of 2.5 year. After the case was finished, they released their album A date with Elvis on Big Beat Records of England in 1985 and picked up Candy Del Mar in a liqour store parking lot and thereby got a permanent bass player.
Their lyrics are known to be strange, funny and macabre. See TV Set or What's Behind The Mask.
Discography
There also is several notable side projects, as Lux Interiors Purple Knif Show and Nick Knox appearance as the drummer of Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds.