Childhood and youth Bill Flagg was born and raised in
Waterville, Maine. Shortly after the start of
World War II, the family moved to
Connecticut.
Career Flagg began his career in radio as a "singing cowboy" calling himself
The Lone Pine Cowboy. He then moved to
bluegrass before he and his friend, John Sligar, changed to rockabilly in 1954. Flagg is the first musician known to use this term. The musical style as such had already existed and had been played by musicians such as
Hardrock Gunter and
Roy Hall. Because of his rising popularity on the radio, he got a recording contract with
Tetra Records in
New York City. With his band members, Cat Gibson and Ted Barton, henceforth calling themselves
The Rockabillies, Flagg recorded his first record in 1956,
Howie Stange. The first singles, including
Go Cat Go and
Guitar Rock, recorded with a
contrabass and two
acoustic guitars, did not show on the
Billboard charts. The records were marketed as "rockbillie" by Tetra. In 1958, Flagg changed to
MGM Records and released his last single. After that, he worked in his family's business and helped his father, who had previously suffered a heart attack. He only appeared in bars on weekends. Twenty-seven years after his musical career, his son, Bob, persuaded him to actively join the music scene again. After that, Flagg started a bluegrass band called
Hobo Bill and the Last Ride. Since then, Bill Flagg had again been making appearances in the public. == Discography ==