The Cramps formally ended in 2009 following the sudden death of their co-founder Lux Interior. Ever since, there’s been no new music, reissues, or archival releases from the band, not even after Jenna Ortega’s viral dance to “Goo Goo Muck” in Wednesday caused a surge of interest. That changes today with Gravest Gravy, a lost collection of songs the Cramps recorded with Big Star frontman Alex Chilton in 1977. It’s out August 21 via Vengeance. Listen to the previously unreleased track “TV Set” below.
In October 1977, the Cramps recorded their first two 7″ singles—“Surfin’ Bird” with “The Way I Walk,” and “Human Fly” with “Domino”—with Chilton producing, which they released the following year on their own label. Come 1979, they bundled the four songs with a cover of Ricky Nelson’s “Lonesome Town” and called it the Gravest Hits EP. During those storied sessions, the Cramps also tracked a number of additional songs, many of which never saw the light of day.
Nearly a decade later, Lux Interior and guitarist Poison Ivy returned to those sessions hoping to release the recordings. Yet, for “reasons lost to time,” per a press release, they were shelved. Fast forward to present day, where Brian Kehew transferred the music from the old reels, which were in “pristine condition.” From there, Henry Rollins and Ian MacKaye, both longtime friends of the Cramps, listened to the multiple mixes available for each song and agreed on the final versions. MacKaye then volunteered to handle EQ and level adjustment on two tracks with Don Zientara at Virginia’s Inner Ear Studios, while Pete Lyman mastered the final versions at Nashville’s Infrasonic Sound and Poison Ivy gave them the final stamp of approval for public listening.
“This new chapter for the band is a combined effort of people whose lives were changed by the music of the Cramps,” Rollings wrote in a statement. “As I’ve said many times, I first saw the Cramps on April 20, 1979 in a small bar in Washington, DC, and I’ve never recovered. Ian was standing next to me. We still talk about that show. The opportunity to bring this music to fellow Cramps fans is beyond a thrill. It is an absolute honor that we feel so fortunate to be a part of.”
Additionally, Poison Ivy has formed the Cramps, Inc. with In the Red Records owner Larry Hardy and the Cramps’ former producer-turned-film catalog owner Jimmy Maslon. Under the title, they’re restarting the Vengeance imprint, planning to reissue the band’s past records, and finally listing official merch for the Cramps. (The latter is a bigger deal than it sounds considering the majority of the Cramps’ current merch in circulation is bootlegged.) As the press release notes, Poison Ivy is the major beneficiary, while Larry and Jimmy handle all the logistics.
Read about “Human Fly” in The Story of Goth in 33 Songs and revisit Anna Gaca’s Sunday Review of Songs the Lord Taught Us.