Greaser (subculture)

Greasers are a working-class youth subculture that was popularized in the late 1940s and 1950s by middle and lower class teenagers in the United States. Rock and roll music, and rockabilly, were major parts of the culture. Entertainers such as Marlon Brando and James Dean became prototypical figures that influenced the styles in this culture; others were Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Carl Perkins, Jerry Lee Lewis, Conway Twitty, Chuck Berry, Big Joe Williams, Big Joe Turner, Little Richard, Bo Diddley, Eddie Cochran, Gene Vincent, Johnny Burnette, Vince Taylor and Ritchie Valens.

The name greaser came from their greased-back hairstyle, which involved combing back hair using creams, tonics or pomade. In the 1950s and 1960s, these youths were also known as , short for hoodlums, owing at least in part to the fact that this sub-culture commonly existed in poorer, higher-crime neighborhoods and the general disrespect for societal norms often shown by these youth.

Although the greaser subculture was largely an American youth phenomenon, there were similar subcultures in the United Kingdom, Australia, Italy, Japan, France, Sweden, Germany, New Zealand and South Africa. In Sweden they are called raggare and in Japan they are known as Yankee. In South Africa they were called duck-tails from the way their slicked back hair flipped over the back of their collars. The 1950s' and 1960s' British equivalent was the rocker, also known as a ton-up boy. Unlike British rockers, who were exclusively bikers, American greasers were known more for their love of hot rods, muscle cars, and big Harley Davidson chopper or cruiser motorbikes rather than the lightweight Triumph or BSA Cafe racermotorcycles popular in Britain. Both subcultures are known for being fans of 1950s' Doo Wop, Rock and roll, jazz, blues, country, and rockabilly music.

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