The Cramps

The "classic" lineup. Left to right: Poison Ivy Rorshach, Lux Interior, Bryan Gregory and Nick Knox.

"I've got 96 tears

and 96 eyes"

—"Human Fly"

The Cramps were an American punk rock band from Sacramento, CA, who were one of the major innovators of garage punk and psychobilly music.

The band were formed in 1976 by a husband and wife, Lux Interior (aka Erick Purkheiser) and Poison Ivy Rorshach (aka Kristy Wallace). They quickly entered the CBGB scene in New York, dominated by bands like The Ramones. Their first LP, Songs the Lord Taught Us, is often considered their best release.

The Cramps are remembered for their amazing live shows, and their melding of punk, garage and rockabilly with their love of B Movies, Exploitation Films and Las Vegas trash culture.

The Cramps provides examples of the following tropes:

• Cool Shades: "Sunglasses After Dark"
• Cover Version: A lot, including "Strychnine" (originally by The Sonics), "Surfin' Bird" (originally by The Trashmen), "The Crusher" (originally by the Novas), "Primitive" (originally by the Groupies), "Green Fuz" (originally by Green Fuz), and "Green Door" (originally by Jim Lowe).
• Dance Sensation: "Alligator Stomp", "Cramp Stomp", "Zombie Dance", "Surfin' Dead", "Ultra Twist"...
• Garage Rock
• Bikini Girls With Machine Guns
• Happily Married: Lux and Ivy, until...
  • Author Existence Failure: Lux died in 2009.
• Hormone-Addled Teenager: "Goo Goo Muck".
• Horror
• A Love to Dismember: "TV Set".
• One of Us: Lux' knowledge of obscure 50s BMovies was barely rivaled by his knowledge of obscure 50s rockabilly records.
• Shout-Out: Very frequent, in both lyrics and promo shots.