Billy Hancock, rockabilly performer with outrageous style, dies at 71

Billy Hancock, a rockabilly singer, guitarist and bassist known for his outrageous stage presence and his collaborations with virtuosic guitarist Danny Gatton, died Jan. 22 at a hospital in La Plata, Md. He was 71.

The cause was complications from cirrhosis, said his producer, Jon Strong of Ripsaw Records.

With his immense girth and a pompadour shaped like a rhinoceros horn, Mr. Hancock demanded and often got the audience's attention. His eccentric persona — waving his hands with a religious fervor, dancing frantically and taking his shirt off to expose his huge belly — belied a keen musicianship.