Greasers were a
working class youth subculture that originated in the 1950s among caucasian teenagers in the
United States.
Rock and roll music, especially
rockabilly, was a major part of the culture, and styles were influenced by singers like
Elvis Presley,
Eddie Cochran,
Gene Vincent,
Johnny Burnette,
Vince Taylor and
Ritchie Valens, but the two main figures of the look were
Marlon Brando and
James Dean. In the 1950s & 1960s, these youths were also known as "," as in "hoodlums." This may be because the style was more popular in poor neighborhoods that had higher crime rates than upper-class neighborhoods.