KCLU will air an upbeat 10-part musical documentary series called “Whole Lotta Shakin’” at 2 p.m. Saturdays starting this weekend.

Guitarist, singer and songwriter Rosie Flores will host the series. “Whole Lotta Shakin’” explores rockabilly, the brash, fast-paced 1950s mix of blues, gospel, jazz, country and popular music that is a foundation of rock and roll. The series visits the cradle of rockabilly, Memphis, and explores the rockabilly sounds of California.

In an era when America was tuning into Patti Page and Mitch Miller, rockabilly was a bold, young upstart, like Marlon Brando in the movie The Wild One. In “Whole Lotta Shakin’,” Flores profiles the stars of the genre, including Johnny Cash, Roy Orbison, Carl Perkins and Buddy Holly, and shares the stories of the period’s best-loved songs, from “Rave On” to “I Walk the Line.”

“Whole Lotta Shakin’” is produced by Lex Gillespie and is distributed nationally by Public Radio International. The Corporation for Public Broadcasting, the National Endowment for the Arts and Humanities Texas provide support for the series.

“‘Whole Lotta Shakin’ is an incredible series,” KCLU program director Jim Rondeau said. “Our listeners have been very supportive of our long-running ‘Blues Shack’ broadcast on Sunday afternoons and ‘Whole Lotta Shakin’ is a great complement.”

KCLU, a community service of California Lutheran University in Thousand Oaks, is an award-winning National Public Radio station serving more than 70,000 listeners in Ventura and Santa Barbara counties. It broadcasts in Ventura County on 88.3 FM, in Santa Barbara County on 102.3 FM and around the world online at www.kclu.org.

Karin Grennan is media relations coordinator for California Lutheran University.