Vincent Eugene Craddock (February 11, 1935 – October 12, 1971), better known as Gene Vincent, was an American rock and roll musician who pioneered the style of rockabilly.
Gene's 1956 top ten hit with his backing band the Blue Caps, "Be-Bop-a-Lula", is considered a significant early example of rockabilly. His chart career was brief, especially in his home country of the US, where he notched three top 40 hits in 1956 and 1957, and never charted in the top 100 again. In the UK, he was a somewhat bigger star, racking up eight top 40 hits from 1956 to 1961.
On July 4, 1955, while Gene was in Norfolk, his left leg was shattered in a motorcycle crash. He refused to allow the leg to be amputated, and the leg was saved, but the injury left him with a limp and pain. He wore a steel sheath as a leg brace for the rest of his life. Most accounts relate the accident as the fault of a drunk driver who struck him.
Vincent began hanging around the local radio station WCMS, occasionally singing with the house band. He began appearing more regularly, singing a song called Be Bop A Lula that he had written with Donald Graves who had been in the naval hospital with him.
‘Sheriff’ Tex Davis a local disc jockey bought Graves share for $25 and signed Vincent to a management deal. In early 1956 a backing group was formed from The Virginians, comprising 26-year-old Cliff Gallup, lead guitar; Willie Williams, rhythm guitar; Jack Neal, double bass; and 15-year-old Dickie “Be-Bop” Harrell on drums.
Davis knew that Capital Records were looking for their own Elvis so he sent a tape to producer Ken Nelson, soon after Vincent and his group, now dubbed The Blue Caps were signed.
Gene Vincent came into the Rockabilly scene and moved everything up more than just a notch – more like degrees. He invented “hot” as a commonality in Rockabilly music. Teenage girls swooned and screamed, and teenage boys dreamed and grooved. Blue jeans, white tee shirt and black leather jacket became the must-have wardrobe for every young man in Gene Vincent’s world. They didn’t just dress like him–they became entrenched with him. The music? The music was hypnotic.
Buddy Holly loved Gene Vincent and tried to sing like him. Vincent knocked the lights out of every stage he hit, and his Blue Caps picked up the pieces and threw them out the window.
Though he landed his contract with Capitol Records largely because he sounded like Elvis Presley, Gene Vincent quickly established himself as a rockabilly pioneer and the very personification of rock and roll rebellion.
By this time Vincent had plunged into all-out rockabilly, capable of both fast-paced exuberance and whispery, almost sensitive ballads. “The Blue Caps” were one of the greatest rock bands of the ’50s. Gene’s swooping vocals, led many to mistake the singer for Elvis when the record first hit the airwaves in mid-1956, on its way to the Top Ten. The Elvis comparison wasn’t entirely fair; Vincent had a gentler, less melodramatic style, capable of both, whipping up a storm or winding down to a hush.
Ironically, Capitol did not rate Be Bop A Lula as an a-side; instead, they picked Woman Love. Bill Lowery who had signed Gene to a publishing deal was convinced that Be Bop A Lula was much better and he pressed copies to send to radio stations in advance of Capitol’s release. When it came out the record was flipped and ‘Be Bop A Lula’ went to No.7 in America and No.16 in Britain.
Though he landed his contract with Capitol Records largely because he sounded like Elvis Presley, Gene Vincent quickly established himself as a rockabilly pioneer and the very personification of rock and roll rebellion.
By this time Vincent had plunged into all-out rockabilly, capable of both fast-paced exuberance and whispery, almost sensitive ballads. “The Blue Caps” were one of the greatest rock bands of the ’50s. Gene’s swooping vocals, led many to mistake the singer for Elvis when the record first hit the airwaves in mid-1956, on its way to the Top Ten. The Elvis comparison wasn’t entirely fair; Vincent had a gentler, less melodramatic style, capable of both, whipping up a storm or winding down to a hush.
Before 1956 was over, out came Gene’s follow-up, the excellent ‘Race with the Devil’ that barely bothered the Billboard chart getting to No.96 for just a single week. In Britain, it did better making it to No.28 but that’s still relatively poor.
Cliff Gallup working on stage with Gene Vincent
The opening guitar run by Cliff Gallup is innovative and the whole feel of the song, while redolent of ‘Be Bop A Lula’ shouts hit. In all, Gallup played on well over 30 records by Vincent and it is his brilliant playing that did a lot to set these records about from other rockabilly influenced musicians. However, Gallup was married and gave up touring with the Blue Caps by the end of 1956, just undertaking studio work.
Though he landed his contract with Capitol Records largely because he sounded like Elvis Presley, Gene Vincent quickly established himself as a rockabilly pioneer and the very personification of rock and roll rebellion.
By this time Vincent had plunged into all-out rockabilly, capable of both fast-paced exuberance and whispery, almost sensitive ballads.
“The Blue Caps” were one of the greatest rock bands of the ’50s. Gene’s swooping vocals, led many to mistake the singer for Elvis when the record first hit the airwaves in mid-1956, on its way to the Top Ten. The Elvis comparison wasn’t entirely fair; Vincent had a gentler, less melodramatic style, capable of both, whipping up a storm or winding down to a hush.
‘Blue Jean Bop’ quickly followed and failed to make an impression on the Billboard chart, but did better in Britain reaching No.16.
Why such terrific songs as “Race With The Devil,” “Bluejean Bop” and “B-I-Bickey, Bi, Bo-Bo-Go” weren’t hits is anybody’s guess, but it was the loss of guitarist Gallup that presaged a downward spiral.
Besides Gallup, Willie Williams had also left and the new line-up is the one that appears with Gene in the Jayne Mansfield film The Girl Can’t Help It. By the end of 1956, Vincent’s leg was in a bad way, probably due in part to his hectic work schedule, he had also severed his relationship with his manager.
His first record of 1957 was ‘Lotta Lovin’, which made No. 23 on the Billboard chart. Strangely neither that nor the follow-up, ‘Dance to the Bop’ that got to No.23 on the Billboard chart did anything in the UK.
In late 1958 the Blue Caps, although with a very different line-up, did their last recording session with Vincent, Although the session brought great records including ‘Say Mama’ and ‘I Got To Get You Out’ as well as ‘My Heart’ none of the records did anything on the singles chart in America. Still popular in Britain he was invited to appear on the British TV show Boy Meets Girls by its producer Jack Good, Vincent arrived in Britain in December 1959, Good set about changing Gene’s image; dressing him in black leather with a gold medallion like a latter-day Richard Ill.
Early in 1960 ‘Wild Cat’ got to No.21 in the UK, followed by ‘My Heart’, No.16, during this time Vincent and his pal Eddie Cochran were touring Britain together.
Gene and Eddie would co-headline England’s first ever total rock ‘n’ roll tour, a Larry Parnes production billed as “A Fast Moving Anglo-American Beat Show” with Tony Sheridan (who would record with the Beatles a few years later), Joe Brown, and Eddie Cochran in the first half, then George Fame, Billy Fury, Billy Raymond, and Gene Vincent to close the show. Gene was billed as “The Rock ‘N’ Roll Idol Of Millions.” Audiences often merely tolerated their countrymen on the bill, who were as in awe as they were jealous of the yanks.
Marty Wilde
“The first thing I noticed about Eddie was his complexion,” Marty Wilde recalled, “We British lads had acne, and Eddie walked in with the most beautiful hair and the most beautiful skin – his skin was a light brown, a beautiful color with all that California sunshine, and I thought, ‘You lucky devil.'” George Fame was astounded at Eddie’s talent. He would tell the press years later “we were told to report to this club in Soho to meet them. I remember Eddie playing guitar and we were astounded. Apart from his own stuff, he could do all that brilliant finger-style stuff that Chet Atkins did. Then he played this amazing intro to What’d I Say, and apart from a few blues enthusiasts who had the Ray Charles record, nobody had heard it before. He played What’d I Say every night and within six months, every band in the country was playing it.”
On the night of April 16, 1960, Eddie Cochran had just wrapped up a successful tour of England, where he and fellow American rock 'n' roller Gene Vincent had performed in front of appreciative crowds. According to History, the tour had actually been extended an additional 10 weeks because of the "intense demand for tickets" — this underscored how the rebellious, hard-edged Cochran was seemingly more popular overseas than he was at home, where lightweight, wholesome pop singers like Paul Anka and Frankie Avalon had emerged as part of the new breed of hitmakers.
Eddie Cochran and Sharon Sheeley
Shortly after what would turn out to be his final concert, Cochran, his fiancee, songwriter Sharon Sheeley, tour manager Patrick Thompkins, and Vincent hopped in a Ford Consul taxi and headed off to London.
As the cab traveled through a winding road in the village of Chippenham, driver George Martin, who was supposedly traveling at speeds greater than 60 mph, lost control of his vehicle and spun into a light post.
Cochran was the only occupant of the taxi who died in the accident, having suffered a serious head injury after getting thrown from the cab. He was taken to St. Martin's Hospital in Bath, where he died early the next morning. He was only 21 years old.
Eddie Cochran and Gene Vincent
As explained by BBC, Sheeley, Thompkins, and Martin escaped with relatively minor injuries. Vincent broke his leg, resulting in a limp that bothered him until his death in 1971.
A dispute with the US tax authorities and the American Musicians' Union over payments to his band and his having sold the band's equipment to pay a tax bill led Vincent to leave the United States for Europe.
Promoter Don Arden had Vincent return to the UK in 1961 to do an extensive tour in theatres and ballrooms. In 1962 Vincent was on the same bill as the Beatles in Hamburg; Paul McCartney recalled an incident with a pistol at Vincent's girlfriend's hotel.
Vincent moved to Britain in 1963. On a UK tour Vincent had pulled a gun on Jet Harris, Harris hid behind John Leyton, the situation was defused and the three would later become friends. His accompanying band, Sounds Incorporated, a six-piece outfit with three saxophones, guitar, bass and drums, went on to play with the Beatles at their Shea Stadium concert. Vincent toured the UK again in 1963 with the Outlaws, featuring future Deep Purple guitar player Ritchie Blackmore, as a backing band. Vincent's alcohol problems marred the tour, resulting in problems both on stage and with the band and management
In 1966 and 1967, in the United States, he recorded for Challenge Records, backed by ex-members of the Champs and Glen Campbell. Challenge released three singles in the US, and the UK London label released two singles and collected recordings on to an LP, Gene Vincent, on the UK London label in 1967. Although well received, none sold well.
In 1968 in a hotel in Germany, Vincent tried to shoot Paul Raven, later to find fame as Gary Glitter. He fired several shots but missed and a frightened Gary Glitter quickly left the country the next day.
In 1969, Gene Vincent recorded the album I'm Back and I'm Proud for long-time fan John Peel's Dandelion Records, produced by Kim Fowley with arrangements by Skip Battin (of the Byrds), Mars Bonfire on rhythm guitar, Johnny Meeks (of Blue Caps) on lead guitar, Jim Gordon on drums, and backing vocals by Linda Ronstadt and Jackie Frisco.
Paul A. Rothchild
While recording the track Sexy Ways for the album Vincent threatened to get a gun from his car and shoot Paul A. Rothchild (the Doors producer) if he did not leave the studio; the pair then left the studio quickly.
Vincent recorded two other albums for Kama Sutra Records, reissued on one CD by Rev-Ola in March 2008.
Gene Vincent with the Wild Angels
On his 1969 tour of the UK he was backed by the Wild Angels, a British band that had performed at the Royal Albert Hall with Bill Haley & His Comets and Duane Eddy.
Because of pressure from his ex-wife Margaret Russell, the Inland Revenue and promoter Don Arden, Vincent quickly returned to the US.
Gene Vincent's final US recordings were four tracks for Rockin' Ronny Weiser's Rolling Rock label, a few weeks before his death. These recordings were released on a compilation album of tribute songs, including Say Mama, by his daughter, Melody Jean Vincent, accompanied by Johnny Meeks on guitar. On 19 September 1971, he began his last series of gigs in Britain. He was backed by Richard Cole and Kansas Hook (Dave Bailey, Bob Moore, and bass player Charlie Harrison. They recorded four tracks (Say Mama, Be-Bop-A-Lula, Roll Over Beethoven, Distant Drums) at the BBC studios in Maida Vale, London, for Johnnie Walker's Radio 1 show.
Vincent managed one show at the Garrick Night Club in Leigh, Lancashire, and two shows at the Wookey Hollow Club in Liverpool on October 3 and 4. Vincent then returned to the US and died a few days later.
Gene Vincent died at the age of 36 on October 12, 1971, from a combination of a ruptured ulcer, internal hemorrhage and heart failure, while visiting his father in Saugus, California. He was interred at Eternal Valley Memorial Park, in Newhall, California.
Vincent was mentioned in one of Ian Dury's earliest songs, Upminster Kid (on the 1975 Kilburn and the High Roads album Handsome), with the words "Well Gene Vincent Craddock remembered the love of an Upminster rock 'n' roll teen". Vincent had died just four years earlier.
Ian Dury later recorded the song Sweet Gene Vincent.
Gene Vincent was the first inductee into the Rockabilly Hall of Fame upon its formation in 1997. The following year he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Vincent has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 1749 North Vine Street. In 2012, his band, the Blue Caps, were retroactively inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame by a special committee, alongside Vincent. On Tuesday, September 23, 2003, Vincent was honored with a Norfolk's Legends of Music Walk of Fame bronze star embedded in the Granby Street sidewalk.
Gene Vincent was one of those totemic spirits, in the company of Robert Johnson, Johnny Ace, Jim Morrison, Keith Moon and Sid Vicious, who have watched over rock & roll in all of its diverse formats as they did their best to endure an excess of mental health and sobriety as they refused to make music predictable.
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