Gene Vincent

Born Eugene Vincent Craddock, 1935 Virginia - d 1971 California) Father and mother ran a general store near the North Carolina border. He was influenced by gospel, country and R&B. He got his first guitar at age 12 as a gift from a friend he was visitng in West Virginia.

In 1952 Vincent dropped out of school and enlisted in the Navy. Three years later, while still in the Navy, he was involved in a motorcyle accident. The damge to his left leg was so severe, the doctors were preparing to amputate. Vincent was adament about not losing his leg and even enlisted the help of his mother in persuading the doctors. His wish was granted, the leg was saved, but he paid for it with a permanent limp and chronic pain.

Discharged from the Navy and finally out of the hospital, Vincent began hanging around a Norfolk, Virginia country radio station singing with the staff band. He became a regular on one of the primetime music shows, singing some of his originals, including what would become his most famous, "Be Bop a Lula". As to who actually wrote Be Bop A Lula, no one knows for sure. Was it Vincent, his roommate at the Navy hospital, or a local sheriff/DJ/manager named Tex Davis or any combination of the three. In the end, Gene and the sheriff had legal rights to the song.

Davis knew captiol records was looking for talent to rival the new star Elvis Presley, so he took Vincent and members of the radio station staff band, including guitar player Cliff Gallup, into the recording studio and cut three demo songs. Capitol was impressed and told Davis to get Vincent to Nasvhille for a recording session.

The Nashville producer had brought in an impressive array of local talent to back up Vincent, figuring his radio station staff band wouldn't cut it. But once they heard Cliff Gallup's guitar work, it was obvious Vincent had a band with as much talent as he had. The band recorded the same three songs as their Virginia demo, including Be Bop a Lula. They also recorded a version of "Woman Love." Capitol released a single with "Woman Love" as the A-side, and "Be Bop a Lula" on the reverse. To everyone's surprise, within a month the DJs were primarily playing "Be Bop a Lula" and the record had sold over 200,000 copies.

Here is a clip from a performance of that hit song on the Long Beach California television show Town Hall Party. Circa 1956.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hBtzMVRjcag&mode=related&search=

Though in and out of the hospital with serious problems with his leg and exhuastion, Vincent continued to record and agressively tour . His band went thorugh various personnel changes and hardships. In a dispute with the IRS and the Musician' Union over payments to his band, Vincemt sold the band's equipment to pay the tax bill and left the country for Europe.

Though his popularity had been fading in the US, his 1959 European tour was a big hit. He moved to England in 1960, where his shows were must see events. Also touring with him that year was singer Eddie Cochran. One day Vincent, Cochran and Cochran's fiance, songwriter Sharon Sheeley were rushing to the airport to catch a plane back to the states when their car blew a tire and crashed. Vincent broke his ribs, collarbone, and reinjured his left leg. Sheeley suffered a broken pelvis and Cochran, a rising music and film star, at age twenty-one, was killed.

Vincent's work in England and the US influenced many of the Rock and Roll bands of the 60's. That infleunce can be seen strikingly so with this clip recorded in Liverpool's famous cavern club.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nF5ItjFzbLw

Vincent died from a bleeding ulcer while visiting his father in California. He was thirty-six.