Gene Vincent

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Gene Vincent (1967).

Gene Vincent (born February 11, 1935 in Norfolk , Virginia ; real name Eugene Vincent Craddock ; † October 12, 1971 in Newhall , California ) was an American rockabilly musician, who was mainly hit by his hit Be-Bop-A-Lula got known.

Life

Childhood and youth

His parents were Ezekiah Jackson and Mary Louise Craddock, who ran a small business in Virginia. Gene Vincent grew up under the influence of country music , rhythm and blues, and gospel music in the southern United States . He got his first guitar from a friend when he was twelve.

In 1952 Vincent dropped out of school and enlisted in the Navy . In July 1955 he was stationed on a tender of the Navy, which operated between Korea and the USA, and was temporarily in Korea without having been actively involved in combat. In July 1955 he had a serious motorcycle accident in Norfolk. His left leg was shattered in the process and should be amputated. However, Gene Vincent refused to do this, suffered severe pain throughout his life and was given a metal splint for stabilization. Vincent's time in the Navy was over.

Career

Gene Vincent now focused on the music and played in various country bands in Norfolk, Virginia. In 1956 he wrote a track he called Be-Bop-A-Lula . Vincent put a group together, recorded a demo of the piece, and managed to land a recording deal with Capitol Records .

His back-up group consisted of Cliff Gallup on lead guitar , Willie Williams on rhythm guitar , Jack Neal on bass, and Dickie Harrell on drums . They appeared in the period from 1956 to 1958 under the name Gene Vincent and His Blue Caps . They toured the United States, appeared on the Ed Sullivan Show , and appeared on the American Bandstand and other major American television shows.

On May 4, 1956, Be-Bop-A-Lula in Nashville ( Tennessee , included) and appeared on June 2 as a B-side of Vincent's first Single Woman Love . The radio stations, however, played Be-Bop-A-Lula more often than the A-side and so the title reached number 7 on the hit parade in 1956. He also appeared with this song in the Hollywood comedy The Girl Can't Help It .

Vincent used a tape echo several times during recordings to skillfully support his voice. This echo groove, actually invented to compensate for a missing drum kit, produced a characteristic groove that "bubbled" in time with the beat. Vincent developed an independent, aggressive and urban rockabilly style on his first two records, in the later recordings there were sometimes doo-wop elements. Gene Vincent's lead guitarist Cliff Gallup was influenced by the jazz-pop guitarist Les Paul and built surprising changes in harmony and technically demanding licks into his solos. Cliff Gallup finally left the band after the recordings for the second record, because as the oldest of the band, life on tour as a family man did not suit him.

After Be-Bop-A-Lula , Gene Vincent achieved a few smaller successes (for example Bluejean Bop or Race with the Devil ). Due to his leg brace and the pain, he was actually handicapped in his movements, but this did not prevent him from moving actively on stage. In doing so, he developed the peculiarity of leaning slightly forward to cling to the microphone stand and temporarily stare at the ceiling. Despite the film and the many television appearances, Gene Vincent could not establish himself permanently at the top in the USA. In 1957, Lotta Lovin ' was another hit parade, but Vincent's career in the USA was over with the end of the rockabilly era.

1958 followed another film appearance in the feature film Hot Rod Gang in which he played the songs Dance in the Street and Dance to the Bop .

With his performances in Europe in 1959, Gene Vincent managed to inspire a new audience and he was particularly popular in Great Britain and France .

After 1960 Gene Vincent moved to England because he had far more followers there than in the USA. After a performance he drove back to London with his friend, the musician Eddie Cochran on April 17, 1960 and was involved in a serious accident. Cochran died, Vincent was seriously injured, his leg was again damaged and he broke his collarbone. Nevertheless, a few weeks later he was back on stage in England.

Due to several earlier and further accidents, many tours and a life in the fast lane with excessive alcohol consumption and drug abuse (painkillers) Vincent's health deteriorated noticeably from the mid-1960s. He became asthmatic and slightly overweight. Chronic osteomyelitis began in his leg, which had been inadequately treated throughout his life . The last concerts in England in 1971 were partly canceled because his voice failed him.

In October 1971, Vincent visited his parents in California. There he felt very ill and died in a hospital from a stomach bleeding after his parents found him collapsed in his apartment.

1998 was honored Gene Vincent with the inclusion in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland ( Ohio ) and to the inclusion in the Rockabilly Hall of Fame .

Gene Vincent has a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame (1749 N. Vine St., across from Capitol Tower ) in the Music category.

Discography

Albums

year title Top ranking, total weeks, awardChartsChart placements
(Year, title, rankings, weeks, awards, notes)
Remarks
UK UK
1960 Crazy Times UK12 (2 weeks)
UK

More albums

  • 1956: Bluejean Bop
  • 1957: Gene Vincent and the Blue Caps
  • 1958: Gene Vincent Rocks and the Blue Caps Roll
  • 1958: A Gene Vincent Record Date
  • 1959: Sounds like Gene Vincent
  • 1964: Shakin 'up a Storm
  • 1967: The Crazy Beat of Gene Vincent (Capitol Records)
  • 1979: Gene Vincent , from the series "20 Rock'n'Roll Hits", Capitol Records, EMI Electrola, LP with foreword by Frank Laufenberg
  • 2005: The Road is Rocky - The Complete Studio Masters 1956 - 1971 (8 CD box)
  • 2005: The Very Best of Gene Vincent (EMI-Gold), double CD
  • 2007: The Outtakes 6-CD-Mini-Box (Bear Family Records)

Singles

year Title
album
Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements
(Year, title, album , rankings, weeks, awards, notes)
Remarks
UK UK US US
1956 Be-Bop-a-Lula UK16 (7 weeks)
UK
US9 (20 weeks)
US
B-side: Woman Love
Race With The Devil UK28 (1 week)
UK
US96 (1 week)
US
B-side: Gonna Back Up Baby
Blue Jean Bop UK16 (5 weeks)
UK
-
B-side: Who Slapped John
1957 Lotta lovin ' - US14 (19 weeks)
US
Gene Vincent and His Blue Caps
Dance To The Bop - US43 (9 weeks)
US
B-side: I Got It
Gene Vincent and His Blue Caps
1960 Wild cat UK21 (6 weeks)
UK
-
My heart UK16 (8 weeks)
UK
-
Pistol Packin 'Mama UK15 (9 weeks)
UK
-
B-side: Anna Annabelle
1961 She She Little Sheila UK22 (11 weeks)
UK
-
B-side: Hot Dollar
I'm going home UK36 (4 weeks)
UK
-

Capitol Records (recording dates in brackets), selection

  • Crazy Legs (June 24, 1956) / Important Words (October 18, 1956), January 1957
  • Baby Blue (December 6, 1957) / True To You (June 20, 1957), April 1958
  • Rocky Road Blues (March 27, 1958) / I Love You (March 26, 1958), July 1958
  • Say Mama (October 14, 1958) / Be Bop Boogie Boy (October 14, 1958), December 1958
  • Summertime (March 28, 1958) / Frankie and Johnny (December 9, 1957)
  • Jezebel (June 25, 1956) / Maybe (October 13, 1958)
  • If You Want My Lovin (January 11, 1961) / Mister Loneliness (January 11, 1961)
  • Brand New Beat (December 9, 1957) / Unchained Melody (October 16, 1956)
  • Crazy Beat (January 10, 1961) / High Blood Pressure (October 16, 1958)

Challenge Records

  • Born To Be A Rolling Stone / Hurtin 'For You Baby (1967)

Dandelion Recors

  • White Lightning / Scarlet Ribbons (1970)

literature

  • Mick Farren : Gene Vincent: There's one in every town . London: The Do-Not Press 2004. ISBN 1-904316-37-9
  • Susan Van Hecke: Race with the devil: Gene Vincent's life in the fast lane . New York: St. Martin's Press 2000. ISBN 0-312-26222-1
  • Britt Hagarty: The Day the World Turned Blue . Vancouver, BC: Talon Books 1983. ISBN 978-0-88922-214-4
  • Alan Vince: I remember Gene Vincent . Merseyside: Vintage Rock 'n' Roll Appreciation Society 1977.

Individual evidence

  1. Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Gene Vincent in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
  2. a b Chart sources: UK US

Web links