Gene O'Quinn..Hillbilly Boogie!

Jason Odd · From: Stawell, Victoria, Australia

Okay Gene is a real lost gem, he recorded for a couple of labels then got a deal with Capitol Records.
He had a habit of cutting wild boogie woogie numbers with steel breaks and hot piano playing, real hillbilly boogie and all West coast.
He was lost for years, I think he died in the 1960's, but had already played with Merrill Moore, Speedy West, Jeanne Black, Billy Strange, worked the Pal and had a group at the Hitching Post with Johnny Davis on guitar, Blackie Taylor on steel, Hank Ross on Bass, Shorty Bacon on lead and vocal and a drummer, around 1960...
I've heard a few of his tracks on various rockabilly compilations, and there was a three volume series called 'Capitol Rockabilly' on the Discy label which plunged into the vaults of Capitol Records rockabilly and hillbilly boogie artists of the 1950's..with lots of tracks, Gene has one track on Volume 2 and about three tracks on Volume 3.

Now i hear his stuff on Capitol has been compiled on one CD..has anyone heard of it or got a label and number for it?

This is all I know..
GENE O’QUINN
Album Title "Boogie Woogie Fever" Date of Release Mar 14, 2000 (approx.)
prod Ken Nelson, 30 songs in Time 70:45 mins.
*Please note that Speedy West and Ralph Mooney are supposed to have done studio work on Gene's sides.

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The future ain't what it used to be

Mitch Drumm · From: Frostbite Falls, hard by Veronica Lake

it's on bear family 16194; here is a cut and paste from the bear site. the cd is most but not all of his career output. he was killed in an auto accident in the 60s. there is some great film footage floating around from the early 50s of him singing "pinball millionaire" too.

Gene O’Quin was a Texas-born, California-based honky tonk singer who died before he could garner much acclaim for uptempo stomps like Pinball Millionaire, Too Hot To Handle, That Mobilin’ Baby Of Mine, and many other sides that have become collector favorites over the years. Here, Bear Family has carefully selected Gene’s best sides from his Capitol and Intro recordings (1950-1955). The 30 songs included not only feature some of the best west coast recordings from those years, but also the cream of jazz-oriented Capitol studio vets, Speedy West, Jimmy Bryant, Merle Travis, Billy Liebert, Harold Hensley, and others. This is sharp, swinging, personable music that deserves a wider audience. Fans of rockabilly, west coast country and Texas honky tonk music should snap it up.

Herb Steiner · From: Briarcliff TX 78669, pop. 2,064

Actually, Gene died in a car wreck outside San Bernardino in the late 70's. I saw him in the audience at the Kerrville Folk Festival in Kerrville TX in 1977, and he said he was moving back to Texas, just going back to CA to get his belongings. He was on his way back to TX when he got snuffed.

I loved him on Cal's Corral on Sunday afternoons. Hank Thompson and Red Rhodes both told me that Gene could have been a big star, but the breaks didn't quite come his way

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Herb's Steel Guitar Homesite

Jason Odd · From: Stawell, Victoria, Australia

Thanks Mitch, yeah I should have guessed, I saw it listed, but without label details.

Herb, is there a chance that you are thinking of Ole Rasmussen, didn't he die in a 1978 car crash outside San Bernardino?

Actually this is off the topic, but I believ there's a Bear Family comp of Ole's sides on Capitol from 1950-1952 on Bear Family as well, sheesh better get some import money ready.

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The future ain't what it used to be

Herb Steiner · From: Briarcliff TX 78669, pop. 2,064

Maybe it wasn't San Bernardino, could have been Riverside CA, but my memory is not so bad that I forgot about Gene in 1977.

I was playing with Alvin Crow at the time and we were backing up Merle Travis at the Kerrville Folk Festival. Merle spotted Gene in the audience and pointed him out to me. I wouldn't have recognized him if he hadn't been identified to me. I went up and talked with him for awhile, and he told me he was gonna move to Fort Worth area. Shortly afterwards, the accident occurred.

I have a photo somewhere in my files of Gene in the audience. The search begins...

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Herb's Steel Guitar Homesite

[This message was edited by Herb Steiner on 05 August 2000 at 10:13 AM.]

Jason Odd · From: Stawell, Victoria, Australia

Herb, I have to say I've never doubted your memory before, so I'm going to go with you on this one, plus Gene and Ole are a 'lot' different in age.

Thinking about it now, I would have to say that Gene's demise in the 1960's might well have been one of those myths that get around.
Interesting Herb..........

Donny Hinson · From: Glen Burnie, Md. U.S.A.

I don't think I recall this guy, but I am familiar with a "James O'Gwynn", from about the same time period ('50s-'60s). He sounded similar to Hank Sr..

Al Udeen · From: maple grove mn usa

Which one of these guys were on the "Louisiana Hayride" late 50s ?

Jerry Hayes · From: Virginia Beach, Va.

Hey Jason,
Gene was a regular on one of those LA television shows. I can't remember which one it was, either Town Hall Party, Home Town Jamboree, or Country America.

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Have a good 'un! JH U-12

Jason Odd · From: Stawell, Victoria, Australia

Okay guys, you have all got me thinking, first of all I forgot some stuff.
Speedy West once told me in an email that :
[quote]Gene O'Quinn was a regular on Hometown Jamboree Sat night TV show and dance, as well as our daily radio show in Pasadena. He was a real showman and everyone loved him. He was killed in a car wreck, in the mid 60's I think.[quote/]

The Hometown group was really split up 1958 and working in all different areas and tours.
A spin-off was a group with Jeanne and Janie Black with Gene O'Quinn and Billy Strange went to Vegas to the Showboat, although it was for the younger three not Billy, he just went along.
They were hired and formed a group with teenager Chuck Hix, who worked with Cliffie semi regularly, and played guitar and Bass. His friend Alan Brenneman (check him out sometime as the bellhop in Marilyn Monroe's film 'Some Like It Hot') was on drums. Gene O' Quinn on a borrowed rhythm guitar.
During rehearsals Billy Strange ended up joining them on vocals and lead guitar, and the group evolved into BILLY AND THE KIDS, they hit Vegas to work, while the youngest Janie Black joined on the Friday and Saturday Nights as she was still a school kid!
Sadly though Gene bailed just before their first night and Speedy West was drafted in.
For later Vegas gigs they added Merrill Moore on piano as well.
This group was basically too good to exist and had to fall apart, Jeanne worked with Billy, her sister Janie and did the Vegas circut into the 1960's..{she married Billy Strange in 1999, how romantic!}
Gene went to his own groups, Speedy West, Merrill Moore and Billy Strange worked at the Palomino club and did a lot of session work, but after Speedy split in 1960 for Oklahoma they didn't really work together much more, although they stayed in touch.

And by the way Al Udeen, I think that both Gene and Ole guested on the Louisiana Hayride, but neither were regulars..man I'm not too sure though??

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The future ain't what it used to be

Tele · From: Andy W. - Wolfenbuettel, Germany

Hey Jason, seems like I run over you in all the places.
I have the requested CD and it is a blast ! He had a fantastic voice, the sound qulity is superb, steel playing by Speedy West + the usual extraordinaire Bear Family package.
Go for it !! Same with the Ole Rasmusson CD.

Andy

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..want to learn more about this stupid fella ??
http://hometown.aol.com/altec639/page1.html

Jason Odd · From: Stawell, Victoria, Australia

Hiya 'Tele', yeah it's a small web out there isn't in {heh}
Love the site by the way..the Bigsby and the Sho-Bud look excellent.
The Telecasters are of course Telecasters and there is not a finer looking guitar if you ask me, now if only I knew what Gene O'Quinn used, is there any pictures?

Tele · From: Andy W. - Wolfenbuettel, Germany

..hm..let's see, I didn't have the CD with me right now, but I remember a picture of him with a Gibson J-200. Steel wise it's Speedy West playin his Bigsby. The sound of the CD is very clear, the typical BIG $$$ Capitol stuff. I think Gene and Speedy were pretty close.

Andy

Tele · From: Andy W. - Wolfenbuettel, Germany

..Jason..I got it out of my cars trunk and listened to it once more.
There's even a track on it where Speedy sounds so much like Johnny Siebert, wow, amazing stuff.
I guess they tried to sound like the Nashville and Dallas bands, great playing but to me it sounds quite unusual considering it was a band that featured West, Bryant, Hensley and many more.

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