Gene Vincent

RickRichtmyer · From: Beautiful Adamstown, MD

My brother gave me a CD of 20 hits by Gene Vincent. It was really great to hear these tunes after all these years. Unlike some CD rereleases of older stuff that I've heard, this is pretty much just as originally recorded with no attempt for phony stereo or reverb (other than the liberal amounts of tape echo on the originals).

Vincent sounds like an Elvis imitator, although he came on the scene so soon after Elvis that it would seem that he developed his style independently. His band was very good. Cliff Gallup, his lead player was a remarkably facile and clean player, who often used humorous "quotes" in his lead solos. Another interesting aspect of the band was "Bebop" Harrell, the drummer, who used brushes almost exclusively, even on up-tempo tunes (which most on the CD are).

Great CD! I give it 5 stars!

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Rick Richtmyer
Good News

RickRichtmyer · From: Beautiful Adamstown, MD

Rayman,

FYI: The CD is called "The Screaming End: The Best Of Gene Vincent" and is available on Amazon.

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Rick Richtmyer
Good News

Jerry Hayes · From: Virginia Beach, Va.

Hey Rick,
This is a subject dear to my heart! I knew Cliff Gallup as I'm now living where he did. I met him through his wife Doris, who was working with my wife (now ex-wife) for the City of Chesapeake, Va. Cliff didn't like to do the road thing so he quit the Blue Caps and came on back here and played locally until the day he died. Doris had his black Gretsch that he used but she passed away a year or two ago so I don't know what happened to it. Cliff passed away around 10 or 12 years ago I guess. He always had a unique right hand technique. He used a flat pick and metal fingerpicks on his middle and ring finger. After leaving the Blue Caps he played a lot with a local group called the 4 C's which included a local DJ/musician named Carolina Charlie.
Dickey "BeBop" Harrell is still gigging around here locally too. He's filled in with my band (The Legends) on ocassion and does a fine job. For some great Cliff stuff check out "Race With the Devil" by Gene Vincent. Cliff was way ahead of his time. The great Albert Lee and Jeff Beck have both cited him as a great influence on their playing.

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Have a good 'un! JH U-12

Michael Johnstone · From: Sylmar,Ca. USA

Don't forget the great Johnny Meeks who also played guitar w/Gene and the Bluecaps.He played in LA till the late 80s early 90s before moving to South Carolina where he still picks.He also plays great Jerry Lee style piano and sings more like Gene Vincent the Gene did.He also wrote Gene's hit "Say Mama". I picked w/Johnny quite a few times and he had a wonderfully melodic and driving West Coast style remenicient of James Burton and Nokie Edwards.

Greg Simmons · From: where the buffalo (used to) roam AND the Mojave

Check out the releases here:

http://www.dragonstreet.com/dragonstreet.html

Gene Vincent, Joe Poovey, and the "Big D Jamboree" releases - both Guys and Gals - are a real treat

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Greg Simmons
Custodian of the Official Sho~Bud Pedal Steel Guitar Website
shobud.cjb.net

[This message was edited by Greg Simmons on 27 December 2001 at 03:46 PM.]

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

Gene will be forever famous for "Be-Bop-A-Lula", but he did other stuff as well. Actually, Gene won his Capitol recording contract as a result of entering an "Elvis soundalike contest". His last hit record "Dance To The Bop" got him an appearance on Ed Sullivan in '58. Though he did a Country_rock album "I'm Back an I'm Proud" in 1970, as well as two Country albums, he never found the type of success that he had in the '50s, and died just a few months after those albums were released.

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

I have a jpg file of a 1955 pic of gene and band on stage. this is before he recorded. gene is in western clothes, as are the other band members. personnel includes twin fiddles and acoustic bass. gene on rhythm guitar, can't tell if it is gallup or not on electric guitar--whoever it is, he is playing a hollowbody with a cutaway. i don't have a pic of gallup at hand, maybe one of you guys can ID him.

the pic is signed by Gene--it says "my first" something or other, so it may be a pic from his first public appearance or first band.

gallup's local virginia group made an LP long after he quit the Blue Caps. it is effectively impossible to find, but most of it was reissued 10 or 15 years ago on an LP from Europe. Cliff does a wonderful version of "september in the rain" that really shows off his chops.

gallup is so highly revered overseas that i wouldn't be surprised if his guitars have found their way into collector hands.

Shaan Shirazi · From: Austin, TX, USA

I've got that "impossible to find" Blue Caps CD called "The Legendary Blue Caps" from some label in England. Most of it is pretty bad except for the Cliff Gallup instrumentals which capture skill and a guitar tone that is second to none. Cliff Gallup is the reason I play traditional music, the first time I heard "Race With The Devil" I was a Rockabilly fan for life! I even copped his style and played in sub par Rockabilly bands just for a chance to play Blue Jean Bop or Crazy Legs (written by Jerry Reed, go figure).

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The Pickin' Paniolo

Jussi Huhtakangas · From: Helsinki, Finland

The few remaining Blue Caps just did few gigs in California couple of weeks ago and Dickie Harrell attends Viva Las Vegas-rockabilly weekender each year. And hey, what about our own Bobbe Seymour, he used to play with those guys before they became Gene Vincent & the Blue Caps. Maybe he is one of those guys in Mitch Drumms' photo???
Jussi

RickRichtmyer · From: Beautiful Adamstown, MD

Jerry,

Another friend of mine, a non-musician, but bigtime fan and knowledgeable guy, who lives in Virginia Beach, also spent some time talking with Gallup's widow. He said he called her up out of the blue one time and she invited him over for the afternoon and they had a great time reminiscing about the Blue Caps. His name is Mark Smith. I wonder if you've ever crossed paths.

When I went to Amazon.com to post the actual name of the CD (several posts back), I ran across some CD rereleases by Eddie Cochran. I may have to pick up one or more of them as well. I think I'm having a personal rockabilly revival. That's the kind of music that got me started on this whole thing anyway. I'm overdue to enter my second childhood.

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Rick Richtmyer
Good News

Jason Odd · From: Stawell, Victoria, Australia

Gene is my main man, I love early Elvis, Cash, Charlie Feathers, Jerry Lee Lewis, Eddie Cochran, Glen Glenn, Sammy Masters and so on, but Gene is my main man.
Basically his 1950s Capitol LPs have remained in print for years, most are available on two for one CD sets.

I'm a big fan of Cliff and Johnny, and the 'I'm Back and I'm Proud' LP is an interesting set, although the song material is attimes quite questionable, the band is on top formand Gene remains interesting. Johnny Meeks and Red Rhodes add some muscle to a generally younger band. On "Be-Bop A Lula '69" Johnny Meeks supplies some killer lead work, he produces a blistering solo.

Cliff Gallup had a really rare country LP with the Four Cs, back around 1966 or so.

Shaan Shirazi · From: Austin, TX, USA

"The Legendary Blue Caps" CD has 7 cuts from the Cliff Gallup and the 4 C's record, (all instrumental) they are:

Be Bop A Lula
Unchained Melody
Jealous Heart
September In The Rain (real cool)
Am I That Easy To Forget
Jezebel
I Dreamed of an Old Love Affair

The first 14 songs are from an 80's recording called "Blue Caps Unleashed" and the final six or various Johnny Meeks and Jerry Merritt recordings.

Shaan

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The Pickin' Paniolo

Jason Odd · From: Stawell, Victoria, Australia

I just noticed that Mitch already mentioned the Four Cs set, sorry to be repititous.
Shaan, that compilation "The Legendary Blue Caps," is it on Magnum or one of those UK labels?

Bill C. Buntin · From: Cleburne TX

Don't forget Johnny Carrell. Gene Vincent, Johnny Carrell and others were the TRUE inventors of "Rock-a-billy". I know for a true fact that Carrell was doing that style PRE-Elvis. That may cause some flames with the Elvis and Gene Vincent fans. But I would bet money that Gene was doing that style before Elvis too. Carrell's "Wild, Wild, Women" and "Hot Rock" on Phillips International, probably 1955-56, really pre-dated any of these others. He went on to re-release those tunes and others on Decca, about the same time as Vincent's "Be-Bop-a-Lula". Carrell was doing this stuff live in the TX. LA. arenas before 1954. He just didn't HIT like Gene Vincent did. If you like this stuff, Check out Carrell's Decca recordings. Pretty cool old stuff.

Shaan Shirazi · From: Austin, TX, USA

Jason,

Yes, it's on the Magnum label and it came out in 1993 I think. I got it at a huge chain type music store in Oklahoma City of all places and have never seen a copy since.

Shaan

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The Pickin' Paniolo

Jason Odd · From: Stawell, Victoria, Australia

Yep, I know that comp. I've got some of their other releases, their Sundown spin-off has some great country-rock stuff.
Write to the address on the packaging and you should be able to get more info on other releases if you're interested.

Jerry Hayes · From: Virginia Beach, Va.

If you want to find out some stuff about all of these people just add this site to your list of favorites. www.rockabillyhall.com. It's got everything about rockabilly.

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Have a good 'un! JH U-12

Jerry Hayes · From: Virginia Beach, Va.

I just clicked on my post about the rockabilly hall and it wouldn't come up so I went direct to it on my address bar to make sure it was still active and it came up that way..........

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Have a good 'un! JH U-12

Jussi Huhtakangas · From: Helsinki, Finland

Bill C. I had a chance to play lead guitar for Johnny Carroll on his first and only show in Finland ten years ago. He was a very friendly guy and fun to work with. Him and Gene were close friends in the 50s, they got to know each other well during Gene's Dallas days. My buddy Pete Hakonen, who runs a Goofin' Records-label here, just released a soundtrack cd of the legendary rockabilly movie "Rock Baby Rock It", which featured Johnny and many other Dallas based acts. The tracks on the cd are the original cuts from the movie, so they're different than on the old 45's, and most of the songs were not even released elsewhere. In US you can get the cd at least from Hep Cat Records.
And back to Gene ( and Eddie Cochran ), British Rockstar-label recently released the "long lost" Town Hall Party tv-performances of these two legends on video. Talk about an important documentary piece of rock'n'roll history! Gene's tape features the Blue Caps on half of the songs ( Johnny Meeks and Jerry Merritt on lead ) and some of the songs have the Town Hall Party house band, Skeets MacDonald on bass and Merle Travis on lead, among others. It's great to see and here these guys in "live" action, instead of some lip-synch movie clips.
Jussi

Bob Shilling · From: Berkeley, CA, USA

He was always one of my favorites, too. In addition to the songs mentioned, "Woman Love" should be a classic, but didn't get much airplay because the slightly slurred lyrics sounded a bit dirty. I liked his rendition of the novelty song, "Pistol Packin' Mama" as well.

I believe Gene was riding in the same cab with Eddie Cochran when it crashed and Eddie was killed. In London.

Anyone remember when Steve Allen read the lyrics to "Be-Bop-a-Loo-La" on his show? It was pretty funny.

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Bob Shilling, Berkeley, CA--MSA S10, "Classic"