Biography of Gene Vincent

Though his chart hits were few, no one defined the initial greasy-haired, leather-jacketed, hot-rods 'n' babes spark of rock & roll more than Gene Vincent. Far more influential as a live performer, Vincent, with his backing group The Blue Caps, defined the lifestyle and visual prowess of the music, as well as touring with a wild-ass stage show that usually left a sea of destroyed equipment, hotel rooms, deflowered schoolgirls, and musical converts in their wake. Dogged by tax problems and the emerging teen-idol trend in pop music, he emigrated to the UK by the early '60s, where he found himself revered as a founding father of the music. Several bids for a chart comeback failed, and by the late '60s, alcoholism had reduced his once-energetic stage prowess to a bloated self-parody. But a quick spin of his '50s Capitol sides dispels all that: the rebellious spirit of rock & roll's first flowering lives on in the supercharged recordings of Gene Vincent & the Blue Caps. Be-Bop-A-Lula, indeed. ~ Cub Koda