Gene Vincent and his Blue Caps
Gene Vincent only had one really big hit, "Be-Bop-a-Lula," which epitomized rockabilly at its prime in 1956 with its sharp guitar breaks, spare snare drums, fluttering echo, and Vincent's breathless, sexy vocals. Yet his place as one of the great early rock & roll singers is secure, backed up by a wealth of fine smaller hits and non-hits that rate among the best rockabilly of all time. The leather-clad, limping, greasy-haired singer was also one of rock's original bad boys, lionized by romanticists of past and present generations attracted to his primitive, sometimes savage style and indomitable spirit.
Vincent was bucking the odds by entering professional music in the first place. As a 20-year-old in the Navy, he suffered a severe motorcycle accident that almost resulted in the amputation of his leg, and left him with a permanent limp and considerable chronic pain for the rest of his life. After the accident he began to concentrate on building a musical career, playing with country bands around the Norfolk, Virginia area. Demos cut at a local radio station, fronting a band assembled around Gene by his management, landed Gene Vincent & the Blue Caps a contract with Capitol, which hoped they'd found competition for Elvis Presley.
Indeed it had, as by this time Vincent had plunged into all-out rockabilly, capable of both fast-paced exuberance and whispery, almost sensitive ballads. The Blue Caps were one of the greatest rock bands of the '50s, anchored at first by the stunning silvery, faster-than-light guitar leads of Cliff Gallup. The slap-back echo of "Be-Bop-a-Lula," combined with Gene's swooping vocals, led many to mistake the singer for Elvis when the record first hit the airwaves in mid-1956 on its way to the Top Ten. The Elvis comparison wasn't entirely fair; Vincent had a gentler, less melodramatic style, capable of both whipping up a storm or winding down to a hush.
Brilliant follow-ups like "Race With the Devil," "Bluejean Bop," and "B-I-Bickey, Bi, Bo-Bo-Go" failed to click in nearly as big a way, although these too are emblematic of rockabilly at its most exuberant and powerful. By the end of 1956, the Blue Caps were beginning to undergo the first of constant personnel changes that would continue throughout the '50s, the most crucial loss being the departure of Gallup. The 35 or so tracks he cut with the band -- many of which showed up only on albums or B-sides -- were unquestionably Vincent's greatest work, as his subsequent recordings would never again capture their pristine clarity and uninhibited spontaneity.
Vincent had his second and final Top 20 hit in 1957 with "Lotta Lovin'," which reflected his increasingly tamer approach to production and vocals, the wildness and live atmosphere toned down in favor of poppier material, more subdued guitars, and conventional-sounding backup singers. He recorded often for Capitol throughout the rest of the '50s, and it's unfair to dismiss those sides out of hand; they were respectable, occasionally exciting rockabilly, only a marked disappointment in comparison with his earliest work. His act was captured for posterity in one of the best scenes of one of the first Hollywood films to feature rock & roll stars, The Girl Can't Help It.
Live, Vincent continued to rock the house with reckless intensity and showmanship, and he became particularly popular overseas. A 1960 tour of Britain, though, brought tragedy when his friend Eddie Cochran, who shared the bill on Vincent's U.K. shows, died in a car accident that he was also involved in, though Vincent survived. By the early '60s, his recordings had become much more sporadic and lower in quality, and his chief audience was in Europe, particularly in England (where he lived for a while) and France.
His Capitol contract expired in 1963, and he spent the rest of his life recording for several other labels, none of which got him close to that comeback hit. Vincent never stopped trying to resurrect his career, appearing at a 1969 Toronto rock festival on the same bill as John Lennon. Two years later, he died at the age of 36 from a ruptured stomach ulcer, one of rock's first mythic figures.
© Richie Unterberger /TiVo
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Discographie
16 album(s) • Trié par Meilleures ventes
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Gene Vincent and His Blue Caps (Remastered)
Gene Vincent and his Blue Caps
Rock - Paru chez RevOla le 31 oct. 2019
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Bluejean Bop!
Gene Vincent and his Blue Caps
Rock - Paru chez Cayo Records le 3 sept. 2012
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Say Mama / Cruisin'
Gene Vincent and his Blue Caps
Rock - Paru chez Capitol le 10 nov. 1958
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Gene Vincent Rocks & The Bluecaps Roll (Remastered)
Gene Vincent and his Blue Caps
Rock - Paru chez RevOla le 20 nov. 2019
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
A Gene Vincent Record Date (Remastered)
Gene Vincent and his Blue Caps
Rock - Paru chez RevOla le 20 nov. 2019
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Dance to the Bop (Mono Version)
Gene Vincent and his Blue Caps
Rock - Paru chez BNF Collection le 1 janv. 1962
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Be-Bop-a-Lula (Mono Version)
Gene Vincent and his Blue Caps
Pop - Paru chez BNF Collection le 1 janv. 1961
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Yes, I Love You, Baby / Rocky Road Blues (Mono Version)
Gene Vincent and his Blue Caps
Rock - Paru chez BNF Collection le 1 janv. 1959
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Bluejean Bop! (Mono Version)
Gene Vincent and his Blue Caps
Rock - Paru chez BNF Collection le 1 janv. 1956
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Gene Vincent and the Blue Caps
Gene Vincent and his Blue Caps
Rock - Paru chez Cayo Records le 3 sept. 2012
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Lotta Lovin' (Billboard Hot 100 - No 13)
Gene Vincent and his Blue Caps
Rockabilly - Paru chez Music Manager le 5 nov. 2020
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Dance to the Bop
Gene Vincent and his Blue Caps
Rock - Paru chez Capitol le 2 oct. 1957
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Rock and Roll Revolution, Vol. 9, Part I (1957)
Gene Vincent and his Blue Caps, Elvis Presley
Pop/Rock - Paru chez Intense Media GmbH le 15 mars 2019
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Greatest Of Gene Vincent And His Blue Caps, Dion & The Belmonts & Bill Black's Combo (All Tracks Remastered)
Gene Vincent and his Blue Caps, Dion & The Belmonts, Bill Black's Combo
Rock - Paru chez Millennium Digital Remaster le 28 janv. 2023
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Dance To The Bop
Gene Vincent and his Blue Caps
Pop - Paru chez JB Production le 25 mai 2023
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Lotta Lovin'
Gene Vincent and his Blue Caps
Pop - Paru chez JB Production le 24 mai 2023
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo