Gene Vincent & His Blue Caps

From HitStory, the pop encyclopedia of School of Rock · Artist

Gene Vincent & His Blue Caps · Gene Vincent, born Vincent Eugene Craddock on 11 February 1935 in Norfolk, Virginia, was an American rock 'n' roll musician who helped shape rockabilly. His musical influences were country, rhythm and blues and gospel. In 1952, at seventeen, he left school and joined the navy, where he planned a career. On 4 July 1955 his left leg was broken in a motorcycle accident. He refused amputation, but was left with a limp and pain.

Music and breakthrough

With his backing band the Blue Caps he reached the American top ten in 1956 with Be-Bop-A-Lula. That song is regarded as an important early example of rockabilly. His hit career was short, but his records from those years, such as Bluejean Bop! in 1956, Gene Vincent and the Blue Caps in 1957 and Gene Vincent Rocks! & The Blue Caps Roll in 1958, remained influential. He was later inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the Rockabilly Hall of Fame, and was also known as the Screaming End. He died on 12 October 1971.

Influence

The music combines a bouncing rhythm section with a sharp electric guitar and a voice that moves back and forth between whispering and screaming. Gene Vincent brought out a dark, rebellious side of early rock 'n' roll. He belongs to the pioneers of a style on which many later guitar bands built.

Listening

• 
  Be-Bop-A-Lula · Gene Vincent & His Blue Caps, 1956
  Apple Music ↗

Discography

Studio albums

• 1956Bluejean Bop!
• 1957Gene Vincent and the Blue Caps
• 1958A Gene Vincent Record Date
• 1958Gene Vincent Rocks! & The Blue Caps Roll