While visiting his dad in California, Gene Vincent dies from a ruptured stomach ulcer.
Vincent Eugene Craddock drops out of school at 17 and, with his parents blessing, enlists in the Navy in February of 1952. Planning on a career in the military, he re-ups, takes the $612 he gets for a re-enlistment bonus and buys a brand-new 1954 Triumph Tiger T110. Then in 1955, during a July weekend, while still in the Navy, he's out riding his Triumph when...Version A) a young woman in a Chrysler 300 runs a red light and broadsides him, or Version B) he's out drinking and tries to sneak back on base, while attempting to ride underneath the security gate he dumps the bike on his leg...An ambulance rushes him into the Naval hospital with a severely smashed (technical medical term) left leg. By all accounts Craddock's doctors were considering amputation but he begged his mother not to allow the operation. He was released from the Navy and was to spend the rest of 1955 in and out of the hospital. His leg would be fitted with a steel brace. The "leg iron" would be a source of pain for the rest of his life.
Gene Craddock became involved in the local music scene in Norfolk, Virginia. He swaps his name to Gene Vincent, and forms a rockabilly band called "Gene Vincent and His Blue Caps" (a term used in reference to enlisted sailors in the U.S. Navy). The band included Willie Williams (rhythm), Jack Neal (upright bass), Dickie Harrell (drums), and Cliff Gallup on lead guitar.
In 1956 he wrote "Be Bop A Lula", which would draw comparisons to a fellow-motorcycle rider and future King, Elvis Presley (Rolling Stone magazine lists it as No. 103 on it's 500 Greatest Rock 'n' Roll Songs list).
Originally released as a "B-side" and aired locally but, soon the quarters began to pour into the slots of juke boxes and it caught fire on national radio stations (obscuring the original "A-side" song), and became a hit and launched Vincent as a rock 'n' roll star.
His influence continues to be felt as evidenced by bands such as Red Pharaohs "Gene Vincent Rides a Triumph" and the BSA riding Big Tractor's "D-Cup A Lula". In London (his much loved second home), the world famous Ace Cafe holds an annual "Gene Vincent Night".
Gene Vincent factoids;
He was the first inductee into the Rockabilly Hall of Fame upon its formation in 1997 and the following year he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Vincent has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 1749 N. Vine Street. In 2012, his band, the Blue Caps, were retroactively inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame by a special committee, alongside Vincent. On Tuesday, September 23, 2003 Vincent was honored with a Norfolk's Legends of Music Walk of Fame bronze star embedded in the Granby Street sidewalk.
The Norfolk rockabilly legend is interred at Eternal Valley Memorial Park located in Newhall, Santa Clarita, California.
Today in motorcycle history proudly supports the National Association for Bikers with a Disability (NABD). www.nabd.org.uk
Parts of this post appeared in 2013 on Vincent's birthday.
Today in motorcycle history proudly supports the National Association for Bikers with a Disability (NABD). www.nabd.org.uk
