page_title: Gene Vincent
section_title: Later career
hierarchical_section_title: Gene Vincent / Biography / Later career
caption_attribution_description: Français&#160;: Le chanteur de rock américain Gene Vincent à Cherbourg (Normandie, France).Unknown american rock singer gene vincent in cherbourg (normandie, france) in 1967.
context_page_description: Vincent Eugene Craddock, known as Gene Vincent, was an American musician who pioneered the styles of rock and roll and rockabilly. His 1956 top ten hit with his Blue Caps, "Be-Bop-a-Lula", is considered a significant early example of rockabilly. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the Rockabilly Hall of Fame.
context_section_description: Vincent's attempts to re-establish his American career in folk rock and country rock proved unsuccessful; he is remembered today for recordings of the 1950s and early 1960s released by Capitol Records. In the early 1960s, he also put out tracks on EMI's Columbia label, including a cover of Arthur Alexander's "Where Have You Been All My Life?" A backing band called the Shouts joined him.
  In 1966 and 1967, in the United States, he recorded for Challenge Records, backed by ex-members of the Champs and Glen Campbell. Challenge released three singles in the US, and the UK London label released two singles and collected recordings on to an LP, Gene Vincent, on the UK London label in 1967. Although well received, none sold well. In 1968 in a hotel in Germany, Vincent tried to shoot Gary Glitter. He fired several shots but missed and a frightened Glitter left the country the next day.
  In 1969, he recorded the album I'm Back and I'm Proud for long-time fan John Peel's Dandelion Records, produced by Kim Fowley with arrangements by Skip Battin (of the Byrds), and backing vocals by Linda Ronstadt. He recorded two other albums for Kama Sutra Records, reissued on one CD by Rev-Ola in March 2008. On his 1969 tour of the UK he was backed by the Wild Angels, a British band that had performed at the Royal Albert Hall with Bill Haley & His Comets and Duane Eddy. Because of pressure from his ex-wife, the Inland Revenue and promoter Don Arden, Vincent returned to the US.
  His final US recordings were four tracks for Rockin' Ronny Weiser's Rolling Rock label, a few weeks before his death. These were released on a compilation album of tribute songs, including "Say Mama", by his daughter, Melody Jean Vincent, accompanied by Johnny Meeks (of Blue Caps and Merle Haggard's The Strangers) on guitar. He later recorded four tracks (released years later as The Last Session) in Britain in October 1971 as part of his last tour. He was backed by Richard Cole and Kansas Hook (Dave Bailey, Bob Moore, Richard Cole and bass player Charlie Harrison from Poco and Roger McGuinn's Thunderbyrd). They recorded five tracks at the BBC studios in Maida Vale, London, for Johnnie Walker's radio show. He managed one show at the Garrick Night Club in Leigh, Lancashire, and two shows at the Wookey Hollow Club in Liverpool on October 3 and 4. Vincent then returned to the US and died a few days later. Four of these tracks were later released on the BBC's own label prefix BEEB001 called The Last Session; this includes a version of "Say Mama". The four tracks are now on Vincent's album White Lightning.
caption: Gene Vincent 1967
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