#gene vincent

[holyphantomtimetravel]

Gene Vincent and Little Richard 1962

#rock n roll #gene vincent #little richard

[musickickztoo]

Gene Vincent † October 12, 1971

#gene vincent #the blue caps #october 12

[frenchcurious]

Gene Vincent on his Triumph motorcycle! England circa 1969. - source Cars & Motorbikes Stars of the Golden era.

#gene vincent #triumph

[get-back-homeward]

By macabre coincidence an event that took place around Bristol marks a major turning point in the story of pop music. Eddie Cochran died hours after appearing at the Bristol Hippodrome in 1960, as part of the Larry Parnes-produced Anglo-American rock ’n’ roll package tour. Two of the people who shared a stage with Cochran that night were Tony Sheridan and a Liverpudlian singer called Johnny Gentle. Both were under contract to Parnes and both would play a significant role in the history of the most influential British act of all time, the Beatles. Sheridan, the first British rock ’n’ roller to sing and play his own guitar live on British TV, would become best known for the recordings he made in Hamburg with the Beatles shortly before they found fame.

Parnes was the first manager in Britain to become as famous as his artists – the Simon Cowell of his day – with a stable of singers including Tommy Steele, Britain’s first real rock ’n’ roll star, Marty Wilde, Billy Fury, Vince Eager and others. He was also homosexual, a dangerous thing to be at a time when gay men were routinely arrested, fined or even imprisoned.

Their tour was due to take a break after a week of shows in Bristol, and Cochran and co-headliner Gene Vincent wanted to get home to America. Cochran was in a hurry to get to London, where he was going to meet up with Vince Eager before the pair flew to the States together, and Cochran and Vincent rented a private hire taxi, driven by George Martin from Hartcliffe, to take them. Shortly after 11pm on 16 April 1960, their car set off from Bristol’s Royal Hotel (now the Bristol Marriott Royal, on College Green) for London Airport.

Sadly, none of the passengers would make their flight. Less than an hour out of Bristol, Martin realised he had taken a wrong turn. On Rowden Hill, a notorious accident black spot near Chippenham, he lost control and the car spun backwards, hitting a lamppost. The impact of the crash sent Cochran up into the roof of the car and forced the rear passenger side door open, throwing him onto the road. Martin and tour manager Patrick Thompkins, who were in the front of the vehicle, were able to walk away uninjured. The three passengers who had occupied the back seat – Eddie, Gene and Eddie’s girlfriend Sharon Sheeley – were lying on the grass verge. All three were rushed to Chippenham Cottage Hospital, before being transferred to St Martin’s Hospital, just outside Bath. Vincent had broken his collarbone, Sheeley was badly bruised and concussed, but Cochran was seriously injured and would not regain consciousness: he died in hospital in Bath the following day. A young police cadet, David Harman, was among those called to help clear the scene after the crash. Harman would later find fame as Dave Dee, front man of the hit group Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick and Tich.

Three weeks after Cochran’s death, Larry Parnes auditioned the Beatles to act as the backing group to his big signing, Billy Fury. They did not win that booking, but he hired them to play with Johnny Gentle on a short tour of Scotland. All of the Beatles were fans of Cochran and Vincent, and lapped up Gentle’s tales of life on the road with the two big American stars. When the 17-year-old George Harrison discovered that Gentle owned the shirt that Cochran had worn on stage in Bristol for that last show he begged the singer to give it to him.

Excerpt from Darryl W. Bullock's book The Velvet Mafia in The Bristol Magazine [x]

#the velvet mafia #1960 #eddie cochran #gene vincent #i keep forgetting gene vincent was in the car with cochran #totally missed how close this was to the scottish tour #larry parnes #scotland #johnny gentle #precedent for paul asking for little richards shirt #guess they didnt find fans wanting any piece of textile they every touched was weird if they did it lol #bug influences #may 1960 #newspaper clippings #learning gene vincent was from norfolk va and he was so rough looking they put him in leather to lean into it #cochran ends up picking up the leather pants look that spring #he'd just made a splash wearing them on brit tv #the last photo taken of cochran hes in those black leather pants #(top right) #the beatles end up getting a tailor to make pairs that look identical by spring 1961 #probably inspired by tony sheridan who had a gene vincent act #gene vincent plays at the star club with them in spring 62 #john and pete talk about him being obsessed with his knives and paul has a story of gene pulling out a gun

[lisamarie-vee]

#rock and roll hall of fame #gene vincent #vinyllove

[moviesiveseenandwanttoremember]

Frank Tashlin’s “The Girl Can’t Help It” December 1, 1956.

#Frank Tashlin #The Girl Can't Help It #1956 #Fifties #Romantic Comedy #Jayne Mansfield #Little Richard #Fats Domino #Gene Vincent #The Platters #Rock 'n' Roll #1/5

[rockabilly-bebop]

#eddie cochran #gene vincent

[javelinbk]

Sometimes I feel weird for thinking about songs in terms of ships, but then I remembered that John and Paul did exactly the same about themselves, so 🤷🏼‍♀️

As I said, I had already begun to want to leave, but when I met Yoko is like when you meet your first woman. You leave the guys at the bar. You don't go play football anymore. You don't go play snooker or billiards. Maybe some guys do it on Friday night or something, but once I found the woman, the boys became of no interest whatsoever other than being old school friends. 'Those wedding bells are breaking up that old gang of mine.' We got married three years later, in 1969. That was the end of the boys. And it just so happened that the boys were well known and weren't just local guys at the bar.

John Lennon, Playboy interview with David Sheff, 1980

I remember thinking of it like army buddies. One of the songs we used to love in the past was 'Wedding Bells'... ‘Those wedding bells are breaking up that old gang of mine’... and this idea that you'd been army buddies but one day you have to kiss the army goodbye and go and get married and act like normal people. It was a bit like that for the Beatles - we always knew that day had to come.

Paul McCartney, The Beatles Anthology, 1995

Not a soul down on the corner That's a pretty certain sign Those weddin' bells are breakin' up That old gang of mine All the boys are singin' love songs They forgot "Sweet Adeline" Those weddin' bells are breakin' up That old gang of mine

Well, there goes Jack There goes Jim Strollin' down lovers' lane Now and then we meet again But then it don't seem the same Life gets that lonesome feelin' When I hear the church bells ring Those weddin' bells are breakin' up That old gang of mine

#urgh my heart #'now and then'? #are you freaking kidding me? #john and paul #or is it jack and jim? #wedding bells #mclennon songs #interviews: john #interviews: paul #gene vincent #mclennon music

[nelsonswilbury]

A collection:

1. Beatles with Little Richard

2. Beatles with Gerry and the Pacemakers and Roy Orbison

3. Beatles with Gene Vincent

4. Beatles with Fats Domino

#look they are so tiny and happy and excited about meeting their celeb crushes #beatles #the beatles #john lennon #george harrison #paul mccartney #ringo starr #fats domino #roy orbison #gerry and the pacemakers #little richard #gene vincent #bugs

[oldshowbiz]

1967.

Sin City, Germany.

#vintage smut #lgbtq #gene vincent #censorship #germany

[undine66770]

I figured I'd join on the Spotify Wrapped bandwagon. I like the older stuff--there's just something about that era. I don't know what, but I'm infatuated with the music, media, fashion, but moreso the music. Rock and roll/rockabilly and classic country are my favorite genres among others. Of this list, I'll briefly mention: Jim Reeves is my comfort artist, his music is a soothing balm, and that voice of his is just like warm honey. 💜 Sanford Clark on the other hand, I think is extremely underrated and 100% deserves a listen!!

#spotify wrapped #wrapped #spotify #spotify wrapped 2023 #wrapped 2023 #spotify 2023 #2023 wrapped #spotify wrap 2023 #music #jim reeves #buddy holly #ricky nelson #gene vincent #sanford clark #1950s #1960s #50s #60s #rock n roll #rock and roll #rockabilly #classic country #oldies music #oldies #gentleman jim #gentleman jim reeves #rick nelson

[musickickztoo]

Gene Vincent  *February 11, 1935

#gene vincent #the blue caps #february 11

[frenchcurious]

Gene Vincent sur une Vespa, en Angleterre milieu des années 60. - source Cars & Motorbikes Stars of the Golden era.

#gene vincent #vespa

[atomicbug]

My new hyperfixation.

#gene vincent #50s music

[erikonakaotokyo]

#erikonakao #eriko nakao #Couleurshirt #Gene Vincent #vintage tshirt

[richwall101]

Rock'n'Roll Star Gene Vincent at the Star Club in Hamburg 1960

#Gene Vincent #Singer #Rock'n'Roll #Star Club #Hamburg