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Rating: Rock has been here. It was already clear that something was changing in 1953 when a young and defiant Bill Haley dragged the new generations onto the dance floor and chilled the blood of the purist bigots with the famous "Rock around the clock."
And the 1955 record debut of Elvis Presley (it was a very modest track entitled "My happiness") was the clear and unmistakeable signal of a revolutionary and partly shocking musical transformation. This revolution would have as its main axis the legendary (and today little known) Gene Vincent.
Vincent Eugene Craddock (1936-1971), known as Gene Vincent, was born in Norflok, at the heart of a harsh and wild America. At twenty, he was already something of a genius: helped by an exceptional and outstanding band (Cliff Gallup guitar, Willie Williams rhythm guitar, Dickie Harrell drums, Jack Neal double bass), he managed, at a very young age, to land at Capitol, a glorious production house at the time looking for an artist who could rival the emerging but already famous Elvis Presley. Fortune smiled on Vincent: Capitol signed them immediately, and the band would be called, at least for the very first years, Gene Vincent and his Blue Caps. Their first track to be recorded was "Be Bop a Lula", an epic and legendary piece, highly rhythmic and frenetic, a true cornerstone of all American rock music. It is a sort of nursery rhyme without apparent sense (technically, the term "Be Bop a Lula" means practically nothing) but it has an incredible and striking rhythm and liveliness, considering that the instrumental contribution is virtually nil (drums, guitar, double bass).
Gene Vincent, the singer with the "angelic" voice, sings this eternal pioneering masterpiece in a graceful and surprising way, and why not, avant-garde. Besides "Be Bop a Lula," Gene Vincent and his Blue Caps also recorded the beautiful "Woman love," a poignant and apocalyptic ballad. The two tracks immediately climbed the charts, and Gene Vincent obtained a definitive and well-deserved consecration. Yet, this charming young man with a distracted and seemingly superficial demeanor was never an easy and calm guy: a terrible motorcycle accident, caused by a fatal driving mistake, had serious and grave consequences for Vincent, such as a total fracture of the left ankle. The injury would never heal, and Vincent, over the years, would be forced to undergo numerous surgical operations, to the point of having to treat himself through the use of drugs and a metal brace around the ankle. Unintentionally, this particular artificial gadget would lead Gene Vincent to take on a characteristic stage presence (leg slightly spread) that would boast, over the years, tens of thousands of imitations.
The first album of Gene Vincent and his Blue Caps is perhaps not the most musically polished album but is unquestionably the most effective at the communicative level. In addition to the already mentioned "Be Bop a Lula," noteworthy are also "Race with the devil," "Up a lazy river," and "Peg O' my heart." A curious and partly successful musical reinterpretation: Gene Vincent recovers some old American rock from the early Fifties (all between 1952 and 1955) and chisels them according to his very personal musical inclinations. Tracks destined for oblivion like "Bluejan Bop" and "Bop Street" make a strong comeback and regain new vigor and new vitality. "Bluejan Bop" is both a historic and surprising album, historical and therefore fundamental.
Although it is an album of almost fifty years ago (and this year it reaches its 50th year of age), it's quite easy to find it in some small shops: EMI reissued it, in a clean and remastered version, in the spring of 1998 adding to the original six tasty and refined bonus tracks. The price is absolutely affordable.
Tracklist Lyrics and Videos
03 Who Slapped John? (01:58)
Well I heard John say, "Man, she's my gal"
I heard another say, "Man, she my pal"
Well John jumped up, then he screamed
"Well-she's may gal, man, and that I mean"
Well, who-who, who slapped John?
Who-who, who slapped John?
Baby, who slapped John when the lights went low-oh?
Who-who, who slapped John?
(Jump...go cats go, all you cats cool it, etc.)
Well, the lights went on, then went off
John got slapped tryin' to hold his own
Well, who-who, who slapped John?
Who-who, who slapped John?
Baby, who slapped John when the lights went low-oh?
Who-who, who slapped John? (Jump...more of Dickie's adlibs)
Well I heard John say, "Man, she's my gal"
I heard another say, "Man, she my pal"
Well John jumped up, then he screamed
"She's may gal, man, and that I mean"
Well, who-who, who slapped John?
Who-who, who slapped John?
Baby, who slapped John when the lights were low-oh?
Who-who, who slapped John?
(Jump...go-go-go John go, etc.)
Well, the lights went on, then went off
John got slapped tryin' to hold his own
Well, who-who, who slapped John?
Who-who, who slapped John?
Baby, who slapped John when the lights went low-oh?
Who-who, who slapped John?
14 Be-Bop-A-Lula (02:36)
Well
Be-bo a lula
She's my baby
Be-bop a lula
I don't mean maybe
Be-bop a lula
She's my baby
Be-bop a lula
I don't mean maybe
Be-bop a lula
She's my baby doll my baby doll my baby doll
Well she's the gal in the red blue jeans
She's the queen of all the teens
She's the one that I know
She's the one that loves me so
Be-bop a lula
She's my baby
Be-bop a lula
I don't mean maybe
Be-bop a lula
She's my baby doll my baby doll my baby doll
Let's rock!
Well now she's the one that's got that beat
She's the one with the flyin' feet
She's the one that bops around the store
She's the one that gets more more more
Be-bop a lula
She's my baby
Be-bop a lula
I don't mean maybe
Be-bop a lula
She's my baby doll my baby doll my baby doll
Let's rock again now!
Well
Be-bop a lula
She's my baby
Be-bop a lula
I don't mean maybe
Be-bop a lula
She's my baby
Be-bop a lula
I don't mean maybe
Be-bop a lula
She's my baby doll my baby doll my baby doll
15 Race With the Devil (02:03)
Well I've led an evil life, so they say
But I'll out run the devil on judgement day, I said
Move, hot-rod, move man!
Move, hot-rod, move man!
Move hot-rod, move me on down the the line, oh yeah!
Well me and the devil, at a stop light
He started rollin', I was out of sight, I said
Move, hot-rod, move man!
Move, hot-rod, move man!
Move hot-rod, move me on down the the line, oh yeah!
Well, goin' pretty fast, looked behind
A-hear come the the devil doin' ninety-nine, I said
Move, hot-rod, move man!
Move, hot-rod, move man!
Move hot-rod, move me on down the the line, oh yeah! (Let's drag now)
Well thought I was smart, the race was won
A-hear come the devil doin' a-hundred and one
Move, hot-rod, move man!
Move, hot-rod, move man!
Move hot-rod, move me on down the the line (Let's drag again)
Well, goin' pretty fast, looked behind
A-hear come the the devil doin' ninety-nine, I said
Move, hot-rod, move man!
Move, hot-rod, move man!
Move hot-rod, move me on down the the line, oh yeah!
Well I've led an evil life, so they say
But I'll hide from the devil on judgement day, I said
Move, hot-rod, move man!
Move, hot-rod, move man!
Move hot-rod, move me on down the the line.
18 Crazy Legs (02:09)
Well, I got a little woman called Crazy Legs
She's the queen of the teenage crowd
All the cats stuffin' nickels in the ol' jukebox
Just to watch her do the bop when the music gets loud
Crazy Legs, Crazy Legs, a-boppin' all over the floor
Do the bop, Crazy Legs, do the bop
She's my baby and I don't mean maybe
She's mine-mine-mine all mine
(Jump!)
Well, when she hears the music, well it gets in her feet
Well, then she starts a-rocking with the crazy beat
She does a different kind of rhythm with every song
Well, that's why they call her Crazy Legs, she's real gone
Crazy Legs, Crazy Legs, a-boppin' all over the floor
Do the bop, Crazy Legs, do the bop
She's my baby and I don't mean maybe
She's mine-mine-mine all mine
Well she can bop, she can boogie, she can move and jump
With a style that's all her own
Just give her lots of room and a rock 'n' roll tune
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