1305 - Gene Vincent Race with the Devil 1956

Gene Vincent is one of the most influential rock and roll artists of all times. Elvis Presley adopted his loose-hipped style, and bands from The Rolling Stones to The Beatles toured Britain with him throughout the fifties and early sixties. Led Zeppelin's Robert Plant lauds Vincent as his favorite vocalist of all time. "Race with the devil" was the first song recorded by Gene Vincent and the Blue Caps (Elec. Ld. Guitar: Cliff Gallup; Drums: Dickie Harrell; Stand up Bass: Jack Neal; Acoustic Rhythm guitar: Willie Williams) during their first recording session. The song is noteworthy from several standpoints. First, it contains two of Cliff's most famous solos. He captivates the listener with tension building/releasing phrases that remain on one's mind long after the song has ended. Secondly, he demonstrates true innovation with some exciting licks that were way ahead of his time for playing over 1-4-5 chord patterns. Thirdly, he used modulation (i.e. chromatic key change, key of E to key of F) initiated by the second lead guitar solo. Key changes were somewhat rare during that time of early rock.