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.

900 - Gene Vincent Be-Bop-A-Lula 1956

Gene Vincent, real name Vincent Eugene Craddock, was an American musician who pioneered the styles of rock and roll and, especially, rockabilly.
In 1956 he wrote "Be-Bop-A-Lula" and signed a publishing contract with Bill Lowery of The Lowery Group of music publishers in Atlanta, Georgia. Lowery recorded Gene singing "Be-Bop-A-Lula" and secured him a recording contract with Capitol Records. "Be-Bop-A-Lula" was not on Vincent's first album and was not picked by Capitol as the first single to be released. Lowery, however, got Capitol to agree that "Be-Bop-A-Lula" would be the "B-side" of the first single ("Lotta Lovin'").
In early 1956, Gene Vincent performed the song on a radio show in Norfolk, Virginia, and recorded a demo version which was passed to Capitol Records, who were looking for a young singer to rival Elvis Presley. Capitol invited Gene Vincent to record the song, and it was recorded at Owen Bradley's studio in Nashville, Tennessee on May 4, 1956. The band comprised Cliff Gallup (lead guitar), "Wee" Willie Williams (rhythm guitar), "Jumpin'" Jack Neal (string bass), and Dickie "Be Bop" Harrell (drums)[3]. When the song was being recorded, Harrell screamed in the background, he said because he wanted to be sure his family could hear it was him on the record.