
DATE: Saturday, October 25, 1997            TAG: 9710250366

SECTION: FRONT                   PAGE: A1   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY SUE VANHECKE, CORRESPONDENT 

                                            LENGTH:  105 lines

BE-BOP-A-LULA! HAMPTON ROADS NATIVE, THE LATE GENE VINCENT, TO BE ENSHRINED IN THE ROCK 'N' ROLL HALL OF FAME.

In 1956, Gene Vincent, a penniless Portsmouth youth with a disabled left leg, became an overnight sensation singing a wild new music called rock 'n' roll.

His million-selling hit single ``Be-Bop-A-Lula'' swiftly made him a star stateside; the unlikely rockabilly idol found even greater acclaim abroad, where aspiring young musicians like Jeff Beck, Paul McCartney, John Lennon and Robert Plant mimicked his every move. It was Vincent who first donned the all-black leather stage gear that has since become a rock music hallmark, and who developed the menacing stage swagger - out of necessity due to his handicap. His frenetic delivery and delinquent persona is imitated by rockers nearly 30 years after his death.

Changing public tastes, financial mismanagement and alleged substance abuse ultimately took their toll on Vincent's career, and despite his profound influence on popular culture, Vincent died in virtual obscurity in 1971.

Now the Hampton Roads rock star is back in the headlines.

On Jan. 12, Vincent will be inducted into the Rock 'n'Roll Hall Of Fame, alongside more contemporary mega-sellers like Fleetwood Mac, the Eagles and Santana, the Hall of Fame Foundation announced Thursday.

Other 1998 inductees will include the Mamas and the Papas, and Lloyd Price, as well as pianist/composer Jelly Roll Morton, and Allen Toussaint in the ``non-performer'' category.

``It's about time,'' said Portsmouth resident Dickie Harrell, original drummer in Vincent's band, the Blue Caps. ``I'm really surprised that it happened, but I'm glad it did because he deserved it. He lived a rough life and had a lot of bad things happen to him and he just always managed to hop right back and keep going and influence (people like) the Beatles and Robert Plant. Robert Plant was in (Vincent's) fan club.''

Guitarist Jeff Beck, who released a Vincent tribute album, ``Crazy Legs,'' in 1993, has been a fan since age 12, when he saw his first concert by The Black Leather Rebel, whose leg was permanently disfigured in a motorcycle accident.

``I had just walked out of school and I was sitting in the front row,'' Beck recalled for The Virginian-Pilot in July 1993. ``Having this guy come onstage, limping across the stage with a black suit on, black leathers, and leaning forward and just screaming - it was too much to handle.

``He was one of the reasons I actually pursued a music career.''

Vincent's career began at WCMS, where, as a regular on the local radio station's weekly live program ``Country Showtime,'' a demo of his quirky ``Be-Bop-A-Lula'' came to Capitol Records' attention.

With his angelic yet restless vocals, Vincent was immediately contracted as Capitol's answer to Elvis Presley. He quickly assembled a group of local musicians to accompany him, includingHarrell, bassist Jack Neal, rhythm guitarist Willie Williams and the late Cliff Gallup on guitar.

``Be-Bop-A-Lula'' became a Top 10 hit in the United States, landing Vincent movie and TV appearances, groundbreaking concert tours of Australia and Japan, even a star on Hollywood's Walk Of Fame. But Vincent soon fell from conservative American public favor and reluctantly left his homeland for Europe - and even greater success.

There, without his Blue Caps, he sold millions of records, appeared on film and TV - the BBC even produced a documentary of his life - then lost nearly everything before returning to America. He died shortly thereafter at age 36 of bleeding ulcers, allegedly due to chronic alcoholism.

Vincent's contributions, though hardly well-publicized, have not gone completely unnoticed.

``We've been sending petitions in to the Hall of Fame now for the better part of a year,'' said Bob Timmers, curator of Internet Web sites devoted to Gene Vincent.

``I don't know if it had anything to do with (Vincent's induction) or not, but even if it played 5 percent in the factor, it was worth it. Every month, on the the first of the month, I'd send the New York office (of the Hall of Fame Foundation) a big wad of petitions. And I got calls from them saying, `Don't bother sending it.' But I said, `I'm sorry, people are sending me their names, I've got to do it.' ''

Timmers reports 300 hits a week on his Internet Vincent site, and over 1,000 hits a week at his Rockabilly Hall of Fame site.

Like Beck, Timmers has also been a Vincent fan since adolescence.

``When I was a kid in high school, I heard his record and said, `Man, this guy - he ain't Elvis, he's better.' He had a fantastic voice. I don't know of anybody who could get the range he did; it was three octaves or something.''

``Gene had a different kind of voice,'' Harrell mused of his friend. ``He didn't even need a band, he just opened up. He could do just about everything at the beginning, but as time goes on, being wild, traveling all the time, it kind of takes a toll on you.

``I still say, if the band had been together, he'd still be alive today. It's a lonely thing out there playing when there's nobody but you. And there was two things he always had on his mind - music second and the fans first. If he could've died onstage, he would've been tickled to death.''

The surviving Blue Caps - including another Portsmouth resident, Tommy Facenda, a backing vocalist who went on to his own solo singing career - reunite regularly for concert tours of Europe and America. Their next U.S. tour is planned for next summer.

Harrell did not know who would accept the award on Vincent's behalf or if the surviving Blue Caps would be invited to attend the induction ceremony.

Hall of Fame Executive Director Suzan Evans was not available for comment. ILLUSTRATION: [Gene Vincent]

The Virginian-Pilot

FILE

SPECIAL TO THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT

The Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame plans to induct Gene Vincent, shown

at center with his band, the Blue Caps, on Jan. 12. Vincent was

contracted by Capitol Records as the company's answer to Elvis

Presley.