BE-BOP-A-LULA
GENE VINCENT
& HIS BLUE CAPS

Be-Bop-A-Lula

Written by: Vincent/Davis
Recorded by: Gene Vincent & His Blue Caps (1956)

ASEMINAL ROCK ’N’ ROLL SONG,
‘Be-Bop-A-Lula’ was composed by
Vincent Eugene Craddock, soon
to be known as Gene Vincent, while recuperating
from a bad motorcycle accident in a naval hospital
in Virginia. It is widely believed that the lyricist
was fellow patient Donald Graves although when
Vincent’s future manager, the opportunistic
Bill ‘Sherrif Tex’ Davis, became involved, he
acquired the co-writing credit. Whatever its true
provenance, an echo-saturated version of ‘Be-
Bop-A-Lula’ was duly recorded in May of 1956 by
Capitol Records, a label that badly needed its own
rock ’n’ roll hero to rival Presley who had signed
with RCA the year before. The recording venue
was Owen Bradley’s studio in Nashville, Tennessee
and the session marked the start of a strange but
doomed career which, like those of several other
American rockers, found a special place in the
hearts of British fans. Certainly the future Beatles
were smitten. ‘The day I met Paul I was singing
‘Be-Bop-A-Lula’ for the first time on stage,’ John
Lennon recalled of the fateful day at the Woolton
Village fête in 1957. ‘There’s a picture of me
with a checked shirt on, holding a little acoustic
guitar – and I am singing ‘Be-Bop-A-Lula’.’ It
was also the song Paul and John planned to open
with at their informal performance at a Caversham
pub in 1960 until they were persuaded to win
over the audience by starting with something a
bit less radical. Gene Vincent & His Blue Caps
performed ‘Be-Bop-A-Lula’ in the movie The
Girl Can’t Help It and for many new converts to
rock ’n’ roll its wailing vocal, incisive guitar and
heavy echo made it quite unforgettable. It was
reportedly the first record Paul McCartney ever
bought. Vincent moved to England in 1959 where
his public image was made more threatening
by legendary TV producer Jack Good who was

already accomplished at making anodyne British
rockers look dangerous, albeit rather theatrically.
Vincent dressed completely in black leather and
this, along with a bad limp (the result of that
motorcycle accident) gave him a rather malevolent
Richard III image. In fact Vincent’s quiet southern
demeanour masked a dedicated hell-raiser who
was no stranger to excess. Vincent lived in Britain
on and off for ten years, at one point met The
Beatles in Hamburg and frequently demonstrated
that his talent for wild living was genuine and
not part of Jack Good’s image-manipulation.
In 1960 he was involved in the road accident in
Chippenham, Wiltshire, UK, which killed singer
Eddie Cochran and injured Cochran’s girlfriend
Sharon Sheeley. Vincent himself was also badly
injured – his already damaged leg now made even
worse – and from that point on ill-health and
alcoholism took their toll. He died of a bleeding
ulcer aged 36 in 1971, never having regained his
initial success. When John Lennon made his
1975 solo album Rock ’n’ roll there was never any
doubt that ‘Be-Bop-A-Lula’ would be included.
Another big fan was Ian Dury whose tribute
song ‘Sweet Gene Vincent’ appeared on his 1977
breakthrough album New Boots And Panties.