The late and great Buddy Holly and the Crickets
who toured during – March of 1958. Buddy was Born on September 7th,
1936, in Lubbock, Texas, and as the news swept the world at the time,
came to an early death in a light plane crash in a storm between gigs on
the 3rd of February 1959, in Clear Lake, Iowa. Also on the fateful plane
crash were The Big Bopper and Ritchie Valens. This was a very sad loss
to the music industry and to their combined families and fans. RIP guys.
Gene Vincent;
One of my personal all-time favorite singers of that time followed,
Gene Vincent and his Blue Caps, who toured England during Decemberof 1959 and for sure, I was there to see them live as I was with all of thesefirst bands. Gene Vincent made the international, long time best seller listwith Be Bop-a-Lula which then was followed by ‘Lotta Lovin.’ Thesewere his biggest hits taking him on to international stardom for many years.
Blue Jean Bop also made it high on the charts, achieving a Gold LP the sameas Be-Bop-a- Lula. Gene Vincent was serving in the US Navy at the age of twenty when he was involved in a motorcycle accident which almost cost him a leg. He wore a leg brace for most of his life and suffered severe pain, which may have been what led him to drink heavily and be frequently angry. This caused a decline in his career years later. Gene Vincent died in Newhall, California, from a bleeding ulcer on October 12, 1971 at the age of only 36. Wow, another loss to the world of Rock & Roll.
Be-Bop-a-Lula is still one of my favorite songs which I like to sing at the occasional karaoke night.
