Blue Gene Baby . . . . . . . 

Skinny white sailor, the chances were slender, the beauties were brief
Shall I mourn your decline with some Thunderbird Wine and a black handkerchief?
I miss your sad Virginia whisper, I miss the voice that called my heart

Sweet Gene Vincent
Young and old and gone
Sweet Gene Vincent
Who, who, who slapped John?

White face, black shirt
White socks, black shoes
Black hair, white strat
Bled white, died black

Sweet Gene Vincent
Let the Blue Caps roll tonight
At the Sock Hop Ball in the Union Hall
The bop is their delight

Here comes duck-tail Danny dragging uncanny Annie, she's the one with the flying feet
You can break the peace, daddy's sickle grease, the beat is reet complete
And the jump-back honey in the dungarees, tight sweater and a pony-tail
Will you guess her age when she comes back-stage, the hoodlums bite their nails

Black gloves, white frost
Black crêpe, white lead
White sheet, black knight
Jet black, dead white

Sweet Gene Vincent
There's one in every town
And the devil drives 'til the hearse arrives
And you lay that pistol down

Sweet Gene Vincent
With nowhere left to hide
With lazy skin and ashtray eyes
And perforated pride

So farewell, mademoiselle knicker-bocker hotel
Goodbye to money owed
But your leg still hurts and you need more shirts
You got to get back on the road

Ian Dury Esq

just because  . . . . . . . . . 

On this day in music history: May 4, 1956 - “Be-Bop-A-Lula” by Gene Vincent And His Blue Caps is recorded. Written by Tex Davis and Gene Vincent, it is the debut release and biggest hit for the rock & roll band fronted by lead singer Gene Vincent (born Vincent Eugene Craddock). Co-written by Vincent and his manager radio DJ “Sheriff Tex” Davis, the pair demo the song, and Davis helps the singer secure a record contract. Hollywood, CA based Capitol Records, in search of “the next Elvis Presley” eagerly sign Gene Vincent. Vincent’s band, The Blue Caps, consist of Willie Williams (rhythm guitar), Jack Neal (upright bass), Dickie Harrell (drums) and Cliff Gallup (lead guitar). The band record the track at famed country music producer Owen Bradley’s Quonset Hut studio in Nashville, TN. Released a month later, “Be-Bop-A-Lula” peaks at #7 on the Billboard Best Sellers chart on July 28, 1956, #8 on the R&B chart, and #5 on the C&W chart, selling over two million copies. The band also perform the song in classic rock & roll film “The Girl Can’t Help It”, released later in the year. The seminal recording becomes one of the definitive examples of rockabilly music, and goes on to influence many musicians over the years including The Beatles, The Animals and rockabilly revivalists The Stray Cats not to mention Ian Dury and The Blockheads (see above). “Be-Bop-A-Lula” is inducted into the Grammy Hall Of Fame in 1999.

Gene Vincent Craddock