A Virginia-born rockabilly singer left with a permanently damaged leg from a 1955 motorcycle crash, Gene Vincent turned that pain into a jittery, hiccupping vocal style that, paired with Cliff Gallup's needle-sharp guitar picking in the Blue Caps, made Be-Bop-A-Lula one of rock and roll's first great outlaw anthems. He never matched that early commercial peak again, but his sound and leather-clad image became a blueprint rockabilly revivalists and glam rockers alike kept returning to.

the sound in question

1956

Be-Bop-A-LulaGene Vincent