Race with the Devil

The Incredible Life of One of Rock'n'roll's Greatest Stars; Most famous for his classic 1956 single Be-Bop-A-Lula, Gene Vincent is one of the most influential rock'n'roll artists of all time. Race With the Devil is the first biography of this musical pioneer, and the most comprehensive survey ever written of his turbulent private life. Gene Vincent was signed to Capitol Records in 1956 to be the next Elvis Presley, and enjoyed a meteoric rise to fame with early rock'n'roll smashes like Be-Bop-A-Lula, and She-She Little Sheila His raunchy delinquent image however, soon proved unpalatable to middle class America and Vincent was forced to move to Britain in 1959, where his leather-clas rockabilly persona met with instant acclaim and he soon became an idol of aspiring English musicians like Lennon and McCartney, Jeff Beck and Robert Plant who called him 'the soul of rock'n'roll'. Race With the Devil digs deeply into the glorious highs and devastating tragedies that darkened Vincent's life at nearly every turn until his tragic death by internal haemorrhaging at age 36. The motorcycle accident at age 20 that left him with a permanent, painful leg injury (remedied with a metal brace he wo