Don't Mean Maybe: Gene Vincent and "Be-Bop-a-Lula"

At 60 years old, the song “Be-Bop-a-Lula” still seems improbable. Written by a hospital patient now lost to history, sung by a sailor with a crippled leg, performed by a ragtag group of country radio musicians, the two-minute, 34-second “Lula” has become an acknowledged rock ’n’ roll classic, celebrated the world over (Rolling Stone ranked it #103 on their Greatest Songs list). The story behind the tune, recorded by Gene Vincent and the Blue Caps, is also a potent piece of Virginia history.

"Don't Mean Maybe," my latest piece for Coastal Virginia Magazine, takes a look at how "Be-Bop-a-Lula" came to be, and why it resonated over the years with so many later-influential performers -- the Beatles, Bob Dylan, Jeff Beck, etc.

Vincent’s voice was not only chameleonic in the way that Elvis’s was—it was schizophrenic. Going from a drawling croon to a piercing cry, he was volatile, loving, temperamental, soothing; the ultimate “tough” teenaged child-man. His brooding performance, aided by deep, cavernous slapback echo, perfectly matched up with the tortured teenage fantasia being played out on theater screens at the time, in movies such as The Wild One, Rebel Without a Cause and Blackboard Jungle.

Click here to read "Don't Mean Maybe: The Story of 'Be-Bop-a-Lula'."

If you enjoy this article, you'll also dig "Virginia Rocks," a 2-CD box set and book of liner notes (co-written by yours truly with archivist Brent Hosier). You can get that here. In 2007-08, Brent and I worked with the Blue Ridge Institute to research Virginia's rockabilly and early rock 'n' roll history. For more on that project, click here.  

Virginia Gospel History at the Google Cultural Institute

I'm proud to be one of the content providers for a new online exhibit created by the Virginia Foundation for the Humanities, in partnership with the Google Cultural Institute, that celebrates African-American history in Virginia.

The special web exhibit focuses on Virginia gospel artists, and my liner notes for Maggie Ingram and the Ingramettes' Live in Richmond CD are included, along with music clips, bios and other information on the Paschall Brothers and Charlie McClendon.

A huge shoutout to the VFH's Jon Lohman for putting this together. Check it out by going here.  

For more on the Google Cultural Institute's celebration of African-American history, prepare to spend a lot of time here.

For more on the great work that the Virginia Foundation for the Humanities does, and especially its Virginia Folklife Program, go to this spot.

Photo of Maggie Ingram by the mighty Pat Jarrett / Virginia Folklife Program.

Open Source RVA Podcasts, Old and New

In the annals of broadcasting, there have been legendary lost episodes and there have been legendary LOST EPISODES. See the difference there. On this latest -- and might I add particularly interesting -- set of Open Source RVA programs now available for everyday use, we include the legendary LOST EPISODE of WRIR's weekly audio news digest. The one dated March 15, 2013. All caps and bolded.

That elusive piece of audio, as well as other fine hour-long installments, are now podcasted and ready for download.

It was an honor and a pleasure to have Jon Lohman join us for an extended interview on the June 7 show. We talked with Virginia's state folklorist about programming the Virginia stage at the Richmond Folk Festival, the new live recording he recently produced for Maggie Ingram and the Ingramettes (more on that, and my participation, here), and details about his Virginia Folklife Program and its culture-enriching apprenticeships. Also on the show, we introduce our new initiative,  VOX RVA, an oral histories project co-sponsored by the Virginia Center For Latin American Art (for more on that, stay tuned to this channel).

Click here to listen to the Open Source Podcast for June 7, 2013

A Podcast good enough to eat! Download the May 31 edition of Open Source RVA and get to know Kendra Feather, a.k.a. Kendra Feather Murden, the successful restauranteur behind the Roosevelt, Ipanema Cafe and Garnett's. She's the lady who knows what Richmond wants to eat and our discussion covers everything from the art of waitressing to local foodie trends. Also: Why is Virginia schools superintendent Pat Wright missing in action? Carol A.O. Wolf fills us in on the investigative work she's been doing at her blog (click here). Delicious and mysterious, that's Open Source RVA!

Click here to listen to the tasty Open Source Podcast for May 31, 2013

After months of diligent audio reconstruction and hand-wringing, Open Source RVA is proud to present the LOST EPISODE! Download this rare broadcast and be transported back to March 15 as Open Source RVA previews the TedX Talks with organizer Andy Stefanovich and young creatives Zoe Romano, Marc Cheatham and Duron Chavis. (More of our coverage here). You also get the lowdown on Richmond's public art funding as City Councilman Jon Baliles and city Deputy Director Doug Dunlap take the mic. The LOST EPISODE has finally arrived and it was worth the wait.

Do some clicking here to listen to Open Source RVA's LOST March 15, 2013 Podcast.

And don't forget to hear Open Source RVA in "real time" on WRIR 97.3 FM and http://wrir.org each and every Friday at 4PM. And bookmark http://rvaopensource.com for updates.  It's good to Source.

Read the Notes: Maggie Ingram's "Live in Richmond"

Ring in the new year with a stirring  live recording from Richmond's Queen of Gospel.

The new live CD from Richmond's Maggie Ingram & the Ingramettes is a potent introduction to a Richmond gospel legend and her incredible family backup band. Available here and through fine record stores -- like this one -- this exuberant set is a long-overdue document of the Ingramettes' live prowess (check them out in this clip from the past Richmond Folk Festival).

Live in Richmond is on the Virginia Foundation for the Humanities' own label -- see the rest of their fine indigenous releases here -- and was recorded at Fifth Baptist Church in Richmond by producer Jon Lohman, who just so happens to be Virginia's state folklorist.

OK, so you already need to get this disc. We've established that, right?

BUT THAT'S NOT ALL (as they say) -- you also get my bio of "Mama" Ingram and an overview of the music legacy she's forged in her Richmond hometown and beyond. 

Think of my liner notes as sort of a "bonus." But you'd need Live in Richmond anyway. Trust me on this.

For more, check out my Virginia Living feature (from 2008) on Maggie Ingram right here.

And here's Maggie Ingram and the Ingramettes live at the folk festival in 2009:



Listen to some early Maggie on Nashboro:


And now prepare yourself for the "Richmond Virginia Flood":