John Vincent Imbragulio (October 3, 1927 – February 4, 2000), known as Johnny Vincent, was an American

record producer A record producer is a recording project's creative and technical leader, commanding studio time and coaching artists, and in popular genres typically creates the song's very sound and structure. Virgil Moorefield"Introduction" ''The Producer as ...

for Art Rupe at

Specialty Records Specialty Records was an American record label founded in Los Angeles in 1945 by Art Rupe. It was known for rhythm and blues, gospel, and early rock and roll, and recorded artists such as Little Richard, Guitar Slim, Percy Mayfield, and Lloyd Pr ...

. He founded Ace Records in 1955 in

Jackson, Mississippi Jackson, officially the City of Jackson, is the capital of and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Mississippi. The city is also one of two county seats of Hinds County, along with Raymond. The city had a population of 153,701 at t ...

, 165 miles away from

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans

. Although Vincent started out recording local blues musicians, in 1956 he branched out into New Orleans

rhythm and blues Rhythm and blues, frequently abbreviated as R&B or R'n'B, is a genre of popular music that originated in African-American communities in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predominantly ...

and

rock and roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock 'n' roll, or rock 'n roll) is a genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It originated from African-American music such as jazz, rhythm a ...

. He signed

Huey "Piano" Smith Huey Pierce Smith, known as Huey "Piano" Smith (born January 26, 1934) is an American rhythm-and-blues pianist whose sound was influential in the development of rock and roll. His piano playing incorporated the boogie-woogie styles of Pete Joh ...

and his group, who were able to develop a New Orleans shuffle style distinct from the

Fats Domino Antoine Dominique Domino Jr. (February 26, 1928 – October 24, 2017), known as Fats Domino, was an American pianist, singer and songwriter. One of the pioneers of rock and roll music, Domino sold more than 65 million records. Born in New O ...

jumping

boogie Boogie is a repetitive, swung note or shuffle rhythm,Burrows, Terry (1995). ''Play Country Guitar'', p.42. Dorling Kindersley Limited, London. . "groove" or pattern used in blues which was originally played on the piano in boogie-woogie mus ...

rhythm.

Biography

Vincent was born in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, United States and died in

. He had moved to Jackson in the late 1940s and opened a record shop and started the short-lived Champion Records label in the early 1950s. Then Art Rupe offered him a job as A&R man at Specialty Records where Johnny worked with John Lee Hooker,

Earl King Earl Silas Johnson IV (February 7, 1934 – April 17, 2003),
known as Earl King, was an American singer, guit ...

, and

. His greatest hit was with

Guitar Slim Eddie Jones (December 10, 1926 – February 7, 1959), better known as Guitar Slim, was an American guitarist in the 1940s and 1950s, best known for the million-selling song " The Things That I Used to Do", for Specialty Records. It is listed in t ...

's "

The Things That I Used to Do "The Things That I Used to Do" is a blues standard written by Guitar Slim. He recorded it in New Orleans, where the young Ray Charles arranged and produced the session. Specialty Records released the song as a single in 1953 and it became a bests ...

" an R&B # 1 in 1954. He left Specialty to found Ace. Ace enjoyed several national hits in the late 1950s, such as

's "Rockin' Pneumonia & Boogie Woogie Flu," and

Frankie Ford Frankie Ford (August 4, 1939 – September 28, 2015) was an American rock and roll and rhythm and blues singer, best known for his 1959 hit "Sea Cruise". Biography He was born in Gretna, Louisiana, as Vincent Francis Guzzo, across the Mississippi ...

's "

Sea Cruise Cruise ships are large passenger ships used mainly for vacationing. Unlike ocean liners, which are used for transport, cruise ships typically embark on round-trip voyages to various ports-of-call, where passengers may go on tours known as "sho ...

"; both of which Vincent produced. In addition, the label had a series of

Jimmy Clanton Jimmy Clanton (born September 2, 1938) is an American singer who became known as the " swamp pop R&B teenage idol". His band recorded a hit song "Just a Dream" which Clanton had written in 1958 for the Ace Records label. It reached number fo ...

hits, but by 1962 the difficulties in distribution for a small independent record label forced Vincent to close down the label. Vincent reactivated the label in 1971 to produce some new music and reissue the treasures from the label's vault and by leasing the masters to other labels. In 1997 he sold the label to Music Collection International, a British label.
Vincent died in February 2000 in Jackson of heart failure at the age of 72.

Discography

*''The Ace Story, Vol. 1-5'' (Ace CD 2031-2035)

References

External links

Johnny Vincent
1927 births 2000 deaths Record producers from Mississippi People from Hattiesburg, Mississippi 20th-century American businesspeople {{US-music-bio-stub