Clifton E. Gallup (June 17, 1930 – October 9, 1988) was an American guitarist. He was the lead guitarist for the

rockabilly Rockabilly is one of the earliest styles of rock and roll music. It dates back to the early 1950s in the United States, especially the Southern United States, South. As a genre it blends the sound of Western music (North America), Western music ...

group

Gene Vincent Vincent Eugene Craddock (February 11, 1935 – October 12, 1971), known as Gene Vincent, was an American musician who pioneered the styles of rockabilly and rock and roll. His 1956 top ten hit with his backing band the Blue Caps, " Be-Bop-a-Lula ...

and the Blue Caps throughout the 1950s.

Biography

In February 1956, local radio DJ Sheriff Tex Davis (William Douchette, 1914–2007) heard

performing at a talent show in

Norfolk, Virginia Norfolk ( ) is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. Incorporated in 1705, it had a population of 238,005 at the 2020 census, making it the third-most populous city in Virginia after neighboring Virginia Be ...

, became his manager, and assembled a band of local musicians to back him. The band included Gallup, who had previously played in a local band, the Virginians, and who was older than Vincent and most of the other band members. In May 1956, the band recorded in

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the List of muni ...

. Producer Ken Nelson had

session musician Session musicians, studio musicians, or backing musicians are musicians hired to perform in recording sessions or live performances. The term sideman is also used in the case of live performances, such as accompanying a recording artist on a ...

s standing by in case the band was not up to par, but as soon as Gallup played the solos on "Race with the Devil" they knew they would not be needed. Gallup played on 35 tracks with Vincent, including his biggest hit, " Be-Bop-A-Lula", and established a reputation as one of the most technically proficient guitarists in early rock and roll. As a married man, Gallup was reluctant to tour with Vincent, and left the band in late 1956, returning only for some more

studio A studio is an artist or worker's workroom. This can be for the purpose of acting, architecture, painting, pottery (ceramics), sculpture, origami, woodworking, scrapbooking, photography, graphic design, filmmaking, animation, industrial design ...

sessions that same year for the second LP by Vincent and His Blue Caps. In the mid-1960s Gallup made a solo

album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

for the local Pussy Cat

record label A record label, or record company, is a brand or trademark of music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a publishing company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the produ ...

in Norfolk, ''Straight Down the Middle'', in a more mellow instrumental style akin to that of

Chet Atkins Chester Burton Atkins (June 20, 1924 – June 30, 2001), known as "Mr. Guitar" and "The Country Gentleman", was an American musician who, along with Owen Bradley and Bob Ferguson, helped create the Nashville sound, the country music s ...

and

Les Paul Lester William Polsfuss (June 9, 1915 – August 12, 2009), known as Les Paul, was an American jazz, country, and blues guitarist, songwriter, luthier, and inventor. He was one of the pioneers of the solid-body electric guitar, and his prototype ...

. Gallup occasionally played with local bands, while working in school maintenance. He played guitar until the day he died. He last played in Norfolk with a group called the Hi-fi's 48 hours before he suffered a fatal

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which may tr ...

. At the time of his death in 1988, he was the director of maintenance and transportation for the

Chesapeake, Virginia Chesapeake is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia, United States. At the 2020 census, the population was 249,422, it is the second-most populous independent city in Virginia, tenth-largest in the Mid-Atlantic, and the 90th ...

, city school system, where he worked for almost 30 years. At the request of his widow, obituaries in local newspapers made no mention of his time with Gene Vincent and His Blue Caps. He is remembered principally for his influence on such guitarists as

Eric Clapton Eric Patrick Clapton (born 1945) is an English rock and blues guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He is often regarded as one of the most successful and influential guitarists in rock music. Clapton ranked second in ''Rolling Stone''s list of ...

Brian Setzer Brian Robert Setzer (born April 10, 1959) is an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He found widespread success in the early 1980s with the 1950s-style rockabilly group Stray Cats, and returned to the music scene in the early 1990s with ...

, and

Jeff Beck Geoffrey Arnold Beck (born 24 June 1944) is an English rock guitarist. He rose to prominence with the Yardbirds and after fronted the Jeff Beck Group and Beck, Bogert & Appice. In 1975, he switched to a mainly instrumental style, with a focus ...

. The latter recorded an album of

songs, '' Crazy Legs'', in 1993 considered by music critics to be a tribute to Gallup and Vincent. Gallup was ranked 79th by ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...

'' magazine's David Fricke in his list of "100 Greatest Guitarists."100 Greatest Guitarists: David Fricke's Picks
"
Rolling Stone
', December 2, 2010. Accessed 2017-01-31. He was inducted into the

Rockabilly Hall of Fame The Rockabilly Hall of Fame is an organization and website launched on March 21, 1997, to present early rock and roll history and information relating to the artists and personalities involved in rockabilly. Headquartered in Nashville, Tennesse ...

and the

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (RRHOF), sometimes simply referred to as the Rock Hall, is a museum A museum ( ; plural museums or, rarely, musea) is a building or institution that cares for and displays a collection of artifacts and othe ...

Guitar technique and equipment

His right hand playing technique is based on a flat pick in conjunction with fingerpicks on his middle and ring fingers, using his little finger to work the vibrato bar. In his short time as lead guitarist in

Blue Caps Vincent Eugene Craddock (February 11, 1935 – October 12, 1971), known as Gene Vincent, was an American musician who pioneered the styles of rockabilly and rock and roll. His 1956 top ten hit with his backing band the Blue Caps, " Be-Bop-a-Lula ...

he played a 1954 (Vintage Guitar Magazine June 2017)

Gretsch 6128 The Gretsch 6128 (Duo Jet) is a chambered solid body electric guitar manufactured by Gretsch since the mid-1950s. Origins The Duo Jet was first introduced in 1953, after the success of the Gibson Les Paul Goldtop. A key difference between the ...

(Duo-Jet) probably fitted up with two DeArmond Dynasonic single coil pickups, an aluminum bridge, not a Melita bridge as previously thought, and a

Bigsby vibrato tailpiece The Bigsby vibrato tailpiece (or Bigsby for short) is a type of mechanical vibrato device for electric guitar designed by Paul Bigsby and produced by the Bigsby Electric Guitar Company (currently an independently operated subsidiary of Fender M ...

. For amplifiers he used a

Standel The Standel Company is an American company that makes guitar amplifiers. It was founded in 1953 by Robert "Bob" Crooks in Temple City, California. Standel (a portmanteau of ''standard'' and ''electronics'') was the name of Crooks' side-business of ...

25L15 (26-Watts tube amp with a single 15-inch speaker) for studio works and a

Fender tweed Fender tweed is a generic name used for the Fender Amplifiers, guitar amplifiers made by the American company Fender Musical Instruments Corporation, Fender between 1948 and 1960. The amplifiers are named for the cloth covering, which consists of ...

for the remainder. According to one source, Gallup's trademark sound was produced by echo units he constructed himself from old tape recorder parts, but according to another source it was created in the studio by Nelson.

Discography

Tracks recorded with Gene Vincent in chronological order of the recording sessions.Book enclosed in Bear Family's Boxset ''Gene Vincent - The Road Is Rocky, The Complete Studio Masters 1956-1971'' (2005), pg. 79-83, discography by Richard Weize, Russell Wapensky and Derek Henderson The recording sessions were all done in three series at Bradley Film & Recording Studio, 804 16th Avenue South, Nashville, Tennessee, and produced by Ken Nelson. A) One session on May 4, 1956 B) Four sessions on June 24–27, 1956 C) Four sessions on October 15–18, 1956 Session 1: May 4, 1956 # ''Race with the Devil'' (Gene Vincent, Bill Davis), 2:02 # '' Be-Bop-A-Lula'' (Gene Vincent, Bill Davis), 2:35 # ''Woman Love'' (Jack Rhodes), 2:31 # ''I Sure Miss You'' (Bill Davis, Eddie Bryan), 2:38 Session 2: June 24, 1956 # ''Jezebel'' (Wayne Shanklin), 2:23 # ''Crazy Legs'' (Jerry Reed), 2:09 # ''Peg o' My Heart'' (Fred Fisher, Alfred Bryan), 2:35 # ''Wedding Bells (Are Breaking Up That Old Gang of Mine)'' (Sammy Fain, Irving Kahal, Willie Raskin), 2:30 Session 3: June 25, 1956 # ''Waltz of the Wind'' (Fred Rose), 2:42 # ''Up a Lazy River'' (Hoagy Carmichael, Sidney Arodin), 2:20 # ''Ain't She Sweet'' (Milton Ager, Jack Yellin), 2:29 # ''Gonna Back Up Baby'' (Danny Wolfe), 2:24 # ''Race with the Devil'' (Gene Vincent, Bill Davis), unissued / lost track Session 4: June 26, 1956 # ''Who Slapped John'' (Gene Vincent, Bill Davis), 1:56 # ''Jumps Giggles and Shout'' (Gene Vincent, Bill Davis), 2:50 # ''Bluejean Bop'' (Gene Vincent, Hal Levy), 2:21 # ''I Flipped'' (Bobbie Carrol, Bill Hicks), 2:24 Session 5: June 27, 1956 # ''Bop Street'' (Cliff Gallup, Bill Davis), 2:24 # ''Well, I Knocked Bim Bam'' (Bobbie Carrol), 2:14 # ''You Told a Fib'' (Cliff Gallup, Gene Vincent), 2:20 # ''Jump Back, Honey, Jump Back'' (Hadda Brooks), 2:00 Session 6: October 15, 1956 # ''Teenage Partner'' (version 1) (Gene Vincent, Bill Davis), 2:13 # ''Blues Stay Away from Me'' (Alton & Rabon Delmore, Wayne Raney, P. Henry Glover), 2:16 # ''Five Feet of Lovin (version 1) (Buck Peddy, Mel Tillis), 2:07 # ''Cat Man'' (Gene Vincent, Bill Davis), 2:18 Session 7: October 16, 1956 # ''Double Talkin' Baby'' (Danny Wolfe), 2:12 # ''Hold Me, Hug Me, Rock Me'' (Gene Vincent, Bill Davis), 2:14 # ''Unchained Melody'' (Alex North, Hy Zaret), 2:37 Session 8: October 17, 1956 # ''B-I-Bickey-Bi Bo Bo Go'' (Don Carter, Dub Nalls, Jack Rhodes), 2:15 # ''Pink Thunderbird'' (Paul Peek, Bill Davis), 2:32 # ''Pretty, Pretty Baby'' (Danny Wolfe), 2:27 # ''Cruisin (Gene Vincent, Bill Davis), 2:11 Session 9: October 18, 1956 # ''Important Words'' (version 1) (Gene Vincent, Bill Davis), 2:21 # ''You Better Believe'' (Cliff Gallup), 1:59 # ''Red Bluejeans and a Pony Tail'' (Jack Rhodes, Bill Davis), 2:14 # ''Five Days, Five Days'' (Jack Rhodes, Billy Willey, Freddie Franks), 2:36 Solo album ''Straight Down the Middle'' (mid-1960s, Pussy Cat label; recorded as "The Four C's featuring Gallopin' Cliff Gallup" ref name= endlessgroove>.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gallup, Cliff American rock guitarists American male guitarists 1930 births 1988 deaths 20th-century American guitarists 20th-century American male musicians