David Eugene Summers (January 3, 1939 – February 17, 2021) was an American

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 South. As a genre it blends the sound of Western musical styles such as country with that of rhythm and b ...

singer, songwriter and guitarist. His most famous recordings include the late 50s "

School of Rock 'n Roll "School of Rock 'n Roll" is a song composed by James McClung in 1958 and published by Song Productions, BMI the same year. It was originally recorded by American rockabilly singer Gene Summers and his Rebels, and was first released in February ...

", "

Straight Skirt "Straight Skirt" (later "Straight Skirts") is a song written by Mary Tarver in 1958 and published by Song Productions, BMI the same year. It was originally recorded by Gene Summers and his Rebels, a rockabilly band from Dallas, Texas and was f ...

", " Nervous", "

Gotta Lotta That "Gotta Lotta That" is a song written by Bernice Bedwell in 1958 and published by Song Productions, BMI. It was first recorded by Gene Summers and His Rebels in 1958 and issued by Jan/Jane Records. The "Gotta Lotta That" recording session took pl ...

", "

Twixteen "Twixteen" is a song written by Mary Tarver in 1958 and published by Ted Music, BMI. It was first recorded by Gene Summers and His Rebels in 1958 and issued by Jan/Jane Records. The "Twixteen" recording session took place at the Liberty Records ...

", "Alabama Shake", "Fancy Dan" and his biggest-selling single "

Big Blue Diamonds "Big Blue Diamonds" is a song written by Earl J. (Kit) Carson in 1950 and published by Lois Music, BMI. It was first recorded by the country singer, Red Perkins, and originally issued as a 78 rpm single on King Records #903 b/w "Rag Man Boogie" ...

". Summers 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 ...

in 1997 and

the Southern Legends Entertainment & Performing Arts Hall of Fame The Southern Legends Association along with its subsidiaries is a diversified non-profit entertainment company with operations in four business segments, Hall of Fame inductions, artist promotions, musical recordings and various entertainment ope ...

in 2005. He still performed worldwide and celebrated his 50th anniversary as a

recording artist A musician is a person who composes, conducts, or performs music. According to the United States Employment Service, "musician" is a general term used to designate one who follows music as a profession. Musicians include songwriters who wr ...

in 2008 with the release of '' Reminisce Cafe''.

Early life and rise to first success

Summers was born in

Dallas Dallas () is the third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 million people. It is the largest city in and seat of Dallas County ...

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...

. He graduated from Duncanville High School in 1957 and attended Arlington State College, now known as the

University of Texas at Arlington The University of Texas at Arlington (UTA or UT Arlington) is a public research university in Arlington, Texas. The university was founded in 1895 and was in the Texas A&M University System for several decades until joining the University of ...

. That same year, he formed the

band the Rebels and performed on ''Joe Bill's Country Picnic'' on KRLD-TV where they were spotted by

songwriter A songwriter is a musician who professionally composes musical compositions or writes lyrics for songs, or both. The writer of the music for a song can be called a composer, although this term tends to be used mainly in the classical music ...

Jed Tarver. This led to the band being signed by newly founded Jan Records. Their first record was released on February 1, 1958, under the name of Gene Summers & His Rebels.

Gene Summers & the Tom Toms

Summers, who was still popular on the back of two regional hits "

"/"

School Of Rock 'n Roll "School of Rock 'n Roll" is a song composed by James McClung in 1958 and published by Song Productions, BMI the same year. It was originally recorded by American rockabilly singer Gene Summers and his Rebels, and was first released in February ...

", (Jan No. 11-100) and " Nervous"/"

" (Jan No. 102), was playing in east

at the 123 Club with his new group of Rebels which included lead guitarist and original Rebel James McClung, bass player Jack Castleberry, drummer Charlie Mendias and Codine Craft on piano. When Craft married and left the band, she was replaced by pianist/frontman C.W. Kendall formerly of the Big Beats – "Clark's Expedition" (

Columbia Columbia may refer to: * Columbia (personification), the historical female national personification of the United States, and a poetic name for America Places North America Natural features * Columbia Plateau, a geologic and geographic region i ...

No. 41072) and "The Big Beats Live At The Off-Broadway" an LP issued by

Liberty Records Liberty Records was a record label founded in the United States by chairman Simon Waronker in 1955 with Al Bennett as president and Theodore Keep as chief engineer. It was reactivated in 2001 in the United Kingdom and had two previous revival ...

(#LRP-3407). This provided the opportunity for Summers to exit the Rebels and in April 1961 a new group emerged on the DFW club scene known as Gene Summers and the Tom Toms. One of the first performances of this newly formed alliance was on a bill in

Fort Worth, Texas Fort Worth is the List of cities in Texas by population, fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Texas and the List of United States cities by population, 13th-largest city in the United States. It is the county seat of Tarrant County, Texas, T ...

at Jimmy Levin's Skyliner Ballroom with legendary bluesman

Elmore James Elmore James ( Brooks; January 27, 1918 – May 24, 1963) was an American blues guitarist, singer, songwriter, and bandleader. Noted for his use of loud amplification and his stirring voice, James was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame ...

. (Before becoming a musical unit, Summers and the Tom Toms had booked studio time in early 1961 at The Clifford Herring Studios in

Fort Worth Fort Worth is the fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Texas and the 13th-largest city in the United States. It is the county seat of Tarrant County, covering nearly into four other counties: Denton, Johnson, Parker, and Wise. Accord ...

where they recorded three songs. The first title was guitarist Eddie Hill's "Taboo" (Lake County LP-504/Born Bad LP-BB107), "Tomorrow" ( Alta Records) No. 104) and an original instrumental titled "Loco Cat" (Collector LP/CD-4420). By May 1961, Gene and the Tom Toms were touring the US with the

Chuck Berry Charles Edward Anderson Berry (October 18, 1926 – March 18, 2017) was an American singer, songwriter and guitarist who pioneered rock and roll. Nicknamed the " Father of Rock and Roll", he refined and developed rhythm and blues into th ...

show. The lineup also included Bill Pinkney's Original Drifters (Bill Pinkney, Andrew Thrasher, Gerhart Thrasher and Bobby Hollis) plus

Bobby Hendricks Robert Raymond Hendricks (February 22, 1938 – March 25, 2022)

of "Itchie Twitchie Feeling" fame (Sue No. 706). The group toured most of 1961 but by the end of that year they had begun to break up. Eddie Hill and Joel Colbert wanted to form a new band so they left the Tom Toms and departed for

Lubbock, Texas Lubbock ( ) is the 10th-most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and the seat of government of Lubbock County. With a population of 260,993 in 2021, the city is also the 85th-most populous in the United States. The city is in the nort ...

. It was while he was returning to Dallas in early 1962 that Eddie Wayne Hill and one of his new band members, Donny LaGrone, were killed when their convertible collided head-on with a gravel truck on state Highway 114 south of

Decatur, Texas Decatur is the county seat of Wise County, Texas, United States. Its population was 6,538 in 2020. History Wise County was established in 1856, and Taylorsville (in honor of Zachary Taylor) was made the county seat. Absalom Bishop, an early set ...

. Meanwhile, back in

, Summers and bass player David A. Martin were revamping the Tom Toms who were now the

house band A house band is a group of musicians, often centrally organized by a band leader, who regularly play at an establishment. It is widely used to refer both to the bands who work on entertainment programs on television or radio, and to bands which ...

at the Guthrey Club. Gene's former drummer from the 123 Club, Charlie Mendias, joined the group. Also, James McClung, the original Rebels guitar player, became a Tom Tom. McClung had previously written Gene's

classic "

", (Jan No. 11-101). Also recruited were guitarist Glenn Keener and saxophonist Melvin Robinson. Robinson, formerly an original member of Sid King and the Five Strings, only played with the group through mid-July and was replaced by Jesse Lopez, the younger brother of soon-to-be-star,

Trini Lopez Trinidad López III (May 15, 1937 – August 11, 2020) was an American singer, guitarist, and actor. His first album included a cover version of Pete Seeger's " If I Had a Hammer", which earned a Golden Disc for him. His other hits include ...

. The Tom Toms remained intact throughout most of 1962 with only a couple of changes in personnel. During early October, that year, David A. Martin left for

Memphis Memphis most commonly refers to: * Memphis, Egypt, a former capital of ancient Egypt * Memphis, Tennessee, a major American city Memphis may also refer to: Places United States * Memphis, Alabama * Memphis, Florida * Memphis, Indiana * Memp ...

with singer/organist

Sam Samudio Domingo "Sam" Samudio (born February 28, 1937, in Dallas, Texas, United States), better known by his stage name Sam the Sham, is a retired American rock and roll singer. Sam the Sham was known for his camp robe and turban and hauling his equipme ...

. Sam had been playing in

at Jack's Blue Room which was just down the street from the Guthrey Club on Industrial Boulevard. Sam and David formed the group Sam The Sham and The Pharaohs, who would go on to great international success. Gene's former bass player, Jack Castleberry from the 123 Club, replaced Martin in the Tom Toms. Lead guitar player Glenn Keener also left the Tom Toms about six weeks later to join a banjo group called Freddy Powers and the Powerhouse 1V. In July 1962, the Powerhouse 1V had been discovered by

Hugh Downs Hugh Malcolm Downs (February 14, 1921July 1, 2020) was an American radio and television broadcaster, announcer and programmer; television host; news anchor; TV producer; author; game show host; talk show sidekick; and music composer. A regular t ...

of the " Today Show" and had appeared twice on his program. Keener joined the group in late 1962 just in time to appear on their Warner Bros. Records album "The Good Life!" (WBLP-1488) which was released in early 1963. Keener eventually ended up in

Nashville Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and th ...

as a session musician/record producer for Opryland Records and then

Mercury Records Mercury Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group. It had significant success as an independent operation in the 1940s and 1950s. Smash Records and Fontana Records were sub labels of Mercury. In the United States, it ...

Phonogram Phonogram may refer to: * A sound recording – see Geneva Phonograms Convention * ''Phonogram'' (comics), a comic book by Kieron Gillen and Jamie McKelvie * Phonogram (linguistics), a grapheme which represents a phoneme or a combination of phone ...

. Keener was the first to sign/record

Reba McEntire Reba Nell McEntire (born March 28, 1955), or simply Reba, is an American country music singer and actress. Dubbed " the Queen of Country", she has sold more than 75 million records worldwide. Since the 1970s, McEntire has placed over 100 single ...

for a major label deal. With the defection of Martin and Keener, Summers again re-organized the Tom Toms. The new line-up now included James McClung on lead guitar, Jack Castleberry on bass, Charlie Mendias on drums and Jesse Lopez on sax. The rhythm section was augmented with the addition of organ player Harry "Good Times" Jackson. Jackson was replaced a short time later by keyboard player Bobby Charles (Shumate), who also doubled on saxophone. By early 1963 Bobby Charles had left the group and was replaced by organ player Ernest Walker. Jesse Lopez, who was still in high school, dropped-out of the band and was replaced by sax player C.B. Williams. This became the final musical line-up for the Tom Toms. The band now included Summers, McClung, Mendias, Castleberry, Walker and Williams. This was the group that went into the Clifford Herring

Recording Studio A recording studio is a specialized facility for sound recording, mixing, and audio production of instrumental or vocal musical performances, spoken words, and other sounds. They range in size from a small in-home project studio large enou ...

, in

, on March 28, 1963, and recorded Gene's breakthrough single "Big Blue Diamonds" (Donnybrook Records No. 556/ Capri Records No. 502/ Jamie Records No. 1273). An instrumental version of "Peanut Butter" (Shane No. 47-2) was also recorded at this session. In June 1964, they would return to the Summit Sound Studios in

to record the Summers rockabilly classic "Alabama Shake" (Capri No. 507), a song composed by James McClung in 1958. They also cut

Lloyd Price Lloyd Price (March 9, 1933May 3, 2021) was an American singer-songwriter, record executive and bandleader, known as "Mr. Personality", after his 1959 million-selling hit, "Personality". His first recording, "Lawdy Miss Clawdy", was a hit for S ...

's "Just Because" (Capri No. 507) plus "

The Great Pretender "The Great Pretender" is a popular song recorded by The Platters, with Tony Williams on lead vocals, and released as a single in November 1955. The words and music were written by Buck Ram, the Platters' manager and producer who was a successfu ...

" (Crystal Clear CD CCR 9723-2) at this session. The Tom Toms continued to make music through the first part of 1965 playing, primarily, at the Guthrey Club in

at Corinth and Industrial, before splitting up later that year, for a variety of personal and professional reasons. Summers has continued to record and perform in clubs and international tours into the 21st century. In 1997, he became the 29th artist to be inducted into the Rockabilly Hall Of Fame, commemorated with a re-issue of his key recordings on the Crystal Clear Sound label. He was also inducted into

The Southern Legends Entertainment & Performing Arts Hall of Fame The Southern Legends Association along with its subsidiaries is a diversified non-profit entertainment company with operations in four business segments, Hall of Fame inductions, artist promotions, musical recordings and various entertainment ope ...

in 2005. Summers was presented his HOF certificate in

Hollywood, California Hollywood is a neighborhood in the central region of Los Angeles, California. Its name has come to be a shorthand reference for the U.S. film industry and the people associated with it. Many notable film studios, such as Columbia Picture ...

by air personality John Rhys on October 29, 2005. In February 2008, he celebrated 50 years as a recording artist with the release of a new

studio album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early 20th century as individual 78 rpm records c ...

, '' Reminisce Cafe'' (

Seduction Seduction has multiple meanings. Platonically, it can mean "to persuade to disobedience or disloyalty", or "to lead astray, usually by persuasion or false promises". Strategies of seduction include conversation and sexual scripts, paralingual ...

SCD-110). Gene Summers was married to songwriter Deanna Summers from 1961 until her death in 2017. They have three sons Dusty, Steve and Shawn. Gene Summers died peacefully in Dallas on February 17, 2021, with his sons Steven and Shawn by his side. He was 82.Gene Summers
''Dallas Morning News''. Retrieved on March 17, 2021.

Partial discography

*'' Rock 'n Roll Volume 2.'' 1973, Holland *'' The Southern Cat Rocks On'' 1975, Switzerland *'' Mister Rock and Roll'' 1977, Switzerland *''Rock a Boogie Shake'' 1980, Sweden *''Early Rocking Recordings'' 1981, Holland *'' Texas Rock and Roll'' 1981, France *'' Gene Summers in Nashville'' 1981, France *''Dance Dance Dance'' 1981, UK *''Rock 'n Roll Tour – "Live" In Scandinavia'' 1983, Sweden *'' School Of Rock 'n Roll (album)'' 1994, Holland *''Sounds Like Elvis CD'' 1996 (compilation), USA *'' The Ultimate School of Rock & Roll'' 1997, USA *''Rockaboogie Shake'' 1999, UK *'' Do Right Daddy'' 2004, Sweden *'' Reminisce Cafe'' 2008, USA *''Taboo!'' 2011, USA *''Gotta Lotta That The Essential Gene Summers'' 2012, USA *''Rock-A-Dallas'' 2016, USA *''Country Song Roundup'' 2018 USA

Television, films and DVDs

''(incomplete)'' *Hi-School High Lites Show – Dallas, TX 1956 *The Neal Jones Show – Dallas, TX 1956 *Joe Bill's Country Picnic – Dallas, TX 1957-'58 *

Jerry Haynes Jerome Martin "Jerry" Haynes (January 31, 1927 – September 26, 2011) was an American actor from Dallas, Texas. He is most well known as Mr. Peppermint, a role he played for 30 years as the host of one of the longest-running local children's show ...

' "Top Ten Dance Party" – Dallas, TX 1958 *The Larry Kane Show – Houston, TX 1958 *The Ted Steele Bandstand Show – New York City-1958 *The Milt Grant Show- Washington, DC 1958 *The Buddy Deane Show – Baltimore, MD 1958 *The Bill Bennett Show – Minneapolis, MN, 1958 *The Larry Kane Show – Houston, TX 1964 *Hi-Ho Shebang Show – Ft. Worth, TX 1965-'66 *Le Grand Échiquier – Paris, France 1981 *World Class Championship Wrestling – Dallas, TX 1981 ''(see Ring announcers)'' *Warner-Amex Special ''Gene Summers 'Live' At Zebo's'' – 1983 *Backlot (movie-short) – 1986 *No Safe Haven (movie) – 1989 *Rob's Chop Shop (TV Pilot) – 1996 *Billy Martin (movie) – 2000 *100 Höjdare ("100 Highlights") – 2004–2008 (Swedish TV Series) *Big Beat Generation Vol. 1 (DVD) – 2009 (Big Beat Records, France) *Big Beat Story Vol. 2 (DVD) – 2011 (Big Beat Records, France) *Swiss television NZZ Format – 2013 (Features Gene in ''"Für immer Rock'n'Roll: Ein Lebensgefühl"'' with interviews and backstage footage from shows in the UK.)

Cover versions of Gene Summers songs

''Many songs popularized by Gene Summers have been recorded by other artists. Cover versions include:'' * ''Alabama Shake'' – by Crazy Cavan and the Rhythm Rockers (1976), The Flying Saucers (1976), C.S.A (1978), Teddy and The Tigers (1979), The Rockabilly Rebs (1979), Rockin' Lord Lee & The Outlaws (1988), Tony Vincent (1993), Badland Slingers (1999), The Shaking Silouets (1999), The TTs (2002), King Drapes (2003, Rawhide (2004), Hurricains (2007), The Muskrats (2009), Deke Dickerson (2010), Andy Warner and Spo-Dee-O-Dee (2012), The Hawks (2014), Lil' Camille (2017), Mr. Breathless (2017), Jeff Allen (2018), Modern Sounds, (2020) * ''Almost 12 O'Clock'' – by Rock-Ola (1981) * ''Baby Please Tell Me Why'' – by Lobo Jones and The Rhythm Hounds (2017) * ''Be Bop City'' – by Lakesend & Foxy (2017) * ''Big Blue Diamonds'' – by

Jacky Ward Jacky Ward (born November 18, 1942, Groveton, Texas, United States) is an American country music artist. He is popularly known worldwide for his 1977 hit single " Fools Fall in Love". Between 1972 and 1982, he released four albums with Mercury ...

(1971),

Ernest Tubb Ernest Dale Tubb (February 9, 1914 – September 6, 1984), nicknamed the Texas Troubadour, was an American singer and songwriter and one of the pioneers of country music. His biggest career hit song, "Walking the Floor Over You" (1941), m ...

(1972),

Mel Street King Malachi "Mel" Street (October 21, 1935 – October 21, 1978) was an American country music singer who had 13 top-20 hits on the Billboard country charts. Biography Street was born near Grundy, Virginia, United States.Nelson, Dick (August ...

(1972),

Jerry Lee Lewis Jerry Lee Lewis (September 29, 1935October 28, 2022) was an American singer, songwriter and pianist. Nicknamed "The Killer", he was described as "rock & roll's first great wild man". A pioneer of rock and roll and rockabilly music, Lewis made ...

(1973),

Merle Kilgore Wyatt Merle Kilgore (August 9, 1934 – February 6, 2005) was an American singer, songwriter, and manager. Born in Chickasha, Oklahoma, he was raised in Shreveport, Louisiana. At the time of his death, he was the personal manager of Hank Wil ...

(1974),

Jimmy Patton James Russell Patton (born September 29, 1933 – December 22, 1972) was an American football defensive back in the National Football League (NFL) for the New York Giants. He was a five-time Pro Bowl selection and five-time first-team All-P ...

(1975), Bobby Crown (1980), Ted Roddy (19??), Dan Walser (1996), Dennis Gilley (2000), Lembo Allen (2004), Rance Norton (2008), Back In Time Band (2009), HIYIELD1313 (2009), Lyndall Underwood (2010), Kelly Schoppa (2011), Honkey Tonk Possey (2012), DallasCrossoverBand (2013), The South of Dixie Band (2013), Henry Hosek (2016), Jeff Woolsey (2017), Jim Nix (2017, Bob Bales (2018) * ''Chapel Bells Ringing'' – by Jeff Allen (2018) * ''The Clown'' – by

J. Frank Wilson John Frank Wilson (December 11, 1941 – October 4, 1991) was an American singer, the lead vocalist of J. Frank Wilson and the Cavaliers. Born in Lufkin, Texas, Wilson was inducted into the West Texas Music Hall Of Fame. Career Wilson joined t ...

(1969). Note: (J. Frank Wilson voice over using the original Gene Summers bandtrack) * ''Crazy Cat Corner'' – by Bill Peck (1998) ''(re-written vocal adaptation titled "The Night Elvis Missed The Boat")'' * ''Dance Dance Dance'' – by Jeff Allen (2018) * ''Fancy Dan'' – by

Darrel Higham Darrel Higham (born 5 January 1970) is an English rockabilly guitarist who performs with Kat Men. He was previously married to Imelda May and performed in her band. Biography Music career Higham started playing lead guitar with British rockab ...

(1998), The Rocking Boys (2003), Eddie & The Flatheads (2003), Houserockers (2005), Roughcuts (????), Wild Roosters (2013, Rockin' The Joint (2013), Trouble Shooters (2017), Gold Diggin' Papa (2017), John Lewis (2018), Spo-Dee-O-Dee (2019) * ''Gotta Lotta That'' – by

Johnny Devlin John Lockett Devlin (born 11 May 1938) is a New Zealand singer, songwriter and rock musician, who has been compared to Elvis Presley. His cover of Lloyd Price's "Lawdy Miss Clawdy" in 1958 went to number one in the New Zealand charts with s ...

(1958), Andy Lee & Tennessee Rain (2000), Rudy LaCrioux and the All-Stars (2001), Wyldwood Four 2012, Alan Leatherwood (2013), Lil´Camille & the Rattletones (2018) * ''I'll Never Be Lonely'' – by Eddie Clendening (2006), Jeff Allen (2019) * ''My Picture'' – by The Sprites aka ( Bill Pinkney's Original Drifters) (1962) * ''Nervous'' – by

(1959), Robert Clark (1959),

Robert Gordon Robert Gordon may refer to: Entertainment * Robert Gordon (actor) (1895–1971), silent-film actor * Robert Gordon (director) (1913–1990), American director * Robert Gordon (singer) (1947–2022), American rockabilly singer * Robert Gordon (scr ...

''with''

Link Wray Fred Lincoln "Link" Wray Jr. (May 2, 1929 – November 5, 2005) was an American guitarist, songwriter, and vocalist who became popular in the late 1950s. ''Rolling Stone'' placed Wray at No. 45 of the 100 greatest guitarists of all time. In 2013 ...

(1979), Lonestars (1981), Rock-Ola & The Freewheelers (2000), T-Bird Gang (2009), Ducky Jim Trio, (2013) NOTE: ''

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 ...

attempted twice to record a demo of "Nervous" in home recordings in Dallas in 1957 which were released in 1998 on Dragon Street Records CD "The Lost Dallas Sessions"'' * ''Reminisce Cafe'' – by Pete Moss (2004) ''(Taped during a "live" broadcast on The Pete Moss Show on KDWN-AM Radio, Las Vegas, Nevada)'' * ''Rockaboogie Shake'' – by Lennerockers (2002) * ''School Of Rock 'n Roll'' – by Savage Kalman and The Explosion Rockets (1979), The Polecats (1980), Red Hot Max And The Cats (1989), The Rhythm Rockers (1989), Johnny Reno (1990), The Lennerockers (1991), The Alphabets (1991), Mess Of Booze (1993), The Vees (1995), The Blue Moon Rockers (1996), The Cornell Hurd Band (2002), Thierry LeCoz (2003), Rockin' Ryan and The Real Goners (2003), Lucky Strike Band (2003), Los Aceleradores (2004), Alan Leatherwood (2004), The Starlight Wranglers (2004), The Greyhounds (2004), Black Knights (2004), Rory Justice (2004), Big Sandy & his Fly-Rite Boys (2005), Mike Mok and The Em-Tones (2007), Bob Glazebrook & Houserockers (2009), Dixie Stompers (2009), The Muskrats (2009), Black Knights (2010), The Jets & Lights Out (2010), The Bop A Tones (2010), Victor Huganet (2010), Cliff and the Cavaliers (2010), HooDoo- Tones (2010) Dennis and the Rocktones (2012), Ducky Jim Trio (2012), Flying Flick Knives (2012), Gene Gambler and the Shufflers (2013), Robby Vee (2014), Reverend Horton Heat (2014), Tyler Hart Tryo (2014), The Hoodoo-Tones (2016), Ray Allen Trio (2017), The Cattle Thieves (2017), Snakebite (2017), Dell Clark and Rocket 88 (2018), Sandy Ford and Flying Saucers (2018), Jeff Allen, (2018), Johnny & The Two Rockin' Aces (2018), Dylan Kirk with the Starlights (2019) * Various Artists: School of Rock 'n Roll was used as the title for a (2) CD Box Set compilation released in the late 1990s. CD featured artists from the 1980s including J. Geils Band, Billy Squier, Steve Miller, The Motels, Glass Tiger, Culture Club, Sheena Easton and others. (CD title obviously inspired by the Gene Summers original, classic 'School Of Rock 'n Roll') **

– UNISSUED private recording, (late 1960s).'' According to a 1998 Now Dig This! magazine review of Derek Henderson's book "Gene Vincent A Discography", there's a complete A-Z listing of the 217 song titles that he's (Vincent) known to have recorded-everything from the Capitol biggies such as "Say Mama", Rocky Road Blues" and "Wildcat" to lesser known items such as private recordings of "Stand By Me", "Chain Gang" and "

".'' * ''She Bops A Lot'' – by The Lightcrust Doughboys (2000), Floyd Dakil (2010) * ''Straight Skirt'' – by

The Diamonds The Diamonds are a Canadian vocal quartet that rose to prominence in the 1950s and early 1960s with 16 ''Billboard'' hit records. The original members were Dave Somerville (lead), Ted Kowalski (tenor), Phil Levitt (baritone), and Bill Reed (ba ...

(1958),

(1958), Bengt Johansson (1958), Willie King (1958), Ronnie Dawson (1958), The Sureshots (2005) * '' Tomorrow '' by Jeff Allen (2018) * ''Turnip Greens'' – by

& The Enforcers (1992), Eddie Clendening (2012) * ''Twixteen'' – by Teddy and The Tigers (1979), Runnin' Wild (1997), (

Jimmy Velvit James Mullins (born January 11, 1941), better known as Jimmy Velvit, is an American rock and roll singer, who began his career in the 1960s. He is originally from Coalgate, Oklahoma, later from Dallas, Texas. He is best known for recording a ...

) (2000) (The Velvit version is a re-written vocal adaptation titled "Waiting For Elvis" and also uses the original Gene Summers 1958 "Twixteen" sound track)'' * ''You Said You Loved Me'' – by Sid and Billy King (1988)

References

Bibliography

*http://siliconmusic.us/artists/genesummers/promotional/bdylan-srr.mp3
ARSA Radio Surveys Archive
11/9/63
"Texas Music" by Rick Koster
*

Dallas Sportatorium The Sportatorium, located in downtown Dallas, Texas, was a barn-like arena used primarily for professional wrestling events. The building, which stood at 1000 S. Industrial Blvd, or the intersection of Industrial Boulevard and Cadiz Street (near ...

( World Class Championship Wrestling#Ring announcers) *''Catch That Rockabilly Fever'' by Sheree Homer (published by McFarland & Company, Inc) United States 2009 *''The Golden Age of American Rock 'n Roll: Reelin' & Rockin' : 1956–1959'' by Lee Cotten (Published by Popular Culture Ink) United States 1995 *''The Handbook of Texas Music'' by Laurie E. Jansinski (published by Texas A&M University Press) United States 2012 *''Feature article 'Gene Summers Picked For Pakefield in issue 58 of UK Rock Magazine, February 2009 UK *''Popular Music'' by Michael H. Gray (published by Bowker Publishing) United States 1983 *''The Handbook of Texas Music'' by Roy R. Barkley and Cathy Brigham (published by Texas State Historical Association) United States 2003 page 259 *''The Mercury Labels: A Discography: The 1964–1969 Era'' by Michael Ruppli and Ed Novitsky United States 1993 page 371 *''A Dream Deferred'' By Matt Weitz, Dallas Observer, July 31 – August 6, 1997, Volume 752, pages 73–79 *''Gene Summers Fan Club Bulletin'', United States 1985 *''Rockabilly: A Forty-Year Journey'' by Billy Poore (published by Hal Leonard) United States 1998 *''The Journal of Country Music, Volumes 20-21'' by Ed. Paul Kingsbury (published by Country Music Foundation Press) United States 1998 *''Legends Of Our Time'' (published by Escape Today Publishing United States 2005) *''Texas Music'' by Rick Koster (published by St. Martin's Press United States 2000) *''The Sound of The City: The Rise Of Rock And Roll'' by Charlie Gillett (published by Da Capo Press United States 1996) *''Race With The Devil'' by Susan Van Hecke (published by St. Martin's Press United States 2000) *''Go Cat Go'' by Craig Morrison (published by University Of Illinois Press United States 1998) *''Sun Records: The Brief History of The Legendary Record Label'' by

Colin Escott Colin Escott (born August 31, 1949) is a British music historian and author specializing in early U.S. rock and roll and country music. His works include a biography of Hank Williams, histories of Sun Records and The Grand Ole Opry, liner notes ...

and Martin Hawkins (published by Quick Fox Books UK 1975/1980) *''Texas Rhythm Texas Rhyme'' by Larry Willoughby (published by Texas Monthly Press United States 1984) *''Who's Who In The South And Southwest'' (published by Marquis Who's Who In America 1984–1985 Edition) United States) *''Blood Will Tell: The Murder Trials Of T. Cullen Davis'' by Gary Cartwright (published by Pocket Books United States 1978/1980) *''The International Who's Who in Popular Music 2002'' by Andy Gregory (Published by Routledge United States 2002) *''The Handbook Of Texas Music'' by Texas State Historical Association (published by The University Of Texas at Austin) United States) 2003 *''Cover Versions Of The Songs Made Famous By Gene Summers''

United States 2007 *''Texas Music Industry Directory'' (published by The Texas Music Office) Office of the Governor, Austin, Texas United States 2007 *''Article and sessionography'' in issue No. 15 of New Kommotion Magazine 1977 UK *''Feature article with photo spread'' in issue 53 of Bill Griggs' Rockin' 50s Magazine, 2002 United States *''Feature article with photo spread'' in issue 54 of Bill Griggs' Rockin' 50s Magazine, 2002 United States *''Full Cover photo'' and article in issue 28 of UK Rock Magazine, 2006 UK * "Reba: My Story: by Reba Mcentire (published by

Bantam Books Bantam Books is an American publishing house owned entirely by parent company Random House, a subsidiary of Penguin Random House; it is an imprint of the Random House Publishing Group. It was formed in 1945 by Walter B. Pitkin, Jr., Sidney B. ...

, 1994 United States (pages 56–57). * ''Rockabilly: A Forty-Year Journey'' by Billy Poore (published by

Hal Leonard HAL may refer to: Aviation * Halali Airport (IATA airport code: HAL) Halali, Oshikoto, Namibia * Hawaiian Airlines (ICAO airline code: HAL) * HAL Airport, Bangalore, India * Hindustan Aeronautics Limited an Indian aerospace manufacturer of fight ...

1998) United States * ''The International Who's Who in Popular Music'' 2002 by Andy Gregory (Published by Routledge 2002, United States) * ''The Handbook Of Texas Online'' (c)Texas State Historical Association (published at The University Of Texas at Austin) 2007, United States (

online In computer technology and telecommunications, online indicates a state of connectivity and offline indicates a disconnected state. In modern terminology, this usually refers to an Internet connection, but (especially when expressed "on line" or ...

) * ''Official Price Guide To Records'' by Jerry Osborne (published by House of Collectibles) United States * Chess Records Discography (online) United States * Jamie Records Discography (online) United States *

Jubilee Records Jubilee Records was an American independent record label, specializing in rhythm and blues and novelty records. It was founded in New York City in 1946 by Herb Abramson. His partner was Jerry Blaine. Blaine bought Abramson's half of the company ...

Artist Roster (online) United States * Charay Records Discography (online) United States * Alta Records Discography United States *

W&G Records W&G Records was an Australian recording company that operated from the early 1950s to the 1970s. It was a subsidiary of the Melbourne precision engineering company White & Gillespie. W&G released many significant recordings by Australian popular a ...

artists Australia * Article and sessionography in issue 15 (1977) of New Kommotion Magazine UK * Article and sessionography in issue 23 (1980) of New Kommotion Magazine UK * Feature article and sessionography in issue 74 (1999) of Rockin' Fifties Magazine Germany

External links

* * (Gene Summers' Home Page) * Gene Summers entryat

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

*
Billboard.com

at the

Gene Summers page
at Tapio's Fin-A-Billy (sessionography) {{DEFAULTSORT:Summers, Gene 1939 births 2021 deaths Heart transplant recipients American people of English descent Professional wrestling announcers Businesspeople from Texas American bandleaders American rock singers American country singer-songwriters American male singer-songwriters American male composers Ballad musicians American male pop singers American pop musicians American rock guitarists American acoustic guitarists Rhythm guitarists Singer-songwriters from Texas American rock songwriters American rockabilly guitarists American male guitarists Record producers from Texas Alta Records artists Norton Records artists Jamie Records artists Jubilee Records artists Mercury Records artists Tear Drop Records artists Charay Records artists Apex Records artists Charly Records artists Warner Music Group artists American rockabilly musicians Musicians from Dallas People from Duncanville, Texas Duncanville High School alumni People from Garland, Texas 20th-century American singers 21st-century American singers 20th-century American composers 21st-century American composers 20th-century American guitarists 21st-century American guitarists Guitarists from Texas University of Texas at Arlington alumni Country musicians from Texas 20th-century American male singers 21st-century American male singers