Vincent Eugene Craddock, better known as Gene Vincent, is one of the greatest rock and roll singers, up there with Elvis Presley. I think that, along with his sense of swing and dramatic timing, it was his natural quality, the sense that what he was singing about was actually happening to him, that made him so great. Like Presley, he was equally convincing on ballads and rockers, and like John Lennon, the greatest rock and roll singer of the following decade, he had the gift of always making the listener feel like part of the action (and fun). You can clearly hear how much Lennon learned from him by comparing their versions of "Be-Bop-a-Lula". Vincent's was recorded in 1956 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s7trV_-mSyE), and Lennon's in 1975. It's the first and best track on his Rock 'n' Roll album of that year (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aKQB0ezWGOE).