Johnny Vincent

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This article is about the record producer. For the English footballer, see Johnny Vincent (footballer).

Johnny Vincent (1927 - February 2000), born John Vincent Imbragulio, was an American record producer for Art Rupe at Specialty Records, founded Ace Records in 1955 in Jackson, Mississippi, 165 miles away from New Orleans. Although Vincent started out recording local blues musicians, in 1956 he branched out into into New Orleans rhythm and blues and rock and roll. He signed up Huey "Piano" Smith and his group who was able to develop a New Orleans shuffle style distinctive from the Fats Domino jumping boogie rhythm.[1]

Contents

[edit] History

Johnny Vincent was born in Hattiesburg, Mississippi and died in Jackson, Mississippi. He moved to Jackson in the late 1940s and opened a record shop and started the Champion Records label in the early fifties.[2]

Then Art Rupe offered him a job as A&R man at Specialty where Johnny worked with John Lee Hooker, Earl King, and Huey "Piano" Smith. His greatest hit was with Guitar Slim and "The Things That I Used to Do" an R&B # 1 in 1954. He left Specialty to found Ace.[1]

Ace enjoyed several national hits in the late 1950s, such as Huey "Piano" Smith's "Rockin' Pneumonia & Boogie Woogie Flu," a series of Jimmy Clanton hits, and Frankie Ford's "Sea Cruise", but by 1962 the difficulties in distribution for a small independent label forced Vincent to close down the label.[2]

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.[3]

  • Recommended listening: The Ace Story, Vol. 1-5 (Ace CD 2031-2035).

[edit] Tributes

The character "Johnny Vincent" in the video game Bully for Sony PlayStation 2 is a 1950s throw-back and strongly resembles a young version of the artist.

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b Gillett, Charlie (1996). The Sound of the City: The Rise of Rock and Roll, (2nd Ed.), New York, N.Y.: Da Capo Press, p. 95. ISBN 0-306-80683-5. 
  2. ^ a b Remembering Johnny Vincent 1927 2000. bluesworld. Retrieved on 2006-11-24.
  3. ^ Johnny Vincent. Retrieved on 2006-11-24.

[edit] External links

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