A major find in rockabilly history, the tapes and acetates comprising
The Lost Dallas Sessions 1957-1958 provide a missing piece of the puzzle to one of the genre's most inspired and prolific performers,
Gene Vincent. After a year of whirlwind touring behind his hit, "Be Bop a Lula,"
Vincent moved his band from Norfolk, VA, to Dallas, TX, and hooked up with the Big D Jamboree and Ed McLemore as his new manager. Ace guitarist
Cliff Gallup had already left the fold, and
Vincent was also assembling a new revamped version of the band. Replacing
Gallup was guitarist Johnny Meeks, and these demo recordings from Sellers Company Recording Studio in Dallas feature him and the new
Blue Caps lineup. The original version of "In My Dreams" is aboard, along with original stabs at "The Night Is So Lonely," "Lady Bug," and "Lonesome Boy." There are also home recordings of
Vincent & His Blue Caps taking three swipes at "Lotta Lovin'" and another one of "In My Dreams," buttressed with demo versions of "On My Mind" and "Nervous," the latter two featuring only
Vincent and Meeks. To flesh things out, there's a rip-roaring live performance of
Vincent & His Blue Caps on the Big D Jamboree from the same period doing "Bluejean Bop," "Whole Lot of Shakin' Going On," "Dance to the Bop," and "Lotta Lovin'." As if this wasn't enough, there's also material from other '50s
Vincent-connected artists who also left unreleased material behind at the Sellers studio, with tracks from Norton Johnson,
Darrell Glenn,
Bob Kelly, and
Grady Owen completing this very essential package for the true rockabilly fanatic.