Legacy
His contribution to rockabilly consists among others of more than 250 rockabilly songs ranging from the most beautiful ballads to high energi (classic) rockabilly songs and to songs in quite a new “style”, in which he mixed the original rockabilly style with the modern version of rockabilly. Moreover, he created his own sound: The Vince Gordon Sound with inspiration from the original rockabilly style.
2004 – The Rockabilly Guitarpage
Vince was often contacted by other guitarists for advice and guidance, including specific questions about which guitars had been used with certain songs. Vince accepted the challenge right from his first article, listing and describing in detail the various guitar manufactures, brands, special features, the equipment used, Amps etc. soon regarded as an expert, Vince was contacted by people from all over the world. Read more
2006 – Grady Martin and Johnny and the Burnetts
Vince accepted this challenge. He and his Dutch friend Peter Dijkema started researching how the two guitarists played and listened intensely to their albums. During this research, they contacted various specialists to check and evaluate their findings.
Vince Gordon and Peter Dijkema “proved” that it was indeed Grady Martin, who was the lead guitarist and the rock history about Johnny and the Burnetts had to be rewritten. Their research and the reasoning behind their conclusions can be found in the article: Grady Martin and Johnny and the Burnetts.
Vince and Peter wanted with their research to honor the correct guitarist (To set the score right). Vince Gordon wrote:
Poul Burlison (1929-2003) was a great guitarist and he definitely deserves his place in Rock’n Roll history, but Grady Martin (1929-2001) was a brilliant guitarist, and he should be credited for some of the best rockabilly guitar work ever, simply because he did it.
The findings by Vince Gordon and Peter Dijkema have been referred to in many books, one being the book “Before Elvis: The Prehistory of Rock N’ Roll”by Larry Birnbaum.
2010 – Recreation of the Legendary Scotty Moore Sound
Characteristically for Vince, he had recreated the sound using only reasonably priced materials. He wanted to share his knowledge with other guitarists, so they too could rebuild their guitars to produce the legendary Scotty Moore sound. Read more.
2011 – The Twang Heard Round the World, by Michael Dregni, ISBN
Being a rockabilly expert, Vince ended up also contributing to the book in areas concerning the European rockabilly scene and its bands.
2012 – Carl Perkins and His Rockabilly Guitar
Vince Gordon managed to contact Stan Perkins, the oldest son of Carl and a member of his father’s band. Carl Perkins family contributed to the article with several photos of Carl Perkins’ many guitars read here.
The interesting and unique article and get answers to questions about the guitars and equipment used by Carl Perkins in his biggest hits. Vince Gordon was also contacted by Stan Perkins, when Stan Perkins sought Vince’s help selling one of Carl Perkins’ guitars.
Rock around the Clock
The Vince Gordon Rockabilly Style and Sound
The Special Customized Vince Gordon Epiphone Guitar
Vince found the sound he had been looking for by customizing his Epiphone. Even though the goal had been to match Scotty Moore’s guitar sound, Vince went further in customization of his guitar to create the sound he would make his own. It was manifested in the legendary Epiphone L5CES Custom, which lends itself to his unique style: The Vince Gordon sound.
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