From: "Dik de Heer" Date: Fri Jun 21, 2002 1:13 am Subject: Born To Be With You : Vince Everett VINCE EVERETT (By Tony Wilkinson) Born Marvin Benefield, 21st June 1941, College Park, Georgia His real name is Marvin Benefield and he recorded, to quote Trevor Cajiao the editor of Now Dig This magazine, the sort of records that Presley should have been making in the sixties. 1958 saw his entry into the music business by entering the talent contest portion of the Georgia Jubilee show based out of the town of East Point and broadcast over WTJH. If somebody won for three months, a recording contract was the prize. Marvin accomplished this as well as appearing alongside many top country acts of the era as well as hot Atlanta based acts such as Joe South, Jerry Reed and Ray Stevens. The track recorded at the NRC Studio, Atlanta, with Ray Stevens producing and released in 1960, was 'Love Me' (not the Presley song) and was issued under the name of Marvin Fields on Jam 1067. A comedy act was on the other side of the disc. However whilst on the Georgia Jubilee, Vince became friends with Felton Jarvis who was trying to make a name for himself as a singer and guitarist. However the Jubilee folded shortly thereafter but Everett was contacted by Jarvis to see if he (Vince) would like to make a record for ABC Paramount. The first session for the label was held in Nashville in February 1962 where Everett, accompanied by such musical luminaries as Floyd Cramer, Jerry Kennedy and The Jordanaires, cut four sides of which two ('Such A Night/Don't Go') were released on ABC Paramount 10313 on 15th March 1962. The recording name of Vince Everett was selected by Jarvis and came from the character played by Elvis in the movie 'Jailhouse Rock'. The remaining two sides, 'I Ain't Gonna by You're Low Down Dog No More/Sugar Bee' were issued on ABC Paramount on 6th September 1962. Actually this February session was split with Tommy Roe whose efforts included the hit version of 'Shelia' (the version with the 'Peggy Sue' beat as opposed to the earlier treatment cut for Judd Records of Memphis). The reason why either disc failed to do well is open to speculation. One possible reason is that the sounds of first-rate rock 'n' roll were not exactly in keeping with other music being pumped out in 1962. There is also the suggestion that Felton Jarvis may have used the recordings as a stepping-stone to get to Elvis Presley. It has been confirmed that Felton sent both discs to Presley and of course, from 1966 onwards, acted as one of Presley's producers. Vince did not help the promotion too much as he undertook limited touring, preferring instead to maintain his full time job at the Square D Company who were involved in the production of electrical switchgear. Felton arranged for another session for Vince in Nashville in July 1963 and again four titles were laid down. Two, 'Baby Let's Play House' and 'Livin' High' were selected for release on ABC Paramount 10472 but commercially were still born. Today, the first mentioned of these tracks is regarded as a rock 'n' roll classic and it is hard to comprehend that it was recorded as late as mid 1963. The other sides cut at the session were scheduled for release as a single but this did not happen. One, 'Sweet Flavours', was eventually issued in 1980 on the various artist compilation 'The Other Kings' (Revival 0002) whilst the other, 'Box Of Candy' finally saw the light of day in 1986 on the UK Charly (#30252) release 'Old Time Rock & Roll'. There was one more release by Vince on ABC Paramount (#10624) on 1st February 1965 with 'Big Brother/To Have, To Hold And Let Go' which were cut at the National Record Corporation studio located at 1224 Fernwood Circle, Atlanta, Georgia in 1964 at a session produced by Joe South. These sides were a deliberate attempt to break away from the Presley sound but again failed to chart. 1965 also saw the release of a cover version of 'I'm Snowed' coupled with a solid treatment of the Rosemary Clooney tune 'Come-Onna My House' on the NRC subsidiary label Royalty (#505) under the name of Marvin Benefield. The next year Marvin was called up for a spell of duty in the USA army where he was selected for officer training. He was released in November 1969 as a first lieutenant. However by this time, his recording career had gone off the boil and it was not until 1977 when he returned to the aforementioned NRC Studio to cut 'To Love Is To Gamble/Glitter And Gleam' with Tommy Roe producing. The disc, again released under the name Marvin Benefield, was issued on Bill Lowery's 1-2-3 Records (#NR 8895) with the intention of selling on to a major label. This did not happen and was the final release, to date, in the recording career of Marvin Fields/Vince Everett/Marvin Benefield. However he has since been in the studio to lay down a few tracks with his current band, The Blends And The Country Sounds, but these remain in the can. From the seventies onwards, there was considerable confusion as various people had reported talking to Vince Everett in London, England. This was compounded in 1977 by the UK release of the album 'Elvis - Always On My Mind' (State Of America S/O/A -VE/231) and credited to Vince Everett. This included many of the aforementioned tracks plus the titles 'Til I Lost You' and 'Bless You', all in pretty poor sound quality. The last two mentioned tracks were by a British 'Vince Everett' who was a Elvis Presley dealer/impersonator. This fake Vince Everett is no longer with us, having gone to the great cotton field in the sky. The real Vince Everett made his European debut at the Rockabilly Rock & Roll Meeting in Munich, Germany on 17th July 1999 and, by all accounts, his performance went down well. Recommended listening: Hydra BCK 27111 - 'The Real Vince Everett'. This compilation, released in 1999, brings together all the aforementioned released titles and is still available.