Gene Summers


Gene Summers is an American rock/rockabilly singer. His recordings include "School of Rock 'n Roll", "Straight Skirt", "Nervous", "Gotta Lotta That", "Twixteen", "Alabama Shake", "Fancy Dan" and his biggest-selling single "Big Blue Diamonds". Summers was inducted into the Rockabilly Hall of Fame in 1997 and The Southern Legends Entertainment & Performing Arts Hall of Fame in 2005. He still performs worldwide and celebrated his 50th anniversary as a recording artist in 2008 with the release of Reminisce Cafe.

Early life and rise to first success

Summers was born in Dallas, Texas. He graduated from Duncanville High School in 1957 and attended Arlington State College, now known as the University of Texas at Arlington. That same year, he formed the rockabilly band The Rebels and performed on Joe Bill's Country Picnic on KRLD-TV where they were spotted by songwriter Jed Tarver. This led to the band being signed by newly founded Jan Records. Their first record was released on February 1, 1958, under the name of Gene Summers & His Rebels.

Gene Summers & The Tom Toms

Summers, who was still popular on the back of two regional hits "Straight Skirt"/"School Of Rock 'n Roll", and "Nervous"/"Gotta Lotta That", was playing in east Dallas at the 123 Club with his new group of Rebels which included lead guitarist and original Rebel James McClung, bass player Jack Castleberry, drummer Charlie Mendias and Codine Craft on piano. When Craft married and left the band, she was replaced by pianist/frontman C.W. Kendall formerly of the Big Beats - "Clark's Expedition" and "The Big Beats Live At The Off-Broadway" an LP issued by Liberty Records.
This provided the opportunity for Summers to exit the Rebels and in April, 1961 a new group emerged on the DFW club scene known as Gene Summers and the Tom Toms. One of the first performances of this newly formed alliance was on a bill in Fort Worth, Texas at Jimmy Levin's Skyliner Ballroom with legendary bluesman Elmore James., “Tomorrow” and an original instrumental titled “Loco Cat”.
By May, 1961, Gene and the Tom Toms were touring the US with the Chuck Berry show. The lineup also included Bill Pinkney's Original Drifters plus Bobby Hendricks of "Itchie Twitchie Feeling" fame. The group toured most of 1961 but by the end of that year they had begun to break up. Eddie Hill and Joel Colbert wanted to form a new band so they left the Tom Toms and departed for Lubbock, Texas. It was while he was returning to Dallas in early 1962 that Eddie Wayne Hill and one of his new band members, Donny LaGrone, were killed when their convertible collided head-on with a gravel truck on state Highway 114 south of Decatur, Texas.
Meanwhile, back in Dallas, Summers and bass player David A. Martin were revamping the Tom Toms who were now the house band at the Guthrey Club. Gene's former drummer from the 123 Club, Charlie Mendias, joined the group. Also, James McClung, the original Rebels guitar player, became a Tom Tom. McClung had previously written Gene's rockabilly classic "School Of Rock 'n Roll",. Also recruited were guitarist Glenn Keener and saxophonist Melvin Robinson. Robinson, formerly an original member of Sid King and the Five Strings, only played with the group through mid-July and was replaced by Jesse Lopez, the younger brother of soon-to-be-star, Trini Lopez.
The Tom Toms remained intact throughout most of 1962 with only a couple of changes in personnel. During early October, that year, David A. Martin left for Memphis with singer/organist Sam Samudio. Sam had been playing in Dallas at Jack's Blue Room which was just down the street from the Guthrey Club on Industrial Boulevard. Sam and David formed the group Sam The Sham and The Pharaohs, who would go on to great international success. Gene's former bass player, Jack Castleberry from the 123 Club, replaced Martin in the Tom Toms.
Lead guitar player Glenn Keener also left the Tom Toms about six weeks later to join a banjo group called Freddy Powers and the Powerhouse 1V. In July, 1962, the Powerhouse 1V had been discovered by Hugh Downs of the "Today Show" and had appeared twice on his program. Keener joined the group in late 1962 just in time to appear on their Warner Bros. Records album "The Good Life!" which was released in early 1963. Keener eventually ended up in Nashville as a session musician/record producer for Opryland Records and then Mercury Records-Phonogram. Keener holds the distinction of being the first to sign/record Reba McEntire for a major label deal.
With the defection of Martin and Keener, Summers again re-organized the Tom Toms. The new line-up now included James McClung on lead guitar, Jack Castleberry on bass, Charlie Mendias on drums and Jesse Lopez on sax. The rhythm section was augmented with the addition of organ player Harry “Good Times” Jackson. Jackson was replaced a short time later by keyboard player Bobby Charles, who also doubled on saxophone. By early 1963 Bobby Charles had left the group and was replaced by organ player Ernest Walker. Jesse Lopez, who was still in high school, dropped-out of the band and was replaced by sax player C.B. Williams. This became the final musical line-up for the Tom Toms. The band now included Summers, McClung, Mendias, Castleberry, Walker and Williams. This was the group that went into the Clifford Herring Recording Studio, in Fort Worth, Texas, on Thursday, March 28, 1963 and recorded Gene's breakthrough single "Big Blue Diamonds". An instrumental version of "Peanut Butter" was also recorded at this session. In June, 1964, they would return to the Summit Sound Studios in Dallas to record the Summers rockabilly classic "Alabama Shake", a song composed by James McClung in 1958. They also cut Lloyd Price's "Just Because" plus "The Great Pretender" at this session.
The Tom Toms continued to make music through the first part of 1965 playing, primarily, at the Guthrey Club in Dallas at Corinth and Industrial, before splitting up later that year, for a variety of personal and professional reasons.
Summers has continued to record and perform in clubs and international tours into the 21st century. In 1997, he became the 29th artist to be inducted into the Rockabilly Hall Of Fame, commemorated with a re-issue of his key recordings on the Crystal Clear Sound label. He was also inducted into The Southern Legends Entertainment & Performing Arts Hall of Fame in 2005. Summers was presented his HOF certificate in Hollywood, California by air personality John Rhys on October 29, 2005. In February, 2008, he celebrated 50 years as a recording artist with the release of a new studio album, Reminisce Cafe. Gene Summers was married to songwriter Deanna Summers from 1961 until her death in 2017. They have three sons Dusty, Steve and Shawn.

Partial discography

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Many songs popularized by Gene Summers have been recorded by other artists. Cover versions include:
NOTE: Gene Vincent attempted twice to record a demo of "Nervous" in home recordings in Dallas in 1957 which were released in 1998 on Dragon Street Records CD "The Lost Dallas Sessions"