Presley's appearance in Norfolk, Virginia had been sponsored by a local radio station, WCMS, and when in February 1956 they called for neighbourhood talent to audition for a new show, 'Country Showtime,' Gene overcame his shyness and sang Presley's song Heartbreak Hotel, creating sufficient impact to qualify for the finals which were held at the Carnival Room in Norfolk. From then on, singing rock 'n' roll was all that Gene ever wanted to do with his life. The audience reaction to Presley must have had a dramatic effect on the youngster, whose own career prospects were no longer looking very promising. For two nights on 11th and 12th September 1955, Elvis Presley came to Norfolk and Gene was among the capacity audience at the City Auditorium as teenagers rioted and mobbed him, literally tearing his clothes apart for souvenirs. This already serious injury was made worse because of his apparent unwillingness to rest the wound and on several occasions the doctors were obliged to re-set the leg because it was not healing satisfactorily.Дuring the period of his recuperation another event took place which was destined to shape the future of Gene Craddock's life. For six months he was in and out of Portsmouth Naval Hospital, hobbling around on crutches with his whole leg encased in plaster.

The doctors favoured amputation and with hindsight this would have been the best option, but he always fought against the ultimate solution and consequently lived the rest of his life in various degrees of pain. It is however generally accepted that a woman driving a Chrysler jumped a red light and a sickening collision left him with a permanent injury to his left leg which had been almost severed just above the shin.

The episode which changed Gene Craddock's life forever occurred in July 1955 and as usual there are several different versions of the incident. By mid 1955 he had upgraded from his first small bike to a powerful Triumph and had effected a transfer to shore duties where he was working as a despatch rider attached to the naval base in Norfolk. His one passion, other than girls, was for motorcycling. He would fill the long hours on board by singing and strumming his guitar but only for relaxation and never with any thoughts of fame and fortune. After basic training, he was assigned as a deckhand on USS Chuckawan and in time upgraded to become a boiler man. He enjoyed an unremarkable childhood and never progressed beyond an eighth grade education, eventually dropping out and enlisting in the navy at nearby Richmond, Virginia on 19th February 1952 at the age of seventeen. Nothing was quite the way it seemed and even the simplest things had a habit of ending up in dispute. Craddock and although 11th February appears on his birth certificate, his mother continually claimed that it should have read 17th, while his sister Evelyn favoured 22nd. Actually the precise order of his forenames has been the subject of some discussion over the years, and when Gene filled out his application for a social security card, he gave his name as Vincent E. Jewelcases / Trays / Protection jacketsД®ugene Vincent Craddock was born on 11th February 1935 in Norfolk, Virginia.

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