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In a recent phone interview from his home in Portsmouth, Virginia, a very youthful- sounding, enthusiastic Harrell agreed that there was something special about the Blue Caps, and humbly gave Gallup much of the credit for that legacy. "Cliff was the best" , Harrell said in a thick, regional accent. "You've got to give it to him ... He was a very serious musician, he was dedicated and he didn't go in for a whole lot of playing around and goofing off ... He liked to stick to the book ... I guess that's why he was so good, because he was a perfectionist. We used to do a lot of jumping around, Jackie would throw his bass up in the air and all kinds of stuff, but Cliff never went in for that."

Harrell's jazzy, popping snare work was another factor which made the Blue Caps stand out from the pack. If Vincent was the prototype rockabilly singer/personality, if Gallup was the premier rockabilly guitarist, Harrell was certainly the genre's finest drummer, and the man that originated what has become a rockabilly cliche - standing up while playing the drums. It was also his wild, hackle-raising rebel yell that punctuated the instrumental breaks on Blue Caps sides, bringing an extra-maniacal edge to those records. "It started when we made 'Be-Bop-A-Lula' " , Harrell recalled. "I don't know what happened, I just felt like screaming - and when it happened, Cliff stopped playing and .said, 'What the hell was *that*?' Gene said, 'I don't know, but I liked it - let's keep it' ..."

The Blue Caps were noted for putting on a wild show that was the match of their savage sound. A 1957 performance on the Ed Sullivan Show captures the group that will appear at the Foothill in their prime. Harrell, in particular, is a marvel to behold as the huge man smashes at his snare like he's trying to pound an enemy into submission. "We had a good time" , said Harrell. "It made us feel good to play like that. And when you were on one of those shows with a number of artists who all had hit records out, you had to do something so you'd stand out, so people would remember you ..." .

Of course, an interview with Harrell has to include questions about the bossman - over the years. Gene Vincent has developed a legendary reputation as the original badass rockabilly cat - greasy, mean, tough, the real deal, the anti-Elvis. But, according to Harrell, Vincent was in reality a polite and accommodating sort, at least for Harrell's two - year tenure with him. "I'll tell you something, when I was with Gene, you couldn't meet a nicer person" , he said. "He went out of his way to do things for people, especially the public ... This was his life. If he could have died on that stage, he would have been tickled to death ... He was very devoted ... But as the time went on with changes in management, changes in the band, trouble with record labels, promoters, women messed him up, all that drinking he did - it all takes it's toll ... I've heard people say he got pretty rowdy towards the end ..." .

The Blue Caps, in various forms, have been re-uniting for shows since the early '80s, when the popularity of the Stray Cats brought about a rockabilly revival which has endured in varying degrees to this day. Harrell, still only 56, has kept his government job in a supply factory but enjoys the periodic returns to the stage. If there's one pet peeve involved, it's the disrespectful attitudes he sometimes receives from the neo-rockabilly boys who act as if he'd be better off put out to pasture.