Vincent Crane (1943-1989)

Vincent Crane (1943-1989)

Vincent Rodney Cheesman was born on May 21st, 1943 in Reading, Berkshire, England. As a teenager he taught himself boogie woogie piano and also started playing a Hammond Organ. While touring with the Crazy World of Arthur Brown in the United States he suffered a nervous breakdown and returned back home fore care. This group disbanded in 1969 and Crane then formed Atomic Rooster with Carl Palmer. He struggled with Bipolar disorder from about 1968 on and would periodically take part in inpatient and outpatient mental health facilities. He has also collaborated with numerous other musicians throughout his career. 

Accomplishments:

By 1968, the debut album, The Crazy World of Arthur Brown became a hit on both sides of the Atlantic. Produced by The Who's manager Kit Lambert, and executive-produced by Pete Townshend on Track Records, the label begun by Lambert and Chris Stamp, it spun off an equally surprising hit single, "Fire", and contained a version of "I Put a Spell on You" by Screaming Jay Hawkins, a similarly bizarre showman. "Fire" sold over one million copies, and was awarded a gold disc.[2] The song has since seen its opening line "I am the God of Hellfire" sampled in numerous other places, most notably in The Prodigy's 1992 rave anthem "Fire", and more recently in Death Grips' "Lord of the Game", from 2011.