Sometimes it’s all about how you impact other artists rather than your effect on the general public. Ever heard of Vince Taylor? Probably not. But are you familiar with David Bowie and The Clash? Then you can partly thank Vince for that.

Vince Taylor was particularly well-suited to bring authentic rock & roll to the UK. He was born there in 1939 before moving from the heavily rationed, post-war doldrums of England to the bright and booming, all the sugar you can eat shores of America at the age of 7, first in New Jersey and then in sunny Los Angeles. He experienced the rock & roll explosion firsthand, as a teen among teens, living a life of jukeboxes and jeans, and the second he graduated from high school, flew back to London and immediately secured a deal with Parlophone Records (future home of The Beatles).

Alas, Taylor’s first few singles went nowhere and Parlophone dropped him. Why wasn’t he successful? He may have been too raw, rocked TOO hard for a still buttoned-up Britain. But not too hard for a slightly wilder Europe, and Taylor and his Playboys found a new home in France, as he and the band rocked the Continent during the early 60’s, selling out shows as a leather-clad Taylor drove his audiences to riot.

One of his songs that became popular was a B-side he wrote, originally released in 1959, titled “Brand New Cadillac.” Three different bands covered the song in 1964-1965, each reaching #1 in a different country — Sweden, Finland, and France, respectively. In fact, 1965 would prove to be peak Taylor as he also opened for The Rolling Stones when they played Paris. Unfortunately, he fell from that peak the same year after attending a party in London and sampling LSD for the first time. He wouldn’t stop with once, and it proceeded poorly. Acid wasn’t all marmalade skies and yellow submarines for everyone.

Within a year, Taylor was dressing in white robes, preaching to his audiences, and calling himself the son of God. When David Bowie met him during this time, Taylor talked to him about aliens living among us, unfolding a map and pointing out locations where they had established their alien bases. Bowie filed away the impression of a messianic alien rock star and created Ziggy Stardust five years later based on his meeting with Taylor.

By the late 70’s you had bands who knew Taylor’s “Brand New Cadillac” from their childhood. Which is why The Clash covered it as the second track on their magnum opus, London Calling, in 1979, thereby turning the song into a new rock & roll classic.

By this time, Vince Taylor was out of the music business and happily working as an airplane mechanic. It just goes to show, you don’t have to be The Beatles or Nirvana to change the world. A butterfly flaps its wings and a week later a hurricane whips up across the ocean.

So turn that big car around, and come on back … to Vince Taylor & The Playboys.