Vincent Black Lightning

Fans of country music were captivated by the Del McCoury Band’s 2002 hit “Vincent Black Lightning, 1952.” Written by noted folkster Richard Thompson, the song about young robber James Adie, who gives his beloved motorbike to his girlfriend just before he dies, has the emotional force of an ancient murder ballad and the narrative drive of the best of country music. This unusual novel takes the song’s basic story and expands it into a moving tale of star-crossed lovers.