Gene Maltais

Gene Maltais (May 21, 1933 – February 1, 2024), known by the stage name "Mad Man" Maltais, was an American rockabilly musician and singer-songwriter from Concord, New Hampshire. A regional presence on the New England rock and roll scene of the late 1950s, he recorded for Decca Records in Nashville and released a series of singles that became sought-after among collectors of the genre.

Life and career Early life and Decca recording Eugene Real Maltais was born in Concord, New Hampshire on May 21, 1933. He took up guitar as a teenager and, during his final two years of high school, performed regularly at local venues including a recurring engagement at a local restaurant.

Lilac Records He founded Lilac Records in 1959, through which he independently released material. In 1965, Maltais recorded a demo tape for a song with Regal Records, in Phoenix, Arizona, but nothing became of it and he spent the next decade in New Hampshire, with subsequent music being self-released on Lilac, such as "The Raging Sea" b/w "Gang War" in 1959, recorded with his new ensemble, The Gibson String Band. Fewer than 1,000 copies were pressed, making the record a collectible, and it was reissued by Norton in 2012 on CD. Maltais performed only regionally in New England for the next decade. He recorded with Belgian producer Mac Bouvrie, for the record label Monopole, in 1977. Unhappy with how Aladdin handled his songs, Maltais chose not to sign with the label. Who played lead guitar at that session has never been settled: Maltais remembered it as Duane Eddy, but session records credit Al Casey. His career is chronicled in The Sounds of Our Town: A History of Boston Rock and Roll.