He has been active in music since the '60s—in particular the mid-1970s, when he was part of the New York City punk rock scene with his original band, Testors.
[3] Always active in his own bands, Vincent also spent time touring and recording for 9 years as Maureen "Moe" Tucker and Sterling Morrison's guitar player (both of the Velvet Underground.)
Members of Vincent's bands include a vast range of players/characters, from the drummer of the Stooges, Scott Asheton, to Charles Manson's one-time guitar player, Ernie Knapp.
Sonny Vincent was born in New York City and had difficult relationships with his foster parents, teachers, and other adult authority figures.
[7] After the Extreme disbanded, Vincent went on to form other groups, such as Model Prisoners 1987-1989 (with a line-up including, Bob Stinson from the Replacements, Mike Henderson, and Jim Michels)[1][7] and Shotgun Rationale 1989–1990, which had a revolving line-up that included, Mort Bauman, Mike Henderson, Stinson, Cheetah Chrome of the Dead Boys, and Greg Norton of Hüsker Dü.
[7][9] During the early 1990s, Vincent and drummer Jeff Rogers relocated from Minneapolis to Los Angeles where they formed a band for a short time with Ernie Knapp on bass.
[11] Other line-ups during this period were Sonny Vincent and His Rat Race Choir, which included Scott Asheton, Cheetah Chrome, and Captain Sensible.
[12] In addition to releasing over 20 albums under his own name, Vincent toured and recorded for nine years with Maureen "Moe" Tucker of The Velvet Underground.
After touring with Moe Tucker became less frequent, Vincent recorded a new album, Pure Filth, with drummer Scott Asheton of the Stooges and Captain Sensible of the Damned.
In January 2020 Hozac records released a full-length LP compiling unreleased tracks from three of Vincent's pre-Testors bands, Distance (1969–71), Fury (1972), and Liquid Diamonds (1973–75), as well as one of the earliest Testors demos from 1976.