Edward Ray Cochran ( KOK-rən; October 3, 1938 – April 17, 1960) was an American rock and roll musician. His songs, such as "Twenty Flight Rock", "Summertime Blues", "C'mon Everybody" and "Somethin' Else", captured teenage frustration and desire in the mid-1950s and early 1960s. He experimented with multitrack recording, distortion techniques and overdubbing, even on his earliest singles. Cochran played the guitar, piano, bass, and drums. His image as a sharply dressed and attractive young man with a rebellious attitude epitomized the stance of the 1950s rocker, and in death, he achieved iconic status.
Cochran was involved with music from an early age, playing in the school band and teaching himself to play blues guitar. In 1955, Cochran formed a duo with the guitarist Hank Cochran (no relation) and became known as the Cochran Brothers. When they split the following year, Eddie began a song-writing career with Jerry Capehart. His first success came when he performed "Twenty Flight Rock" in the film The Girl Can't Help It, which starred Jayne Mansfield. Soon afterward, he signed a recording contract with Liberty Records and his first record for the label, "Sittin' in the Balcony", rose to number 18 on the Billboard charts.
Cochran died in April 1960 in St Martin's Hospital, Bath, Somerset, after a car accident in Chippenham, Wiltshire, at the end of his British tour with Gene Vincent. On April 16, after they had just performed at the Bristol Hippodrome, and when they were on their way to Heathrow Airport to fly home, Vincent, Cochran, their tour manager Patrick Tompkins, and the songwriter Sharon Sheeley were involved in a high-speed traffic accident in a private-hire taxi. The other three passengers survived (albeit with significant injuries); but Cochran, who had been thrown from the vehicle, suffered more serious brain injuries and died the following day.
Though Cochran's best-known songs were released during his lifetime, more of his songs were released posthumously. In 1987, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. A wide variety of recording artists have recorded his songs. Paul McCartney chose Cochran's "Twenty Flight Rock" as his audition piece, confident that his performance would impress John Lennon, which it did, and was hired as a member of Lennon's skiffle group, the Quarrymen, which later became the Beatles.
Cochran was born on October 3, 1938, in Albert Lea, Minnesota, to Alice and Frank R. Cochran, natives of 'Oklahoma. He was of Scottish and English descent. Cochran took music lessons in school but quit the band to play drums. Additionally, rather than taking piano lessons, he began learning guitar, playing country and other music he heard on the radio.
In 1952, Cochran's family moved to Bell Gardens, California. As his guitar playing improved, Cochran formed a band with two friends from his junior high school. In January 1955, Cochran dropped out of Bell Gardens High School in his first year to become a professional musician.
The Cochran Brothers (1955–1956)
During a show featuring many performers at an American Legion hall, Cochran met the songwriter Hank Cochran. Although they were not related, they recorded as the Cochran Brothers and performed together. They recorded a few singles for Ekko Records that were fairly successful and helped to establish them as a performing act. Eddie Cochran also worked as a session musician and began writing songs, making a demo with Jerry Capehart, his future manager.
Solo and film appearances (1956–1959)
In July 1956, Eddie Cochran's first "solo artist" single was released by Crest Records. It featured "Skinny Jim", now regarded as a rock-and-roll and rockabilly classic. In the spring of 1956, Boris Petroff asked Cochran if he would appear in the musical comedy The Girl Can't Help It. Cochran agreed and performed "Twenty Flight Rock" in the movie. In 1957, Cochran starred in his second film, Untamed Youth (1957), for which he and Jerry Capehart co-wrote one of the songs from the movie, "Oo Ba La Baby", sung by co-star Mamie Van Doren, and had yet another hit, "Sittin' in the Balcony", one of the few songs he recorded that was written by other songwriters (in this case John D. Loudermilk). "Twenty Flight Rock" was written by AMI staff writer Ned Fairchild (a pen name—her real name is Nelda Fairchild). Fairchild, who was not a rock and roll performer, merely provided the initial form of the song; the co-writing credit reflects Cochran's major changes and contributions to the final product.
In the summer of 1957, Liberty Records issued Cochran's only studio album released during his lifetime, Singin' to My Baby. The album included John D. Loudermilk's "Sittin' in the Balcony". For the album, Cochran worked with manager and songwriter Jerry Capehart, and wrote the songs "Completely Sweet", "Undying Love", "When I'm Mad", and Cochran original "One Kiss".
In 1958, Cochran seemed to find his stride in the famous teenage anthem "Summertime Blues" (co-written with Jerry Capehart). With this song, Cochran was established as one of the most important influences on rock and roll in the 1950s, both lyrically and musically. The song, released by Liberty recording no. 55144, charted at number 8 in 1958.
Originally, Cochran toured with the Kelly Four as his backing band, guitarist Mike Deasy, saxophonist Mike Henderson, bassist Dave Shriver, and drummer Gene Riggio. They were known as the Hollywood Swingers, a reference to Dick D'Agostin's band. The line-up of Cochran's touring band would change over time, with saxophonist Jim Seals and bassist Connie 'Guybo' Smith, and the addition of pianist Jim Stivers. They were eventually joined by various members from Dick D'Agostin and The Swingers. In 1959, the Swingers line-up became muti-instrumentalist with pianist Dick D'Agostin, pianist Jim Stivers (briefly on bass), guitarist Larry D'Agostin, saxophonist Paul Kaufman, and drummer Gene Riggio. However, D'Agostin left and was called up to enlist into the U.S. Army. Members from the Kelly Four returned, Deasy and Henderson, with Stivers and Riggio being accompanied by bassist Don Meyer (later replaced by Dave Shriver). This was the last line-up of Cochran's touring band, returning to the name of the Kelly Four.
Cochran starred in his last film Go, Johnny, Go! (1959). In January 1960, Cochran recorded his last session at Gold Star Studios. His brief music career included a few more hits, such as "C'mon, Everybody", "Somethin' Else", "Teenage Heaven", and "Three Steps to Heaven", which posthumously topped the charts in the Republic of Ireland and the United Kingdom in 1960. He remained popular in the United States and United Kingdom through the late 1950s and early 1960s, and more of his records were posthumous hits, such as "My Way", "Weekend", and "Nervous Breakdown".
Throughout his music career, Cochran made a few television appearances. On October 22, 1957, in Portland, Oregon, Cochran appeared on KPTV's High Time, hosted by Gene Brendler, and sang "Am I Blue?". During late 1957, Cochran was on the Biggest Show of Stars for '57 tour with Buddy Holly and the Crickets, Fats Domino, Chuck Berry, the Everly Brothers, Buddy Knox, Frankie Lymon, and Paul Anka, among others. In November 1958, Cochran performed on American Bandstand, and The Dick Clark Show (Dick Clark's Saturday Night Beech-Nut), in which he played his hit song "C'mon Everybody".
On February 7, 1959, Cochran performed live on Town Hall Party with Dick D'Agostin and the Swingers. He played "C'mon, Everybody", "Have I Told You Lately That I Love You", "Don't Blame It On Me", "Summertime Blues", "School Days", Gene Autry's "Be Honest With Me", and "Money Honey". There was a brief interview segment on the show, and Cochran was asked about his prediction for the future of rock 'n' roll music. On October 10, 1959, he appeared on The Dick Clark Show (Dick Clark's Saturday Night Beech-Nut), and performed "Somethin' Else" and "Sittin' in the Balcony".
During his UK Tour in 1960, Cochran performed on the BBC radio show Saturday Club and the British ABC TV programme Boy Meets Girls, hosted by Marty Wilde. In late January 1960, Cochran appeared on two episodes and performed live an array of songs including a newly released cover of Ray Charles' "Hallelujah I Love Her So".