Eddie Cochran

Eddie Cochran emerged early as one of rock & roll’s towering figures, an artist whose impact would eclipse the short span of his career, abruptly ended by a fatal car crash in 1960. Often hailed as a rockabilly trailblazer, he delivered a harder-edged sound than most contemporaries, favoring a blues-tinged approach over pronounced country twang while still anchoring his work in melodic lines drawn from that tradition. A gifted guitarist as well as a songwriter attuned to adolescent obsessions with automobiles, romance, and leisure, he possessed the craft to translate those themes into driving, memorable tunes. Tracks such as “Summertime Blues,” “C’mon Everybody,” “Somethin’ Else,” “Nervous Breakdown,” and “Weekend” continued to resonate through countless covers long after his death, shaping figures ranging from Bobby Fuller to the Sex Pistols. He was also among the first American rock performers to headline shows in the United Kingdom, where his reach proved especially deep; Paul McCartney’s ability to perform Cochran’s “Twenty Flight Rock” from memory reportedly impressed John Lennon during their initial encounter.

Born October 3, 1938, in Albert Lea, Minnesota, to parents who had roots in Oklahoma, Cochran absorbed country music from his earliest years. While still in school he took up drums before teaching himself guitar and piano. In 1950 the family relocated from the Midwest to Bell Gardens, California, where he assembled his first group in junior high and performed hillbilly material with schoolmates. After completing only one year of high school he left to pursue music professionally, and in 1954 he teamed with country singer Hank Cochran—unrelated despite the shared surname—to work as the Cochran Brothers. The duo issued their debut single, “Mr. Fiddle” backed with “Two Blue Singin’ Stars,” in 1955 and enjoyed modest regional success. As rock & roll gained momentum, however, Eddie absorbed the styles of Chuck Berry, Little Richard, and Carl Perkins; although he kept writing with Hank Cochran for a time, he stepped out alone to record the solo release “Skinny Jim” b/w “Half Loved” in 1956. His striking appearance, fluent guitar work, and lively vocals positioned him as a natural rock & roll prospect, leading to a part in the landmark film The Girl Can’t Help It alongside Fats Domino, Gene Vincent, Little Richard, and Jayne Mansfield. His initial hit, the comparatively restrained pop outing “Sittin’ in the Balcony” b/w “Dark Lonely Street,” charted in 1957, whereas the more characteristic “Mean When I’m Mad” and “Twenty Flight Rock” (the latter featured in the same movie) failed to register on American singles lists. Before year’s end he released the album Singin’ to My Baby and appeared briefly in the exploitation picture Untamed Youth, performing “Cotton Picker.”

Cochran achieved his commercial peak in August 1958 with “Summertime Blues,” the Jerry Capehart collaboration that catalogued teenage frustrations with adult authority and climbed to number eight on the sales charts. “C’mon Everybody,” an ode to rock & roll parties, followed it into the Top 40 in January 1959. Growing comfortable in the studio, he began layering multiple guitar tracks in the manner of Les Paul and contributed to friends’ sessions, supplying lead guitar for honky-tonk artist Skeets McDonald and backing vocals on A Gene Vincent Record Date. After the February 1959 plane crash that took Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and the Big Bopper, Cochran paid tribute with the song “Three Stars.” Wary of heavy road schedules thereafter, he preferred to concentrate on writing and recording, yet declining sales prompted a return to touring for financial reasons. Capitalizing on his growing British popularity, he joined Gene Vincent for a 1960 U.K. tour that proved highly lucrative and elevated both performers’ profiles across Britain. The venture ended in tragedy on April 17, 1960, when a tire blew on the taxi carrying Cochran, Vincent, and Sharon Sheeley—Cochran’s girlfriend and co-writer of “Somethin’ Else”—from their Bristol Hippodrome show to London; the vehicle struck a concrete post, killing Cochran and injuring the other two passengers.

Following his death, “Three Steps to Heaven” topped the U.K. charts, and while American fans registered the loss, his posthumous reputation remained stronger in Britain, where the timing of the accident after a triumphant tour amplified the story. “Summertime Blues” itself reappeared on British charts in 1966, 1968, and 1975, later covered by Blue Cheer, the Who, the Flying Lizards, and Alan Jackson among many others. Cochran surfaced as a character in the films The Buddy Holly Story and La Bamba, the latter featuring Brian Setzer of the Stray Cats in the role; Setzer frequently cited Cochran as a primary inspiration.