Eddie Cochran story

Edward Ray Cochran was born October 3, 1938 in Albert Lea, Minnesota. He was the youngest of five children born to Frank and Alice Cochran. The family was originally from Oklahoma City, but Depression and better chances of jobs had prompted them to move up north to Minnesota. The family was very close. With his father, Eddie discovered a love for hunting and fishing while camping in the Minnesota woods. Eddie's interest in music began while listening to the radio and learning a few chords from his brother, Bob, on the guitar. After he picked up a guitar chord book, his guitar playing improved by leaps and bounds. Eddie had a good ear and could hear a guitar solo on a record and soon duplicate it note by note.

According to Alice Cochran, the family packed up their belongings and traveled west to California in the early part of 1953. They settled in Bell Gardens, a small town just south east of Los Angeles. Being in a strange new environment with no friends, Eddie spent most every spare moment playing his guitar. His mother said he would have played twenty four hours a day if she had let him. Soon after, Eddie met a steel guitar player by the name of Conrad Smith at Bell Gardens Intermediate School. Together with Smith, who would soon be nicknamed "Guybo", and another school chum, Eddie started playing supermarket openings, school assemblies, just about anywhere they could. One particular time in April of 1954, Eddie and Smith played for an assembly at Bell Gardens Elementary School. Guybo played steel guitar and Eddie sang two songs: "Just Married" and "Walkin' the Dog."

Another friendship developed between Eddie and a teenager from Indiana named Ron Wilson. They spent much time together playing guitars and dreaming of going to Nashville and singing on the stage of the "Grand Ole Opry."

Eddie's first paid engagement was at the South Gate Auditorium. He was so nervous at the time that he dropped his guitar pick. Guybo finally traded the steel guitar for a bass. He went on to play on almost every recording session with Eddie.

Later on in 1954, Eddie joined forces with a country singer named Hank Cochran, though the two were not related. They started performing together as the Cochran Brothers. At the time, Hank was doing most of the lead vocals, while Eddie supplied lead guitar. Occasionally, Eddie would lend a little harmony support. In January of 1955, Eddie left school. He was sixteen at the time. Another musician by the name of Warren Flock, met Eddie at a music store in Bell Gardens. It was Flock who drove Eddie and Hank to their first audition in Hollywood. They went to a record company and were directed into a small room. There was one desk and a chair and the walls were covered with Billboard magazines. They were told to go ahead and do their thing. The boys just knocked themselves out while this guy was just sitting there reading a newspaper. This made Warren mad as a hornet. They asked what he thought about their singing and the guy said he didn't know. They were told that there was a possibility that something could happen. They were just getting the run around. Warren could have strangled the guy.

Glen Glenn, who recorded for Era Records, remembers meeting the cochran Brothers while he was working at the "Country Barn Dance" in Baldwin Park, California. This was in the latter part of 1954. Glen worked with a guitar player named Gary Lambert and they played the Barn Dance as regulars every Friday and Saturday night. Eddie and Hank came out one Friday night. They were playing strictly country music at the time. They were not playing anywhere steady and were trying to get on as regulars on the Barn Dance. They were new in the business. They started coming out every Friday night for a while.

Glen recalls the first time he saw the Cochran Brothers perform. He hadn't realized that Eddie didn't sing much at all. Hank carried most of the lead vocals with Eddie backing him on lead guitar. Eddie did sing once in a while on a chorus in some songs. The Cochran Brothers played many dates on the West Coast which led to a regular spot on the "California Hayride" TV show.

Another person who played an important part in Cochran's musical career was Jerry Capehart. They met at the Bell Gardens Music Center. Jerry was there to buy guitar picks while Eddie was picking up strings. Hank and Eddie, along with Capehart, went into the studio and recorded a few tracks. This led to a recording contract with Ekko Records in Hollywood.

In the summer of 1955, their first record was released on the Ekko label. The two sides were strictly country and were entitled "Two Blue Singin' Stars" and "Mr. Fiddle." The top side of the disk was a tribute to Jimmy Rodgers and Hank Williams. Appearing with the Cochran Brothers on these two sides was fiddle man, Harold Hensley, who worked with Cliffie Stone. Hensley remembers getting a phone call for the session. He recalls very little about Eddie and Hank. At the time Harold was going from one session to another. He was sometimes doing three to four of them a day. Hensley is sorry to say that he just can't remember that session with the Cochran Brothers.

"Two Blue Singin' Stars" and it's flip side didn't make it up on the charts. Billboard magazine gave it a good review saying it was a fine tribute record to the two deceased country singers. Following this release, Ekko brought out their next record in November of 1955. The sides were "Guilty Conscience" and "Your Tomorrows Never Come." Like their first release, these also were strictly country. Unfortunately, this record didn't make the grade either.

In the latter part of 1955, the Cochran Brothers hit the road. They toured with Jess Willard, who also recorded for Ekko Records. They played dates up the west coast through Kansas and Arizona. They worked for Farmer Red Ladner at the Dream Bowl in Napa, California in January of 1956. The boys worked all over the San Francisco area. They also appeared on the television show, "Town Hall Party" with Merle Travis, Tex Ritter, the Collins Kids, Johnny Bond and Lefty Frizzell.

In February of 1956, "Walkin' Stick Boogie" and it's flip side, "Rollin," were released on the Cash label. This record featured Jerry Capehart backed by the Cochran Brothers. Eddie and Hank went back in the studio and recorded four more tracks. The session produced "Tired And Sleepy," "Fool's Paradise," "Slow Down" and "Open The Door." The last two tracks didn't see the light of day until much later.

Eddie was now swinging more towards the rock and roll music. It is said that he had seen Elvis Presley on a show in Dallas, Texas. From that moment, this was the musical direction that Eddie would take. On March 10, 1956, the Cochran Brothers appeared on "Hollywood Jubilee" at the El Monte Legion Stadium in El Monte, California. They shared the stage with Don Deal, Smiling Jimmy Merritt, Phyllis Lee and Tom Tall. May of 1956 had Eddie and Hank working with country singer Lefty Frizzell. They appeared in Hawaii and played many dates with him throughout California.

A third release was issued in June of 1956 on the Ekko label, "Tired And Sleepy" and "Fool's Paradise." It was a far departure from their two previous releases. This record had Eddie taking more lead vocal parts. This record leaned more towards rock and roll. Cash Box magazine reported in their review that it had a bright performance on a lid that's gonna keep the boxes hoppin' all day long. The review in Billboard stated that the Cochran Brothers had entered the triplet-backed, Presley styled country gold with some exciting, rhythmic laments. But as fate would have it, these two great sides didn't make it to the charts. Both of these songs were pure rock-a-billy and are considered to be the best tracks made by Hank and Eddie.

It had become apparent that Eddie wanted to do more of the rock and roll and Hank wanted to stick with country music. The Cochran Brothers went their seperate ways. Hank later made a mark for himself in country music as a solo artist and songwriter. Eddie went on to do many recording dates as a session guitarist.

Eddie continued to work closely with Jerry Capehart in the studio making demo records. Capehart took the demos to record labels all over Hollywood. It finally paid off and resulted in Eddie's first solo release for the Crest label. It was a rocker called "Skinny Jim" backed with a slow ballad entitled "Half Loved." The review in Cash Box magazine stated that Eddie Cochran enthusiastically knocks out a driving, country-rock 'n roller in a style similar to that of Little Richard's click "Long Tall Sally."

Soon after, Eddie appeared in the motion picture classic, "The Girl Can't Help It." He performed one of his best rockers in the film, a great song called "Twenty Flight Rock." Eddie went on to win a recording contract with Liberty Records.

Eddie age 8

Ray Edward Cochran was born in Albert Lea, Minnesota on October 3rd 1938 from Frank and Alice, both originary from Oklahoma City that Eddie always regarded as his home town though he was not born there. He had 4 older brothers and sisters: Gloria, Bill, Bob and Patty. The Great depression forced the Cochrans to move up north. Eddie was the only one in the family really interested in music. At the age of 12 he wanted to join the school orchestra as a drummer but then he opted for the trombone when he discovered that he would have to take piano lessons in order to play drums there.

Then his musical career had another twist when the director of the school orchestra informed the family that Eddie didn't have the "lip" for that particular instrument and he suggested clarinet instead. When Eddie saw what a clarinet looked like he totally refused to even consider it and stated that he would quit the orchestra if he could not play what he wanted. So, as his mother recalls, he asked his brother Bob to show him some chords on Bill's old Kay guitar, that was not played very often at the time. "Then he got a chord book and he seemed to just naturally take it from there".

In 1951 the Cochrans decided to follow the golden trail to California, to join Bill that already moved there when he got married after leaving the Military Service. Two cars totally packed up, and Eddie would not want to part from his guitar. "For pity's sake, Eddie, with all the other odds and ends we have to carry! That guitar isn't the prize possession in this hosehould, you know!" - "Possession, Mom? This guitar's my friend. It's my best friend."

Bell Gardens (LA). New kid on the block, Eddie focused totally on his guitar also to compensate lack of companionship. In September 1951 he met Conrad Smith, colloquially known as Connie Smith, in junior high. Connie shared the same interest in music as Eddie, he played upright bass in the school orchestra and was also competent on steel guitar and mandolin. In late 1953 they formed a trio together with another student on lead guitar, Connie on steel guitar and Eddie playing rythm.

Connie "Guybo" Smith

They often practised in a reharsal room in the back of the local music store (The Bell Garden Music Center) which owner, Bert Keither, was very interested in Eddie's music and later will sell him the legendary sunburst Gretsch seen in almost every photo of the musician. The trio started playing at parties, amateur gigs, supermaket openings and other local affairs that would help them gaining experience and some little spare bucks.

After graduating in june 1954 Eddie actually enrolled in High school but he spent all his spare time hanging out with local musicians and jammin' wherever he could, trying to realize his dream to quit school and make a living as a musician. The closeby Southgate and Downey were bastions of R&B and country, and Bell Gardens itself offered Eddie a broad cross-cultural environment where he could benefit of a wide range of musical influences.

The great country picker Chet Atkins was one of his favorite guitarists, and mastering his complex bass-melody harmony picking style with lightning speed helped build his incredible dexterity and versatility. Mike Deasy of the Kelly Four, that will be his road and recording group later, recalls: "Most guys will play Honky Tonk in E, but Eddie would play it in F, the tougher way - only it wasn't though for him." And Dave Shrieber, The Kelly Fours'bassman: "That's true, he was one of the few guys I've ever seen who actually played the guitar with all his fingers. Instead of playing an open chord, he'd play the same notes up the neck, giving you the same chord sound, and not a barre chord either. A lot of those licks on things like "Eddie's Blues" or "Milk Cow Blues" he did with a flat pick and two fingers, with that kind of rolling Atkins left-hand style, you know, with everything working. He could play anything - jazz, country, blues, rock and roll. Slow, fast, anything you want. I've seen him playing fast licks with a thumbpick, and right in the middle he'd put the thumbpick in his mouth and switch to a flatpick without missing a note. I was just completely amazed. I used to watch his hands; they were very delicate-looking and flexible, as if they didn't have any bones. He could stretch his finger all over that fingerboard."

Eddie Cochran was also very bright and his natural curiousity drove him to research and experiment new sounds and new techniques.

Eddie age 14

Alice claims that everything came easily to him, that he was a honor student and that there was nothing he could not play with his guitar after listening to it once or twice. All his associates confirm this last point; Chuck Foreman jammed with him in the early days: "When I met Eddie he couldn't be more that 15-16 y.o. and we were listening to a lot of jazz in those days. I remeber we had those old Johnny Smith Royal Roost 78 records; Smith was playing a lot of triads and this really fascinated Eddie. He'd say 'I wonder how the hell he's doing that' and in no time at all he was playing it. Ed was very aware, very astute, he retained things. He was playing a lot of Chet Atkins, Joe Maphis - he could duplicate all those Maphis high-speed licks note-for-note very easily."

Real Name: Ray Edward Cochrane

Born: 3 October, 1938, Albert Lea, Minnesota, USA Died: 17 April, 1960 Age: 21

In company with Buddy Holly, Eddie Cochran was one of the first rock 'n' roll guitarists to write and play his own material. Although he was born in Minnesota, he was brought up in California, which he always regarded as his home. Eddie was a natural musician and he could play the guitar before he was twelve years old. By the age of sixteen he was playing professionally.

He teamed up with another singer, Hank Cochran, and went on the road. Although the two were not related, they toured as The Cochran Brothers. In 1955, they saw Elvis Presley perform and it had a profound influence on Eddie. This was the kind of music that he wanted to play and he changed his style from hillbilly to harder rock.

Hank Cochran preferred the more traditional country sound and the Cochran Brothers split. Hank retumed to
Nashville, where he became a successful songwriter - one of his well-known compositions was Patsy Cline's 1961 hit, 'I Fall To Pieces'. Eddie began a collaboration with a young aspiring songwriter and drummer, Jerry Capeheart. Between the two of them, they were to produce some of Eddie's finest work.

Still only eighteen, Eddie was casted in the 1956 rock 'n' roll film, The Girl Can't Help It. Also in the cast was Gene Vincent, who became a good friend of Eddie's. Eddie's performance of the number 'Twenty Flight Rock' was electrifying. As well as making him a teenage idol, it brought him a recording contract with Liberty Records. Another film followed, but music was Eddie's first love. He cut a single 'Sittin' On the Balcony' (1957), and to publicise it joined the Biggest Show of Stars for '57, along with Buddy Holly (who also became a close friend), Chuck Berry and The Everly Brothers.

The following year, Eddie had his first gold record with 'Summertime Blues'. Co-written with Jerry Capeheart, this song reflected all the hopes and yearnings of teenage life and was a resounding success on both sides of the Atlantic.

Scheduled to join the 1959 Winter Dance Party tour with his friend Buddy Holly, Eddie was prevented from doing so by the film 'Go Johnny Go'. When Buddy's plane crashed, killing him, The Big Bopper and Ritchie Valens, Eddie was devastated. He and Ritchie Valens had been filming together only days before. Afterwards, Eddie avoided flying whenever he could. He recorded John D. Loudermilk's song 'Three Stars' as a tribute to his friends, but ironically it was not released until after his own death.

Eddie's personal life, unusually for the music business, was harmonious. His girlfriend, Sharon Sheeley, was also a songwriter and understood the vagaries of the business. They had been introduced by Phil Everly (Sharon had been his girlfriend), and following Eddie's next single, 'C'mon Everybody', the couple worked together to produce 'Somethin' Else' (1959).

'C'mon Everybody' proved much more popular sn Britain than in the United States, and Eddie decided to consolidate his popularity there. To the rapture of his ecstatic fans, Eddie undertook a tour of Great Britain with his friend Gene Vincent.

Eddie was the darling of the British teenagers. They loved his music and his all-American good looks, turning out in number for his live television and radio appearances. The tour was such a resounding success that it was decided to extend it for a further ten weeks. First, though, Eddie had recording commitments in the Umted States. With Sharon Sheeley, now his fiancee, and Gene Vincent, he decided to fly back to the States for the Easter break.
En route to London Airport their car blew a tyre and crashed into a lamp post. All three were rushed to hospital. Gene Vincent was treated for broken ribs and collar-bone and further injury to his bad leg. Sharon Sheeley suffered a broken pelvis. Eddie Cochran had been thrown through the windscreen and had brain injuries. He never recovered, dying the next day in hospital at the age of twenty-one. He was buried quietly at Forest Lawn Cemetery in California.

Eddie's record 'Three Steps To Heaven', which was in the charts at the time, rocketed straight up to Number One in the UK charts. He had three major hits before he died.

Over the years, Eddie's records have remained popular. Previously undiscovered material has been released and various artists have covered his biggest hits. In 1987, he was elected to the Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame. In1988, 'C'mon Everybody' was used on the soundtrack for an ad for Levi's 501 Jeans, to commemorate the fact that Sharon Sheeley had been wearing jeans on her introduction to Eddie.

Somehow, time has not accorded Eddie Cochran quite the same respect as other early rockabilly pioneers like Buddy Holly, or even Ricky Nelson or Gene Vincent. This is partially attributable to his very brief lifespan as a star: he only had a couple of big hits before dying in a car crash during a British tour in 1960. He was in the same league as the best rockabilly stars, though, with a brash, fat guitar sound that helped lay the groundwork for the power chord. He was also a good songwriter and singer, celebrating the joys of teenage life -- the parties, the music, the adolescent rebellion -- with an economic wit that bore some similarities to Chuck Berry. Cochran was more lighthearted and less ironic than Berry, though, and if his work was less consistent and not as penetrating, it was almost always exuberant.

Cochran's mid-'50s beginnings in the record industry are a bit confusing. His family had moved to Southern California around 1950, and in 1955 he made his first recordings as half of the Cochran Brothers. Here's the confusing part: although the other half of the act was really named Hank Cochran, he was not Eddie's brother. (Hank Cochran would become a noted country songwriter in the 1960s.) Eddie was already an accomplished rockabilly guitarist and singer on these early sides, and he started picking up some session work as well, also finding time to make demos and write songs with Jerry Capehart, who became his manager.

Cochran's big break came about in a novel fashion. In mid-1956, while Cochran and Capehart were recording some music for low-budget films, Boris Petroff asked Eddie if he'd be interested in appearing in a movie that a friend was directing. The film was The Girl Can't Help It, and the song he would sing in it was "Twenty-Flight Rock." This is the same song that Paul McCartney would use to impress John Lennon upon their first meeting in 1957 (Paul could not only play it, but knew all of the lyrics).

Cochran had his first Top 20 hit in early 1957, "Sittin' in the Balcony," with an echo-chambered vocal reminiscent of Elvis. That single was written by John D. Loudermilk, but Eddie would write much of his material, including his only Top Ten hit, "Summertime Blues." A definitive teenage anthem with hints of the overt protest that would seep into rock music in the 1960s, it was also a technical tour de force for the time: Cochran overdubbed himself on guitar to create an especially thick sound. One of the classic early rock singles, "Summertime Blues" was revived a decade later by proto-metal group Blue Cheer, and was a concert staple for the Who, who had a small American hit with a cover version
(Let's not mention Alan Jackson's country rendition in the 1990s.)

That, disappointingly, was the extent of Cochran's major commercial success in the U.S. "C'mon Everybody," a chugging rocker that was almost as good as "Summertime Blues," made the Top 40 in 1959, and also gave Eddie his first British Top Tenner. As is the case with his buddy Gene Vincent, though, you can't judge his importance by mere chart statistics. Cochran was very active in the studio, and while his output wasn't nearly as consistent as Buddy Holly's (another good friend of Eddie's), he laid down a few classic or near-classic cuts that are just as worthy as his hits. "Somethin' Else," "My Way" (which the Who played in concert at the peak of psychedelia), "Weekend" (covered by the Move), and "Nervous Breakdown" are some of the best of these, and belong in the collection of every rockabilly fan. He was also (like Holly) an innovator in the studio, using overdubbing at a time when that practice was barely known on rock recordings.

Cochran is more revered today in Britain than the United States, due in part to the tragic circumstances of his death. In the spring of 1960, he toured the U.K. with Vincent, to a wild reception, in a country that had rarely had the opportunity to see American rock & roll stars in the flesh. En route to London to fly back to the States for a break, the car Cochran was riding in, with his girlfriend (and songwriter) Sharon Sheeley and Gene Vincent, had a severe accident. Vincent and Sheeley survived, but Cochran died less than a day later, at the age of 21.

another biography :

Eddie Cochran Eddie Cochran is in the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame. He deserves to be there. He was the real deal. Of all the hip shakin' rockabilly daddies that sprung up in the wake of Elvis Presley's first five singles on Sun Records, Eddie Cochran may have been the best of them all. He was, as sports agents are wont to say these days, the complete package. He could sing, he could write, he could really pick a guitar, he knew how to work a studio and he had the look. Born in Oklahoma and raised in sunny California, he spot welded Okie grit to the image of cruising down Sunset Boulevard in the biggest red Cadillac you ever saw. Revisionist history has made something of an visual icon of him and if Brian Setzer and the Stray Cats successfully xeroxed his persona right down to the orange Gretsch hollowbody guitar for maximum teen consumption, then it's on a right sturdy chassis that they built the new hot rod on. Although Cochran left behind untold hours of studio warmups and sideman work behind that have reissued ad nauseum (fascinating though it might be to hardcore fans), the rest of us can dive right in on Razor & Tie's excellent Something Else: The Fine Lookin' Hits of Eddie Cochran. This anthology stays rightly focused on just more than the hits ("Something Else," "C'mon Everybody" and the immortal "Summertime Blues"), showing off Cochran's fine command of his
multiple talents to good effect.

another biography :

Eddie Cochran had a short career that ended in tragedy, but he was around long enough to establish himself as one of the top stars in the early days of rock-and-roll.

Eddie's parents were raised in Oklahoma City. The family moved to Albert Lea, Minnesota and in 1938 Ray Edward Cochran was born there (although some sources incorrectly state that he was born in Oklahoma City.) The family later moved back to Oklahoma City for a short time and stayed with Eddie's grandmother, by coincidence on the very site where the Edward P. Murrah Federal Building was blown up years later by domestic terorists. In 1953 Eddie moved with his family to Bell Gardens, California. As a teenager he began to work with Hank Cochran, who was not related to him. They called themselves the Cochran Brothers. Hank was three years older than Eddie, had grown up in an orphanage in Memphis, and had been working at clubs in California as a teenager. Eventually Hank left to pursue what would be a successful career as a country singer and songwriter; among other things, he co-wrote Patsy Cline's I Fall To Pieces.

Eddie Cochran first recorded on the Ekko Records label [with Hank Cochran] in the 50's as a country performer, but met with little success. He struck out on his own. Eventually he signed with Liberty. Eddie was a better singer than most, a very good guitar player, and had ability as a songwriter; he co-wrote a number of songs with Jerry Capehart. He quickly learned studio technology and was comfortable with a variety of styles of music. His first hit came in 1957 with Sittin' In The Balcony, a pop hit that reached the top twenty.

Eddie was also a dynamic performer, as he showed in many live concerts. He appeared in movies: The Girl Can't Help It, Untamed Youth, and Go Johnny Go. From his film appearances and touring schedule, he became friends with other rock stars of the day, particularly with Ritchie Valens.

He contined to work in the studio, doing most of his recording in Hollywood where he had access to some of the best musicians in the business. Excellent Los Angeles-area backup session players such as drummer Earl Palmer and the top-notch recording equipment available at Liberty, combined with Eddie's talent and understanding of the music business, resulted in some very good rock-and-roll recordings. His biggest hit was Summertime Blues in 1958, a top ten record that touched on the anxiety of living life as a teenager, a theme that Chuck Berry had used so well. "I called my congressman and he said, quote, 'I'd like to help you son but you're too young to vote.'"

Eddie Cochran was a good-looking young man who had become a huge star, and he was an even bigger star in the United Kingdom than he was in the United States. His third and last top forty hit in the U.S. was C'mon Everybody on Liberty in 1959, and he had nine such hits in the U.K. His friend Ritchie Valens was killed in a plane crash in 1959 along with other recording stars Buddy Holly and the Big Bopper, J.P. Richardson. Stunned, Eddie recorded a version of the song that had been written about the incident, Three Stars.

In early 1960 he toured the United Kingdom with his girlfriend, songwriter Sharon Sheeley, and fellow superstar performer Gene Vincent. The tour was a resounding success. Outside of London on the way to the airport to return to the United States, their cab was involved in a fatal accident in Chippenham, Wiltshire on April 17. Sheeley was seriously hurt but managed to recover fully, and Vincent sustained injuries that left him with a limp for the rest of his life. Eddie Cochran was killed.

The rock world had lost one of its original and best talents. Cochran's record Three Steps To Heaven shot to number one on the U.K. charts.

Over the years a number of other artists looked to his music and made covers of some of his greatest songs: Cut Across Shorty by Rod Stewart, C'mon Everybody by the Sex Pistols, Summertime Blues by the Who, and 20 Flight Rock by the Rolling Stones. In the 1979 movie Radio On, Sting played a filling station attendant who had a fixation on Eddie Cochran. A number of albums have been issued of Eddie's studio work in the 50's.
In 1987 Eddie Cochran was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

On April 17, 1960 : Eddie Cochran dies at the age of 21.

The tragic end to Eddie Cochran's life in a 1960 car crash resulted in a rush on his record sales, just as it happened over a year earlier when Bubby Holly died. Cochran has come to symbolize the early rebel rocker, not only due to his demise, but his haunting skills as a guitarists and composer. Over the years, Eddie's records have remained popular. Previously undiscovered material has been released and various artists have covered his biggest hits, all of which have resulted in commercial success. In 1987, he was elected to the Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame. In only 21 years, Eddie created a style and an image that has lived on in lore and recordings. He was definitive proof that the power of rock and roll is in the attitude.

After two years in the recording business, Cochran's life hit a turning point beginning in March 1958 when he co-wrote "Summertime Blues." Released in May, the song hit number one of the pop charts and stayed there all summer long. Now considered a rock classic, the song is still often played on radio shows throughout the world. During the summer of '58, Cochran also wrote "C 'mon Everybody" which was released late in the fall and toped the charts in the winter. Both songs presented enormous power and rebel-like force, adding perhaps for the first overt way, attitude as a key component in rock and roll.

During the next eight months Cochran recorded a handful of other hit songs including "Something Else," "Three Steps to Heaven" and "Sweetie Pie." Eddie was on the threshold of becoming a superstar as the 1960s began. He already was as influential in Europe as Elvis had been at a similar stage in his career. He was booked for a major European tour with Gene Vincent and Billy Fury. The tour, while in England, were given a tumultuous welcome by fans, including future Beatle George Harrison who attended almost every performance. After the tours ended in April, Eddie was anxious to get back into the recording studio with a list of new songs. However, on April 17 Eddie, girlfriend Sharon Sheeley and Gene Vincent headed for the airport in a chauffeured limousine. On the way a tire blew out and the driver lost control. The car rammed into a lamp post and Eddie died within a few hours from multiple head injuries. The driver, Sharon and Gene were also hurt but recovered fully. Shortly after his death, Eddie's last hit topped the charts, "Lonely."

In the US his death attracted little attention, but in Britain it was traumatic, and served to solidify his reputation and influence in British rock. Kids like George Harrison had followed him from town to town, and his influence was felt throughout the 60s. That influence spread back across the water, and Eddie Cochran is now recognized worldwide as one of the most important figures of pre-Beatles music.