Eddie Cochran
Eddie Cochran (October 3, 1938 - April 17, 1960) was an early American rockabilly musician. He was born Edward Ray Cochrane, in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, and was raised in Albert Lea, Minnesota. He began his musical career in 1955 with an unrelated friend named Hank Cochran (later a country music songwriter). The duo recorded as The Cochran Brothers. Eddie Cochran also did some session work, and began writing songs and making a demo with Jerry Capehart, his future manager. |
In 1956, Boris Petroff asked Cochran if he would appear in The Girl Can't Help It. He agreed and sang a song called "Twenty-Flight Rock" in the movie. In 1957, Cochran had his first hit song, "Sittin' in the Balcony", one of his only songs written by someone else (John D. Loudermilk). He is best remembered for his own composition, "Summertime Blues", which helped to shape the future of music in the late 1960s, both lyrically and musically. Cochran's brief career included only a few more hits, such as "C'mon Everybody", "Somethin' Else", "My Way", "Weekend", "Nervous Breakdown", and his posthumous UK Number 1 hit "Three Steps to Heaven".
In 1960, Cochran died in a car wreck when the London cab he was in crashed at high speed. His girlfriend, songwriter Sharon Sheeley, and singer Gene Vincent survived the crash.
Eddie Cochran is interred in the Forest Lawn Cypress cemetery in Cypress, California.
