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Eddie Cochran

From HitStory, the pop encyclopedia of School of Rock · Artist

Eddie Cochran was born in 1938 in Albert Lea, Minnesota. His parents came from Oklahoma, and in 1952 the family moved to Bell Gardens in California. In 1955 he formed the duo The Cochran Brothers with Hank Cochran, no relation. Cochran is important as a rock 'n' roll guitarist and as a musician who experimented in the studio with multitrack recording and overdubs. Among British rockers he became a hero after his death.

Music and breakthrough

In the film The Girl Can't Help It (1956) he sang Twenty Flight Rock. Summertime Blues (1958) reached number 8 in America. C'mon Everybody, released at the end of 1958, he wrote with Jerry Capehart. Cochran sings, plays guitar and added an extra drum part himself. In England the song reached number 6 in 1959, in America number 35. Cochran could play guitar, piano, bass and drums.

Influence

In England Cochran was more popular than in America. From January to April 1960 he toured there with Gene Vincent. On 16 April their taxi crashed near Chippenham; Cochran died the next day in a hospital in Bath, aged 21. Three Steps to Heaven then became a British number 1. When the fifteen-year-old Paul McCartney met John Lennon in 1957, he played Twenty Flight Rock. Pete Townshend of The Who was strongly influenced by Cochran's guitar playing, and The Who and Blue Cheer made their own versions of Summertime Blues. In 1987 Cochran was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Listening

Listening tip. C'mon Everybody (1958): notice the stop-time riff. The band plays a short motif and then drops out, and in that silence Cochran sings his line. This puts all the attention on the voice.

Discography

Studio albums

In School of Rock

The chapters, maps and magazine stories of School of Rock are currently available in Dutch only.

Mentioned in other articles

See also

Sources

  1. Wikipedia (en): Eddie Cochran
  2. udiscovermusic.com
  3. Wikipedia (en): C'mon Everybody
  4. bristol247.com
  5. Wikipedia (en): Summertime Blues
Categories: ArtistsRockabilly