Edward Ray Cochran
(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.
Cochran 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,
Cochran 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 the song
"Twenty Flight Rock"
in the film
The Girl Can't Help It,
starring
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.
