Eddie Cochran - Giving Elvis a Run For His Money

Eddie Cochran - Public domain image

Cochran was only nineteen when he did Untamed Youth, yet the producers allowed him to write the score and sing a couple of songs. It was a big hit at drive-in theatres. He also appeared in the films Go Johnny Go and The Girl Can't Help It. He was scheduled to appear in a fourth film on his return to the U.S. but never made it.

Eddie Cochran and his girlfriend/confidante/songwriter Sharon Sheeley. Reports say Cochran would have married her in the next year or so. Sheeley went on to write several hits for other artists.

'Here comes that girl again
Wanted to date her since I don't know when
But she don't notice me when I pass
She goes with other guys from out of my class
But that can't stop me from thinkin' to myself
She's sure fine lookin' man...she's something else'

The late, great Eddie Cochran always played for the audience, even on his television appearances. He didn't care about the camera, it was all about the live bodies watching him play. When he dropped by American Bandstand to lip-sync his latest hit, Cochran ignored an exact following of his record playing on the house speakers and worked the crowd instead.

It was typical Eddie Cochran stuff, a man who was a lot more talented than most people know. When he did the film Untamed Youth the producers let him write the score and sing a couple of songs. The movie did well at the drive-ins and Cochran was on his way.

On the day Eddie Cochran died, he had just completed a wildly successful twelve-week tour with fellow rocker Gene Vincent all across Britain. Then it was time to catch the Big Flight Back To Los Angeles, maybe for another appearance on LA's Hadley House Party TV show. He never made it.

Unlike The Day The Music Died, there isn't much mystery why Cochran was killed in a car crash on his way to Heathrow Airport in London. His hired car was racing to the airport at sixty miles an hour on the A-4 highway and blew out a back tire. The car fishtailed, and then the rear end spun around and slammed into a light pole. The three passengers in the back seat were thrown from the car and one of them was Eddie.

His girlfriend/songwriter Sharon Sheeley lay on the ground calling out, 'Where's Eddie? What happened to Eddie?' Gene Vincent, asleep in the back when the crash occurred, woke up in pain on the pavement. Photographs, confetti, and Cochran's famous orange Gretsch 6120 guitar were scattered on the road as well.

The ambulances arrived and scooped everyone up to the hospital. Cochran died the next afternoon from head injuries. Sharon Sheeley eventually recovered from her broken pelvis and went on to write hits for other artists, including Ricky Nelson and others. Gene Vincent's career and life went on, but both were shortened by the accident. The driver was found guilty of speeding and received a fine, six months in prison, and was suspended from driving for fifteen years.

Sheeley said later that Cochran was testing out a new song for her at the moment of the crash. This is probably how his guitar ended up in the road on the A-4.

Cochran was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987. More of his songs were released AFTER his death than during his life. His current record label, Rockstar Records, still searches for unknown recordings to this day. The date of his death on April 17, 1960 is often considered the end of the rockabilly era in music.

Related Links:

Eddie Cochran Giving Dick Clark the Blues on American Bandstand with 'Something Else'

A good rendition of 'Nervous Breakdown' with excellent pictures of Eddie.

'Come On, Everybody' from the Los Angeles-based TV show Hadley's House Party

A ten-minute clip from the 'Untamed Youth' film. Eddie is the one with the little round hat.

Eddie's producer Jerry Capeheart discusses the late artist, and how they got together and wrote 'Summertime Blues' in a single night.

Eddie sings Cotton Picker for the film Untamed Youth. The producers let him write the score, too. He was only nineteen.

On his last tour in Britain, Eddie gave a short interview in his usual down-home style.

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