About Me
"Don't forget Me!
Eddie Cochran"
is a Tribute Site dedicated to one of the Greatest Musicians ever. EDDIE COCHRAN lived a very short but brilliant Life that left a lasting mark on Rock and Roll history.
Eddie died in 1960 when he was only 21 years old, and his best Work was yet to come. It should not have been like that...
But We will Never forget you EDDIE!
Edward Ray Cochran
was born in Albert Lea, Minnesota on October 3, 1938 to Frank and Alice Cochran who were originally from Oklahoma City. He had four older brothers and sisters: Gloria, Bill, Bob and Patty. The Great Depression forced the Cochrans to move north to Minnesota. Eddie was the only one in the family really interested in music. At the age of 12, he wanted to join the school band as a drummer but opted for the trombone when he discovered he would have to take piano lessons in order to play the drums!
His musical career had another twist when the director of the school orchestra informed the family that Eddie didnt have the lip for the trombone and suggested the clarinet instead. When he saw what the clarinet looked like, he refused to consider it stating 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 Bills old Kay guitar that was not played very often at the time. Then he got a chord book and seemed to just naturally take it from there.
In 1951, the Cochrans decided to follow the golden trail to California to join Bill that had already moved there after a hitch in the service. Two cars totally packed up, Eddie would not part with his guitar. For pitys sake Eddie, with all the other odds and ends we have to carry, that guitar isnt the prized possession in this household, you know. Possession, Mom? This guitar is my best friend!
In Bell Gardens, California, the new kid on the block focused his attentions on the guitar to compensate for the lack of companionship. In September 1951, he met Conrad Connie Smith. Connie shared the same musical interests as Eddie and played the upright bass in the school orchestra. He was also competent on the steel guitar and the mandolin. In late 1953, they formed a trio with another student on lead guitar. They often practiced in a rehearsal room in the back of a local music store (The Bell Garden Music Center) which owner Bert Keither was very interested in Eddies music and would later sell him his legendary sunburst Gretsch guitar. The trio started playing at parties, amateur gigs, supermarket openings and other local affairs that would help them gain experience, not to mention a few extra bucks!
After graduating from junior high school in 1954, Eddie actually enrolled in high school but spent all of his time hanging out with local musicians and jamming wherever he could, trying to realize his dream of quitting school and earning his living as a musician.
The great country picker Chet Atkins was one of Eddies favorites and mastering his complex bass-melody picking style with lightning speed helped build Eddies incredible dexterity and versatility. Eddie was also very bright and his natural curiosity drove him to research and experiment new sounds and techniques. His mother claims that everything came easily to him, that he was an honor student, and that there wasnt anything he couldnt play after hearing it once or twice. All of his associates confirm this last point; Chuck Foreman jammed with him in the early days: When I met Eddie he couldnt have been more than 15-16 years old, and we were listening to a lot of jazz in those days. I remember we had old Johnny Smith Royal Roost 78 rpm records; Smith was playing a lot of triads and this really fascinated Eddie. Hed say I wonder how in the hell is he doing that and in no time at all, he was playing it. Eddie 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".
In October 1954, Cochran walked into the American Legion Club to watch a semi-pro band called Richard Kay and The Shamrock Valley Boys run through their repertoire of Hillbilly standards. He coyly approached the members of the band between sets and asked to join them on stage for a few numbers. In such informal surroundings this was easily arranged and Eddie struck up a lasting friendship with Bob Bull, the band's rhythm guitarist. Bull Asked Eddie if he was related to a local singer named Hank Cochran who had recently gigged with the band. Eddie had never heard of the other Cochran and Bull suggested that the two should meet as Hank was trying to form a group.
Hank Cochran had come up the hard way which could explain why he had chosen to live his life out of the limelight. By the time he and Eddie met, he had turned professional and was working in clubs. Hank offered Eddie a job as his accompanying guitarist, and in January 1955, Eddie left school for good. He was only four months past his 16th birthday.
Fraternal duos were very popular in the country music field at this time and as they shared the same surname and vaguely looked alike, the two Cochrans decided to pool their talents and go on the road as the Cochran Brothers, with Hank singing and playing rhythm guitar and Eddie on lead guitar and vocal harmony. The group was augmented by an unknown bass player and Billy Watson on guitar and vocals.
In the initial stages, the Cochrans lacked stagecraft. Eddie had not previously given much thought to singing and their harmonies were ragged while the difference in height between the two detracted from the visual appeal. Nevertheless, with practice their act came together and they began to make their presence felt on the West Coast country music circuit, which was much more receptive to newcomers that its cliquey Nashville counterpart. In practice, this meant making the rounds of country music dance halls and Western Jamborees which provided regular entertainment for the local blue collar workers.
The most prestigious event on the coast was Cliffe Stones Hometown Jamboree which was televised on KLAC every Sunday from the Legion Stadium in El Monte followed closely by Town Hall Party in Compton, 25 miles south of Los Angeles. Both shows featured visiting headliners supported by local acts and promising newcomers.
Cliffe Stone was a shareholder in the Americana Music Corporation, a booking agency run by Steve Stebbins, the leading country promoter on the West Coast and a powerhouse on the local scene. Other well-known country singers such as Eddie Kirk, Tennessee Ernie Ford and Merle Travis also held shares in the agency which monopolized Californias country music circuit and snapped any promising newcomers. The Cochran Brothers were added to its books in April 1955 at which point there was a dramatic improvement in their fortunes. They put in appearances in both Town Hall Party and Hometown Jamboree and also appeared on Country Barn Dance a more down market affair held in the 1000 capacity Jubilee Ballroom, just west of El Monte.
Steve Stebbins arranged an immediate audition with EKKO Records, one of the dozens of tiny independents scattered across Los Angeles. It was owned by Ed Bloodworth and two partners, and its ambitions outweighed its budget. Unable to sign up big names, it settled for small-time local acts such as the Cochrans, Jess Willard, and Western Swing veterans from the previous decade. EKKOs A&R man, Charles Red Mathews was based in Memphis where the company had its main office, and would make periodic recording trips to California. Assuming a managerial role as best he could, given that he was not locally based, Mathews based his faith in the Cochrans and rehearsed them thoroughly prior to recording.
In May 1955, at Sunset Records in Hollywood, he produced 4 tracks by the duo in the plaintive hillbilly style popularized by Hank Williams and issued two of the titles, Mr. Fiddle and Two Blue Singing Stars as their debut single. Vocally, Hank is stronger on these recordings and is ably supported by Eddie who also plays some nice country-style guitar.
In the Autumn, Hank and Eddie were booked to appear on the Big D Jamboree in Dallas. Broadcast locally on KRLD, the Big D ranked alongside Nashvilles Opry as a prestigious country music showcase and was held every weekend in the Dallas Sportatorium, a huge corrugated iron building that played host to wrestling contests on weekdays...
More About Me: Till the end of my life at Age 21. England: Days that ended in Tragedy
Denver Interview (November 1957)
DJ Freeman Hover from KCSR Radio
click here to watch the Second Part
The Eddie Cochran Story
Rock Historian Ed Ward , Fresh Air from WHYY (2001)
Jerry Capehart talks about Eddie. (The History of RnR, 1978)
Written and co-produced by Gary Theroux . Bill Drake (narrator)
Interview, England 1960
