Eddie Cochran

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His image was used as a backdrop during Sure Enough, The Telephone Rings in 2022.

Image used on a t-shirt worn in concert in 2021 & again in 2023:

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American guitarist and singer, songwriter of the rock'n'roll era. Born 3 October 1938 in Albert Lea, Minnesota, USA, died 17 April 1960 in Chippenham, Wiltshire, UK. Influential on later artists such as The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, The Who and many others. Inducted into Rock And Roll Hall of Fame in 1987 (Performer). Cochran's parents moved from Oklahoma City to Albert Lea, Minnesota, where he was born. The family moved back to Oklahoma briefly, before finally settling in Bell Gardens, LA, California. Cochran became musician as a teenager, with a circle of friends that included Connie "Guybo" Smith whose nickname would later become one of his song titles. He teamed up with Hank Cochran (unrelated), playing dance halls, fairs and schools. They later called themselves The Cochran Brothers, touring the south-western states and appearing on the California Hayride show. They recorded two hillbilly records with Ekko Records in 1955 and did a promotional tour, meeting Elvis Presley on the Dallas Big D Jamboree show. The duo auditioned for Sun Records in Memphis but split up shortly after making "Fool's Paradise", their third recording on Ekko and a song that shows a strong Presley influence, assisted by the co-writing of Jerry Capehart. In 1956 Cochran teamed up with Capehart and was signed to Liberty in 1957, although he still appeared on the labels of friends Capehart and Sylvester Cross, spending time in LA's Gold Star studio producing, writing and recording backing vocals on labels such as Crest, Zephyr, Crash, Vik, along with Silver Records (9), on which he recorded "Guybo", also known as "Drum City". He also appeared in two films. Following up on his increasing American success, Cochran toured the UK in 1960, joining up with Gene Vincent and Ronnie Hawkins to appear on popular TV and radio shows and the concert hall circuit. His girlfriend, songwriter Sharon Shari Sheeley, later joined them. The tour was a resounding success. On Sunday, April 17, 1960 — the day following the tour — Cochran, Vincent and Sheeley were on their way to the airport to return to the United States in the back seat of a car, also occupied by deputy tour manager Patrick Tompkins in the front seat, and driven by hired taxi-driver George Martin. The vehicle left the road and hit a lamppost. Sheeley suffered a broken pelvis but managed to fully recover. Vincent suffered broken ribs and collarbone and sustained injuries to an already weak leg that left him with a limp for the rest of his life. Cochran died in hospital that day from severe head injuries, aged 21. Eerily, Cochran had just released a single, co-written with brother Bob Cochran, entitled "Three Steps to Heaven." It reached No. 1 in the charts, helping rock'n'roll come of age in the UK.

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Ray Edward Cochran ( KOK-rən; October 3, 1938 – April 17, 1960), known professionally as Eddie Cochran, 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. Cochran died at the age of 21 in St Martin's Hospital, Bath, Somerset, after a car accident in Chippenham, Wiltshire, at the end of his British tour with Gene Vincent in April 1960. On April 16, after they had just performed at the Bristol Hippodrome, on their way to their next venue, Vincent, Cochran and the songwriter Sharon Sheeley were involved in a high-speed traffic accident in a private-hire taxi. The other two passengers survived with major injuries, but Cochran, who had been thrown from the vehicle, suffered serious brain injuries and died the next day. Though Cochran's best-known songs were released during his lifetime, more of his songs were released posthumously. In 1987, Cochran was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. His songs have been recorded by a wide variety of recording artists. Paul McCartney himself chose Cochran's "Twenty Flight Rock" as his audition piece, assured to impress John Lennon by his performance of it, which he did and was hired as a member of Lennon's skiffle group The Quarrymen, which later was renamed The Beatles.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eddie_Cochran