It was an ordinary day. Almost 8:00 AM and I had just arrived at my part-time job at Grebinger Gallery in the small town of Neffsville, Pennsylvania. My boss and former student, Keith, had a job waiting for me which featured an old 78 rpm vinyl record, a business card, four membership cards, a small pin featuring a musician and an autographed photograph of Eddie Cochran. That name, for many of you, might not ring a bell, but to me he was one of my favorite rock and roll artists of my high school years. Songs he made popular featured "Twenty Flight Rock", "C'mon Everybody" and my all-time favorite "Summertime Blues." But, what made him more special was his name, for you see my grandfather on my mother's side happened to be Bill Cochran. When Eddie first began his career, my grandpap claimed that Eddie was a distant relative of his. Often told me stories about how he had met him a few times and loved to listen to him play his guitar. He told me he called him Ray, but he used his middle name when he sang. I never was sure if I should believe him or not since he often told me stories about just about everything that were often very hard to believe. But, to have a famous rock and roll artist as a relative was fine with me. Often told my friends about Eddie knowing my grandpap. Not sure if they believed me, but it didn't matter to me anyway, just as long as I believed it. 
Ray Edward Cochran...a relative?
Eddie's name was really Ray Edward Cochran and he was born on October 3, 1938, six years before I was born. Not only did he play rock and roll, but rockabilly, country and blues. He also experimented with multitrack recording, distortion techniques and overdubbing while playing his guitar, piano, bass and drums. He was a cool looking guy who liked to be sharply dressed for his performances. In 1954 he formed a duet with guitarist Hank Cochran, another relative of mine according to my grandpap. He released his first "solo artist" single in 1956 which featured "skinny Jim" which was a rockabilly classic. Then in 1958 he finally hit it big time with his famous teenage anthem, "Summertime Blues." That song made him one of the most important influences on rock and roll in the 1950s. It made it to #8 on the hits chart that year. Records that followed were "C'mon Everybody, "Something Else." "Teenage Heaven," and "Three Steps to Heaven." In 1960 Eddie was on tour int Britain from January through April with his friend and fellow performing artist Gene Vincent. On Saturday, April 16 they had just finished a concert when they hopped in a taxi on Bath Road to travel from Bristol to London when the 19 year-old taxi driver lost control and crashed into a concrete lamppost at Rowden Hill in Chippenham. At the moment of impact, Eddie threw himself over Sharron Shelley, a 20-year-old songwriter who happened to be Eddie's fiancée and riding with him in the cab. The force of the collision caused the left rear passenger door to open and Eddie was ejected from the cab, sustaining a massive traumatic brain injury from blunt force trauma to the skull. Eddie never regained consciousness and died the following day. Sharron suffered injuries to her back and thigh and Vincent suffered a fractured collarbone and severe injuries to his legs. Eddie's body was flown back to the United States where he was buried on April 25 at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Cypress, California. A posthumous album, My Way, was released in 1964. One of his posthumous releases was 'three Stars", a tribute to J.P. Richardson, better known as the Big Bopper, and Eddie's friends Buddy Holly and Richie Valens, who had all died in a plane crash just one year earlier. Eddie Cochran was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987. His pioneering contribution to the genre of rockabilly has also been recognized by the Rockabilly Hall of Fame. On September 27, 2010, the Mayor of Bell Gardens, California, declared October 3, 2010 to be "Eddie Cochran Day" to celebrate the famous musician who began his career when living in that city. The matting and framing job I did today brought back so many memories of Eddie Cochran and his supposed relationship to our family. My guess is that none of that was ever true, but it is still neat to think that someone as famous as Eddie Cochran might have been a distant relative of mine. It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.
Eddie's name was really Ray Edward Cochran and he was born on October 3, 1938, six years before I was born. Not only did he play rock and roll, but rockabilly, country and blues. He also experimented with multitrack recording, distortion techniques and overdubbing while playing his guitar, piano, bass and drums. He was a cool looking guy who liked to be sharply dressed for his performances. In 1954 he formed a duet with guitarist Hank Cochran, another relative of mine according to my grandpap. He released his first "solo artist" single in 1956 which featured "skinny Jim" which was a rockabilly classic. Then in 1958 he finally hit it big time with his famous teenage anthem, "Summertime Blues." That song made him one of the most important influences on rock and roll in the 1950s. It made it to #8 on the hits chart that year. Records that followed were "C'mon Everybody, "Something Else." "Teenage Heaven," and "Three Steps to Heaven." In 1960 Eddie was on tour int Britain from January through April with his friend and fellow performing artist Gene Vincent. On Saturday, April 16 they had just finished a concert when they hopped in a taxi on Bath Road to travel from Bristol to London when the 19 year-old taxi driver lost control and crashed into a concrete lamppost at Rowden Hill in Chippenham. At the moment of impact, Eddie threw himself over Sharron Shelley, a 20-year-old songwriter who happened to be Eddie's fiancée and riding with him in the cab. The force of the collision caused the left rear passenger door to open and Eddie was ejected from the cab, sustaining a massive traumatic brain injury from blunt force trauma to the skull. Eddie never regained consciousness and died the following day. Sharron suffered injuries to her back and thigh and Vincent suffered a fractured collarbone and severe injuries to his legs. Eddie's body was flown back to the United States where he was buried on April 25 at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Cypress, California. A posthumous album, My Way, was released in 1964. One of his posthumous releases was 'three Stars", a tribute to J.P. Richardson, better known as the Big Bopper, and Eddie's friends Buddy Holly and Richie Valens, who had all died in a plane crash just one year earlier. Eddie Cochran was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987. His pioneering contribution to the genre of rockabilly has also been recognized by the Rockabilly Hall of Fame. On September 27, 2010, the Mayor of Bell Gardens, California, declared October 3, 2010 to be "Eddie Cochran Day" to celebrate the famous musician who began his career when living in that city. The matting and framing job I did today brought back so many memories of Eddie Cochran and his supposed relationship to our family. My guess is that none of that was ever true, but it is still neat to think that someone as famous as Eddie Cochran might have been a distant relative of mine. It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.
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