Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

Exactly 50 years yesterday, at 4:10 pm on the 17th April 1960, Minnesota born Eddie Cochran died at St Martin’s Hospital, Bath from head injuries sustained in road traffic accident. The previous evening Cochran together with his fiancée, Sharon Sheeley and fellow performer, Gene Vincent were passengers in a hire car that while travelling along the A4 through Chippenham, Wiltshire lost control and crashed into a lamp post. Eddie Cochran was 21 years of age.

Arguably more popular here in Britain than their native America, Gene Vincent and Eddie Cochran backed by Marty Wilde’s Wildcats were fronting, for the times, a legendary British rock ‘n’ roll tour promoted by impresario, Larry Parnes.

To commemorate the half-century anniversary of Eddie Cochran’s death, BBC radio have put together an hour long appreciation of the performer that include some rare recordings and interviews with those who were back-stage with him on that fateful tour of 1960 Britain.

Click here to listen to "In Remembrance of Eddie Cochran"

One of my favorites. He's buried at the Forest Lawn Cemetary near my house in nearby Cypress, CA.

He had a short run but left us not only some great songs but the seeds of a developing style

Certainly he had the best technical chops of the 50's rockabilly stars, and he could rock the socks of most of his contemporaries. I think he would have had a long and very successful career if he had lived.

Yep. Can you imagine? His career was just getting started. Just think how it might have developed. I think he might have stayed in the rock genre, rather than gone in the direction of country, as Carl Perkins and Duane Eddy did, which is a-okay as well. I like a bit of vintage twang!