I met Eddie Cochran at the Sheridan Hotel in New York City, where I also met Jerry Capheart, a man who would figure big in my future one day when he signed me to be a staff songwriter at American Music in Los Angeles.
Buddy Knox called Eddie Cochran "The Blond Elvis."
In England, the Beatles had followed him and Gene Vincent around. (When it came to Rock and Roll, first the Americans invaded England, then there was a British invasion of America.) Eddie performed at an Alan Freed produced Rock and Roll show for New Years about the time I met him. It was the same show I saw Ritchie Valens perform for the first time on.
The world of early Rock and Roll was tough. Eddie carried a Derringer hand gun in his boot and I hear it came in handy more than once, like when he was threatened by the boyfriends of certain fans...
Eddie Cochran wasn't the only one who packed a gun while on tour or while walking the streets of New York but I decided I could take care of myself with my fists. I grew up rumbling with my brothers, had learned some karate and self defence while in the U.S. Army, and admired the boxers who I tried to meet when they came into the Turf restaurant for meals instead of eating across the way at Dempsey's, which was owned by the boxer Jack Dempsey. We all had security concerns that were not met by our record labels or our management. We didn't have body guards and it was up to us to protect ourselves. It was also legal to take a gun on a plane...
During my tour with Buddy Knox I performed two of Eddie Cochran's hits, "Summertime Blues," and "Come on Everybody." Here's Eddie performing those hits on television - You Tube presentations.
"REMEMBER EDDIE COCKRAN" NEW SITE above! January 26, 2011
ROCKABILLY HALL OF FAME LINK HERE http://www.rockabillyhall.com/EddieCochran.html
History of Rock - Eddie Cochran! http://www.history-of-rock.com/cochran.htm
Eddie Cochran died at the age of 21, at the height of his fame, in 1960 while touring in England, in a tragic automobile accident on the way to the airport. Gene Vincent was left with a limp in the same accident.
ALL LINKS ACTIVE JULY 2012 New Video added
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