Rock and Roll Hall of Fame: Eddie Cochran Quiz

Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. Where was Eddie Cochran born?

Answer: Albert Lea, Minnesota

Eddie was born in Minnesota on October 3, 1938. His family moved to southern California in 1951 where he fell in love with the guitar.

2. Eddie Cochran first found limited music success as half of The Cochran Brothers. The interesting fact is that the other half of his duo, although named Cochran, was not his real brother. Who was this artist's name?

Answer: Hank Cochran

Hank Cochran took the experience gained as part of The Cochran Brothers and became a great country/western songwriter. Hits he wrote included: "I Fall to Pieces" by Patsy Cline, "Make the World Go Away" by Eddy Arnold and "The Chair" by George Strait.

Rob Cochran was a jazz artist, Jack Cochran was an influential rockabilly artist and Lee Cochran was dominant in gospel music.

3. Eddie Cochran was working with Jerry Capehart writing songs for soundtracks when he was asked not only to provide a song for, but to actually appear in a film. Which film, released in 1956, was it?

Answer: The Girl Can't Help It

"The Girl Can't Help It" starred Edmond O'Brien and Jayne Mansfield in the role that made her a star. The film is best described as gangster-rock-comedy. Eddie played himself in the film that featured other music acts of the era including Fats Domino, The Platters, Little Richard and Duane Eddy.

Of particular interest, the song Eddie recorded for this fim was "Twenty-Flight Rock", the same song Paul McCartney used to impress John Lennon when they first met in 1957.

4. Eddie Cochran only had one US top ten hit on the Pop Charts. What was the name of the song?

Answer: Summertime Blues

"Summertime Blues" was a tremendous hit for Eddie Cochran, which reached number eight on the US Pop Charts. Even more surprising that the song charted on the Pop Charts, was that it rose to number 11 on the R&B Charts because the song was particularly "heavy". During that time, the R&B charts were filled with doo-wop and soul acts and the inclusion of a young, white singer performing a loud, raucous song was unheard of.

"Summertime Blues" was also performed by Blue Cheer, Guess Who, T-Rex, Van Halen, Alan Jackson, Olivia Newton-John, Skid Row, The Beach Boys, The Crickets, The Stray Cats and The Who.

5. The Eddie Cochran song "My Way" was a concert staple for which band?

Answer: The Who

Eddie Cochran had a huge, near cult, following of many English musicians. George Harrison was noted to follow Cochran from city to city during Cochran's tour of England. Perhaps no English group found admiration to the Cochran sound than The Who. Roger Daltrey recorded "Summertime Blues" and the band often played "My Way" in concert.

6. The Eddie Cochran song "Summertime Blues" actually started life as the "B" side to another song. The featured song never found commercial succes, but will always be infamous as the "flip side" to the classic "Summertime Blues". What was the name of this song?

Answer: Love Again

"Love Again" was released on June 11, 1958 with "Summertime Blues" on the reverse. Many songs of the early rock era started life as the "B" side, but "Summertime Blues" may have been the most influential "B" side ever.

7. What mid-west city saw the last ever US appearance of Eddie Cochran?

Answer: Wichita, Kansas

After the Wichita concert, Eddie Cochran left for London on January 10, 1960 for a promotional tour. When Eddie arrived, he was given a royal reception at the Decca Records headquarters

8. Eddie Cochran was invited to tour London with a very good friend of his. This star had enjoyed an appearance on the Jack Good television program "Boy Meets Girl" and based on the success, a tour was introduced which would feature Cochran. Who was this star?

Answer: Gene Vincent

Gene Vincent had only one true hit titled "Be-Bop-a-Lula" which actaully fared better on the Country Charts than it did on the Pop Charts (number 5 on country versus number 7 on pop). Vincent died in 1971 at the age of 36 due to a ruptured stomach ulcer.

9. Eddie Cochran sadly died in England on Easter Sunday in 1960. What was the cause of his death?

Answer: He died in a taxi crash.

Eddie Cochran died from head injuries suffered when his rented taxi car crashed en route to the airport where he was scheduled to return to the US. He died in the hospital in Wiltshire, England. Other passengers in the taxi included rock legend Gene Vincent and singer Sharon Sheeley.

10. One of the most eclectic influences that Eddie Cochran had was on the Sex Pistols. The Sex Pistols performed a classic Eddie Cochran song on their soundtrack album to their documentary, "Great Rock and Roll Swindle". Which Cochran song was performed on this album?

Answer: Something Else

"Something Else" was co-written by close friend Sharon Sheeley, who was with Eddie Cochran in the ill-fated taxi ride where he was killed.

The album "Great Rock and Roll Swindle" also included another Cochran song titled "C'mon Everybody" as written by Eddie Cochran and Jerry Capehart. The soundtrack also featured hits such as "Substitute" by The Who and "Johnny B. Goode" by Chuck Berry.

Source: Author ralzzz

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor Bruyere before going online.
Any errors found in FunTrivia content are routinely corrected through our feedback system.

Eddie Cochran had a very brief, yet influential music career. This quiz will be on his life, music and bands he influenced.

NEXT>

NEXT>

NEXT>

NEXT>

NEXT>

NEXT>

NEXT>

NEXT>

NEXT>