Ray Edward "Eddie" Cochran (/ˈkɒkrən/ KOK-rən; October 3, 1938 – April 17, 1960) 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.^[1] Cochran experimented with multitrack recording, distortion techniques, and overdubbing, even on his earliest singles.^[2] Cochran played the guitar, piano, bass, and drums.^[1] 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.[3]

Cochran was involved with music from an early age, playing in the school band and teaching himself to play blues guitar.^[2] 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.