On this day in 1960 the legendary Eddie Cochran was killed in a car accident while heading to the airport after a triumphant tour of Britain.
The plane crash that killed Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and The Big Bopper was known as “The Day The Music Died”. But in reality Eddie Cochran was still keeping rock and roll alive over a year after that tragedy. Not only was his 1960 tour with Gene Vincent a massive success, the demand for tickets was so high that the promoters had to extend the tour 10 weeks longer.
Cochran’s 1960 tour of Britain remains one of the most influential in all of music history. George Harrison spoke many times of how much seeing Eddie when he played Liverpool influenced him, and left an indelible mark on his life as a musician.
But it was much more than that too. Eddie Cochran had begun to follow in the footsteps of his friend Buddy Holly by writing and recording his own music. Also experimenting with double tracking vocals, and becoming a multi instrumentalist. In the last year of his life he was playing guitar, piano, bass, and drums. Even gaining a reputation as a fine backup musician, playing on other artists records.
