Summertime Blues

Summertime Blues by Eddie Cochran Cochran was 19 when he recorded this. It was a big hit with his teenage fans, who could relate to the lyrics about being held back by society (and parents). Cochran got an image as a rebel with a guitar, and his legend was secured when he died two years later while riding in the back of a taxi. He was often compared to James Dean, who was 24 when he died in a car accident. Cochran wrote this with Jerry Capehart, a songwriter who was good friends with Cochran and helped him get a record deal. Capehart explained the inspiration for this song in Rolling Stone magazine’s Top 500 songs issue: “There had been a lot of songs about summer, but none about the hardships of summer.” With that idea and a guitar lick from Cochran, they wrote the song in 45 minutes. This was supposed to be the B-side of “Love Again,” which was written by 17-year-old Sharon Sheeley. It was clear that this was the bigger hit, but Sheeley eventually became Cochran’s girlfriend. She was in the car when it crashed and killed him in 1960. Sheeley provided the hand claps on this. She really wanted to do it, but had trouble getting the rhythm. Eddie helped her out by showing her how to clap. This was Cochran’s breakthrough hit. His previous singles didn’t do very well, but this gave him a lot of exposure and established him as a star.