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Biography
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Achievements
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Albert Lea
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Dark Lonely
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Books & Magazines
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Here follows a detailed account of the last days of the live of young
Eddie Cochran. Days that ended in tragedy.
This is an article by Phil Davies written for the Eddie Cochran
Connection on the 40th anniversary of Eddie's death. Reproduced here
with kind permission of Phil.
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Dark
Lonely Street
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At
4:10 pm on Sunday 17th April, 1960 Edward Ray Cochran of 5339, Priory
Street, Bell Gardens, California, USA passed away at St Martin's
Hospital, Bath. The later autopsy at the hospital carried out by Dr C. D.
Cross found that the injuries found were consistent with having been
involved in a traffic accident.
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The
casualty officer Dr D.W. Pilton was on duty in the casualty department
of the hospital at about 1am on that Sunday, when four injured people
who were involved in a traffic accident were brought in. He examined the
most seriously injured male and concluded that his condition was
extremely dangerous. |
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Although
externally there were a few injuries, abrasions and bruises on the left
side of the face, the patient was deeply unconscious and careful
examination and tests indicated possibly severe brain damage.
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His condition
rapidly worsened in the early hours and Dr Cash, a consultant, was
immediately sent for. Later, discussions took place with Mr Phillips, a
Neuron Surgeon at Frenchay Hospital in Bristol, but due to the very poor
condition of the patient it was not advisable to transfer him.
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Despite all the
valiant efforts of the doctors and nurses, Eddie Cochran slipped
away. Instead of being 3 hours into a much longed for plane flight
back home across the Atlantic to a happy family reunion with his
beloved mother and a recording session with Snuffy Garret, Eddie's
all too brief life ebbed away in a hospital on a foreign shore.
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The casket finally
arrived in LA on Saturday April 23rd. Eddie was laid to rest at Forest
Lawn Memorial Park near Buena Park on Monday 25th April at 10am. His
parents Alice and Frank Cochran, his brothers and sisters were joined by some 250 mourners for the service lead by the
Rev C Sumner Reynolds of the Maywood Methodist Church. Eddie's
devastated brothers Bob and Bill sent a wreath of red and white
carnations shaped like a guitar. Amongst the mourners was Mrs Concepcion
Valens, mother of Eddie's
pal Ritchie.
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The
family
words inscribed on Eddie's tomb read, "If mere words can
console us for the loss of our beloved Eddie then our love for him was a
false love." Cherished memories indeed.
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After
the final encore (possibly
the song My Babe) at the end of a first UK tour
Gene and Eddie grinned broadly at each other and with arms around
each other's shoulders thought of the long awaited break ahead. For
Gene, a week playing in Paris where he was revered even more than Elvis,
and for Eddie, the comforts of family and home, new songs to be recorded,
according to Cash Box in March there was talk of an appearance on the Ed
Sullivan show too and then a reunion for another ten week conquest of
the UK theatres.
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Back in March,
Fosters Agency in Piccadilly London had added several week long runs at
several UK theatres ending with a week at the Bristol Hippodrome. Eddie
was being paid a then princely $1000 dollars a week although he spent a
fortune on trans-Atlantic phone calls home to Alice and family.
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The tour had
originally had been triggered by
Gene Vincent's triumphal arrival in December 1959 and some mesmeric TV
appearances inspired by the genius of rock TV producer Jack Good. Good
had asked Fosters agency to get some hot rocking US stars for his new
ITV TV show. Good's show Boy Meets Girl were thrilled when US agent Norm
Riley told Fosters that he could supply Gene, Eddie and Ronnie Hawkins.
Eddie duly arrived in the UK on Sunday January 10th 1960, to join the
Larry Parnes promoted Gene Vincent Show.
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January 16th,
23rd, February 20th and 27th saw the transmission of Eddie's UK TV
performances, captured for us on the epoch making On The Air UA lp in
the mid 70s. The Vincent/Cochran tour commenced at the Gaumont Ipswich,
East Anglia on January 24th. A vibrant appearance at the NME Poll
Winners concert at the Empire Pool Wembley on February 20th was forever
captured in time by photographer Harry Hammond's evocative shots of our
heroes on stage (just check out the cover of Rockstar's fantastic R n R
Heroes LP of BBC radio's Saturday Club recordings from February 16th and
23rd). Rockstar also have a radio version of C'Mon Everybody from the
Parade of The Pops Show on Ep 2013.
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The tour played in
Scotland, Wales and several English
cities. The booklets to the various box sets and several fanzines have
some great descriptions of various tour shows by fans like Pete Jamieson
and Jim Newcombe lucky enough to have been there. Fosters had applied to
the Home Office in mid February for special permission for the American
stars to extend their original tour dates. Week long bookings in Leeds,
Birmingham, Liverpool, Newcastle, Manchester, Finsbury Park London and
finally Bristol. Sharon Sheeley flew into London in early April to be
with Eddie for her 20th birthday on April 4th.
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For the Bristol
Hippodrome shows commencing on April 11th, the stars settled in at the
local Royal Hotel. It had been a lengthy gruelling tour but Eddie perked
up when Patrick Thompkins (deputising for tour manager Hal Carter)
knocked at his door on the morning of Saturday April 16th with his fight
tickets for the following day. Eddie was to leave Heathrow airport for
the promised land at 1pm Sunday 17th April. The travel arrangements made
for getting him to London were now in place.
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The stars wanted
to leave immediately after the show to rest in london before going on to
the airport in the afternoon. There were probably no late night trains
to London over the Easter holiday so a local cab company was booked
apparently well in advance.
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Several myths have
sprung up over the years about the fateful final journey and what
supposedly happened on that Saturday night in the west country. Reports
in old pop/movie magazines here
and in the US paint a heavily romanticized picture, local rumours darken
the waters further, thick fog, Eddie singing California Here I Come,
marriage proposals, denials, final words, burst tyres, lifts offered,
drunk driver etc etc etc.
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We shouldn't be
amazed at all this, look at the widely ranging versions of Diana's death
crash in recent years. Recently there have been minutely detailed
investigative books reporting on the tragic deaths of Elvis, Buddy and
James Dean to help us separate fact from conjecture. Whilst I don't have
sufficient skills or background knowledge to attempt a definitive
account of Eddie's death I will base the following on the concise
official findings that Bill Beard has unearthed (as did he the
information in the opening medical section of this account).
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George William
Thomas Martin of Blackthorn Road, Bristol was the eager young cab driver
hired for the late night journey. Sharon Sheeley recalls confetti in the
car and the driver saying it had been used for a wedding that afternoon.
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Patrick Thompkins
sat in the front passenger seat with the 3 Americans in the back. Gene
may have nodded off probably due to his recent show closing exertions in
the hot black leather suit. Sharon recalls being frightened by the
reckless speed of the car as it roared out of the lights of Bristol to
join the main road to London. On through Bath (where Eddie's final
journey would end) to the outskirts of the small Wiltshire market town
of Chippenham.
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Keeping his wits
about him Patrick noticed the driver had taken a wrong turning and was
heading back towards Bath, he told the driver this and the fateful chain
of events unfolded.
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Trying to turn or
stop too quickly the young driver may have lost control of the car and a
deadly skid began. Here are some of the words in the official Wiltshire
Constabulary report written at Chippenham police station, for the
Official Coroner on the 18th of April, by PC 476 R. S. McIntyre.
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"Fatal Accident
at Bath Road, Chippenham at 11.50 pm 16th April 1960"
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At 12 midnight
Saturday 16th April 1960 I was called to the scene of the accident. At
12:07 am Sunday 17th April I arrived at the scene. I found that a cream
coloured Ford Consul Saloon Motor Car reg no. RBO 869 travelling from
Bath along the A4 towards the direction of Chippenham was the only
involved vehicle and that it had not been moved prior to my arrival.
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I took its
position the vehicle being on the driver's nearside facing obliquely
towards the crown of the road and in the direction of Chippenham. The
rear nearside of the vehicle was tight into the driver's nearside kerb.
The rear nearside of the vehicle was extensively damaged - the nearside
doors being smashed and the rear window torn out - the rear of the car
being completely twisted.
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I examined the
road and found skid marks commencing on the Bath side of the location
and extending for 50 yards. These marks veering over to the driver's
offside of the road and then back to the driver's nearside. I found
traces of paint on a lamp standard located on the driver's nearside kerb
- this paint being cream in colour.
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The width of the
road was 30 ft, there being a pavement on either side. The location is a
gentle rising left hand bend when travelling towards Chippenham and is
well inside the built up area. The weather was fine and the road dry.
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The occupants of
the car were all taken to the Chippenham Cottage hospital and later
transferred to St Martin`s Hospital Bath, where the deceased died during
the afternoon of the 17th April 1960.
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Driver George
Martin was uninjured. The other passengers in the car being Sharon
Sheeley (aged 20), Gene Vincent Craddock (aged 25) both US citizens
under the care of Fosters Agency and Patrick Thompkins (aged 29), these
persons being detained at St Martin's.
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The deceased is a
US Citizen and was by profession a well known "Rock and Roll"
Singer. his personal manager is a Mr Riley of Room 212 Stafford Court
Hotel, Mayfair, London. Mr Riley may be called to give evidence of
identification."
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A full covering
report together with a plan, photos, and statements was forwarded to the
coroner. This has not yet been made public (if it still exists) but
don't bet on Bill unearthing it one day.
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As a former
bobby's son the precise language of the PC's report tell us what it was
like on that dark lonely street. Local resident and eye witness Mrs
recalls the street lights staying on (they should have gone out at
midnight) until the ambulance was loaded and then extinguishing as if in
final tribute to the dying young man.
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Eddie went home
one last time, the scars both physical and mental remained with Gene
until his own untimely and wasteful demise and Sharon’s sense of loss
is obvious to anyone who meets her or sees her interviewed as on last
year's HTV Cherished Memories TV programme where she bravely revisited
both the Chippenham crash site and St Martin's hospital where she lay in
unbearable mental and physical pain in 1960.
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One final sad
official note to close this tragic tale, on June 29th 1960, the Clerk of
Assize in Bristol wrote to the Official Coroner saying that "On the
24th of June, George William Thomas Martin was convicted of causing the
death of Edward Ray Cochran by the driving of a motor vehicle at a
dangerous speed and was fined fifty pounds. He was disqualified from
driving for a period of 15 years. In default of payment of the above
fine it was ordered that he undergo imprisonment for a period of 6
months".
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I’ve been a fan
of Eddie's since 1961 and this account is easily the hardest thing I've
ever written about. Hopefully it will add to our understanding of the
circumstances surrounding the events of that last ride.
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Time to play an
Eddie album methinks, "Eddie Cochran, I'll always remember you with
a tear in my eye."
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Phil
Davies |
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February
2000
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Special thanks to
Bill Beard for his commitment to Eddie, Darrel Higham for keeping the
flame alive, Tony Barrett, Derek Glenister, Rob Finnis, Stu Colman, Pete
Morgan, Mick Miriams and Alan Clark for their inspiration over the years.
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For more excellent work of Phil Davies
take a look at www.rockabillyhall.com/PhilShaun.html
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Also
thanks to Zein Eddin for providing two more photo's of the car wreck and
the death certificate. |
