The first song I can remember, that I knew all the lyrics to, and wasn’t a children’s song, was Eddie Cochran’s ‘Twenty Flight Rock’. It was 1957, I was ten years old, and my older brother had the 45 single. He’d play it for me on the record player in his room, where I’d stand on his bed and sing along, and when the refrain of "One flight, two flight, three flight, four/five, six, seven flight, eight flight, more" started, I’d run in place, like I was running up flights of stairs, my brother would cheer me on saying, “Go Babs, go!” and for my grand finale, I’d do a backflip, with my feet landing on the mattress.
One fateful day, I did the backflip a little too hard, and my feet came down on the side of the bed, causing me to fall backwards, I put my hand out to break my fall, and ended up with a sprained wrist and a dislocated pinky. A few minutes, and a lot of tears later, I ended up at The Brooklyn Hospital Center in downtown Brooklyn. At the hospital after my hand was x-rayed, the Doctor said to me, “Your Father told us you were roughhousing with your older brother, is that right?” I shook my head no, and the Doctor asked me, “What really happened, it’s OK, you can tell me. Don’t be afraid.” I told him about singing ‘Twenty Flight Rock’, running in place and the backflip. The Doctor smiled and said, “I don’t know that song, would you sing it for me?” So I sang it for him; he and the nurse who was assisting him started laughing, with the nurse clapping along. When I finished the song, the doctor who was holding my hand, without warning, quickly and unceremoniously popped my pinky back into place. When the nurse took me to the waiting room, she told my parents, "You have the next Connie Francis, here."
Eddie
Cochran was one of the first great stars of Rock n' Roll and an
artist whose influence would far outstrip his brief career, which was
cut short when he died in an auto accident in 1960. Cochran would often
be cited as one of the pioneers of rockabilly, but his style was more
muscular and less twangy than those of his peers, adding a bluesy accent
to the music that meshed comfortably with his country-influenced
melodies. .
Eddie was also an impressive guitar player and a songwriter
young enough to understand the teenage mindset and its fascination with
cars, girls, and good times, but he was also talented enough to bring
his stories to life and marry them to energetic, catchy melodies. Songs
like "Summertime Blues," "C'mon Everybody," "Somethin' Else," "Nervous
Breakdown," and "Weekend" would live on in covers decades after Eddie
died, and his influence would be felt in artists as diverse as Bobby
Fuller and the Sex Pistols. Eddie was also one of the first American
rockers to tour the United Kingdom, where he would prove especially
influential; when Paul McCartney first met John Lennon, John was
impressed that Paul could not only play Cochran's "Twenty Flight Rock,"
and just like me, knew the lyrics by heart.
CD1 "I'm Ready" chronicles his early work 1955-56 when he performed as a duo with Hank Cochran (no-relation) as 'The Cochran Brothers'.
CD2 "Summertime Blues" focuses on his solo work and includes the hits 'Twenty Flight Rock', 'Sittin' in the Balcony', 'Jeanie, Jeanie, Jeanie', and 'Summertime Blues'.
CD3 "'Somethin' Else" continues his solo years, alongside instrumental works, and includes 'C'mon Everybody', 'Teenage Heaven' and 'Somethin' Else'.
CD4 "Three Steps To Heaven" is a collection of live versions, stereo recordings, instrumentals, outtakes and rarities.
Rock n' Roll songs are.