|
Hank Cochran had come up the hard way
which could explain why he had chosen to live his life out of the
limelight. By the time he and
Eddie met, he had
turned
professional and was working in clubs. Hank offered Eddie a job as
his accompanying guitarist, and in January 1955, Eddie left school
for good. He was only four months past his 16th
birthday.
Fraternal duos
were very popular in the country music field at this time and as
they shared the same surname and vaguely looked alike, the two
Cochrans decided to pool their talents and go on the road as the
Cochran Brothers, with Hank singing and playing rhythm guitar and
Eddie on lead guitar and vocal harmony. The group was augmented by
an unknown bass player and Billy Watson on guitar and vocals.
In the initial
stages, the Cochrans lacked stagecraft. Eddie had not previously
given much thought to singing and their harmonies were ragged while
the difference in height between the two detracted from the visual
appeal. Nevertheless, with practice their act came together and
they began to make their presence felt on the West Coast country
music circuit, which was much more receptive to newcomers that its’
cliquey Nashville counterpart. In practice, this meant making the
rounds of country music dance halls and Western Jamborees which
provided regular entertainment for the local blue collar workers.
The most
prestigious event on the coast was Cliffe Stone’s “Hometown
Jamboree” which was televised on KLAC every Sunday from the Legion
Stadium in El Monte followed closely by “Town Hall Party” in
Compton, 25 miles south of Los Angeles. Both shows featured
visiting headliners supported by local acts and promising newcomers.
Cliffe Stone was
a shareholder in the Americana Music Corporation, a booking agency
run by Steve Stebbins, the leading country promoter on the West
Coast and a powerhouse on the local scene. Other well-known country
singers such as Eddie Kirk, Tennessee Ernie Ford and Merle Travis
also held shares in the agency which monopolized California’s
country music circuit and snapped any promising newcomers. The
Cochran Brothers were added to its’ books in April 1955 at which
point there was a dramatic improvement in their fortunes. They put
in appearances in both “Town Hall Party” and “Hometown Jamboree” and
also appeared on “Country Barn Dance” a more down market affair held
in the 1000 capacity Jubilee Ballroom, just west of El Monte.
Steve Stebbins
arranged an immediate audition with EKKO Records, one of the dozens
of tiny independents scattered across Los Angeles. It was owned by
Ed Bloodworth and two partners, and its’ ambitions outweighed its’
budget. Unable to sign up big names, it settled for small-time
local acts such as the Cochrans, Jess Willard, and Western Swing
veterans from the previous decade. EKKO’s A&R man, Charles “Red”
Mathews was based in Memphis where the company had its main office,
and would make periodic recording trips to California. Assuming a
managerial role as best he could, given that he was not locally
based, Mathews based his faith in the Cochrans and rehearsed them
thoroughly prior to recording.
In May 1955, at
Sunset Records in Hollywood, he produced 4 tracks by the duo in the
plaintive hillbilly style popularized by Hank Williams and issued
two of the titles, “Mr. Fiddle” and “Two Blue Singing Stars” as
their debut single. Vocally, Hank is stronger on these recordings
and is ably supported by Eddie who also plays some nice
country-style guitar.
In the Autumn,
Hank and Eddie were booked to appear on the “Big D Jamboree” in
Dallas. Broadcast locally on KRLD, the “Big D” ranked alongside
Nashville’s “Opry” as a prestigious country music showcase and was
held every weekend in the Dallas Sportatorium, a huge corrugated
iron building that played host to wrestling contests on weekdays.
Elvis Presley had
stormed out of Memphis with an astounding fusion of country, R&B and
pop and cut a swathe across the south with a stage act that had a
galvanizing effect on audiences. Hank and Eddie arrived in Dallas
only days after Elvis had appeared on the “Big D”.
The pandemonium
which accompanied Elvis’ personal appearances was a phenomenon in
country music and the Cochrans listened in awe as a security told
them that he had nearly been torn apart by fans as he attempted to
protect Elvis. Hank, who had heard some of Elvis’ sun records on
the radio says that “He and Eddie knew right then that this new
stuff was about to happen!”
The Cochrans
traveled East through Texarkana and on to Memphis where EKKO had a
small office on Union Avenue, not far from Sun. The unscheduled
trip left the Cochrans virtually penniless forcing Eddie to hock his
amplifier to boost their finances; in fact, they were only able to
make it back to LA by hitch hiking!
Whenever he came
home to Bell Gardens, Eddie would drop int the music center which
was only a few blocks away. It was a popular hangout for local
musicians and owner Ben Keither often brought customers together.
Eddie was buying guitar strings there on a Saturday afternoon in
October 1955 when Keither introduced him to the man who would become
his mentor, manager and co-writer; Jerry Capehart.
Capehart, who had
no singing voice, mentioned that he was looking for somebody to demo
his songs. Eddie replied that he and Hank would be happy to oblige
for a small fee. He introduced Capehart to Hank and a few days
later they laid down some songs in a small recording booth equipped
with a disk cutting lathe. Although nothing became of these dubs,
Capehart adopted the Cochrans as his occasional backing band and
offered to promote their career. Capehart knew he’d never make it
as a singer and worked toward establishing a relationship with the
Cochrans as a means to an end.
In October, EKKO
had issued a second single “Guilty Conscience” which had not fared
any better that the first, and with Red Mathews spending most of his
time in Memphis, Capehart’s burgeoning entrepreneurial instincts
began to come into play. Capehart had an infectious enthusiasm which
made for convincing salesmanship.
Compromised by
his own limitations as a singer and the fact that the Cochrans were
already under contract to EKKO, Capehart concluded that any deal was
better than no deal and began casting his net. In November 1955 he
drove to the Watts district to confer with a black entrepreneur name
John Dolphin who ran a thriving record shop in the heart of the
black community. Dolphin was notable for having a DJ named “Huggy
Boy” broadcasting from a booth in the record shop window. Dolphin
operated two R&B labels from his shop and made his own masters in a
small studio housed in the rear of the premises; he could cut a
record in the morning, give Huggy Boy an acetate in the evening and
having customers asking for pressings the following day.
Capehart pitched
Dolphin the idea of cutting some “Hillbilly” sounds and came away
with the promise of a one record deal although he had to give away
his sons to get it – Dolphins name routinely appeared as the writer
of any songs released on his labels. Backed by four black musicians
with Hank and Eddie on guitars, Capehart recorded “Rollin and Walkin
Stick Boogie” just before Christmas 1955.
|
