RAJIV would like to lead this song similar to the first video. What he may decide to do is to have part of the group just do [Z] chords all the way through the song (stopping at the appropriate down arrows in the verses) while the rest of the group plays from the song sheet as is. You can play along with the first video! To play along with Eddie Cochran videos, put your capo on the 2nd fret.
Cochran was 19 when he recorded this in 1958. 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 2 years later when the taxi he was riding in crashed. 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 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. This song was a big influence on George Harrison. He had a picture of Cochran and wanted the same kind of guitar. Many artists with a rebellious image have recorded this over the years, including Joan Jett, T Rex, The Who, Van Halen and The Stray Cats. When Rush performs this in concert, the crowd sings the lines "No dice son, you gotta work late," "You can't use the car 'cause you didn't work a lick," and "I'd like to help you son, but you're too young to vote." The Who performed the song as a staple of their concerts from their early days up to 1976.
