Eddie Cochran was born Ray Edward Cochran in Albert Lea, Minnesota on October 3, 1938. Cochran’s parents hailed from Oklahoma and, though he moved from Minnesota to California as a boy, he always claimed to be an Oklahoman in interviews. His first instrument was drum, but he soon took up guitar, teaching himself to play the country songs he heard on the radio. After one year of high school in Bell Gardens, California, Cochran left school to become a professional musician. It was around this time he connected with songwriter Hank Cochran (no relation) in the group the Cochran Brothers. Cochran became a hit with teenagers at the age of 19 with his track “Summertime Blues,” which he penned with Jerry Capehart, who told Rolling Stone:"There had been a lot of songs about summer, but none about the hardships of summer."Cochran was killed while riding in a taxi in England at the age of 21.