Jackie Lee Cochran – Rocks
Bear Family – BCD 17785
Riverside Jump – Swamp Fox – Cut Across The Tracks – Ruby Pearl – I Wanna See You – Buy A Car – Pity Me – Mama Don’t You Think I Know – Hip Shakin‘ Mama – I Want You – Bop Town – Money Honey – Fiddle Fit Man – Baby Doll – Why Don’t I Leave You Alone – Hip Shakin‘ Mama – It’s Allright With Me – Hungry Hill – I Don’t Care If The Sun Don’t Shine – Riverside Jump – Rockabilly Legend – Good Rockin‘ Tonite – Greasy Dollar Bill – Billy Is A Rocker – Mama Don’t You Think I Know – She’s Mine All Mine – Mystery Train – Georgia Lee Brown – Dear Mom and Dad – Jack The Cat
Throughout his life, Jackie Lee Cochran, like Carl Perkins and Charlie Feathers, remained faithful to rockabilly and rock ‘n’ roll. This compilation covers thirty years of his career, featuring almost all of his tracks recorded in the 1950s and a good selection of recordings made from the 1970s onward under the guidance of Rockin’ Ronnie Weiser and his Rollin’ Rock label.
Jackie Lee Cochran began his career in 1956 with a masterstroke released for the small Sims label. Riverside Jump and its B-side are two first-class rockabilly tracks blending the energy of Elvis with the raw spontaneity of Roy Orbison’s Sun Records tracks. Cochran then relocated to California and landed a contract with Decca, which led to the recording of Ruby Pearl with Merle Travis on guitar. His sound became more refined, and Cochran followed a similar evolution to Elvis’s between That’s All Right and Heartbreak Hotel. But the B-side, Mama Don’t You Think I Know, proves that Cochran hasn’t mellowed.
Unfortunately, Decca parted ways with the singer due to contractual issues. Two other softer tracks, recorded during the same session as Ruby Pearl, would remain in the label’s archives, and thanks to Bear Family For You Baby, it appears here for the first time. Jackie Lee Cochran then moved on to smaller labels (Avalon, Spry, Jaguar), evolving towards a rock ‘n’ roll sound that in no way diminished his raw energy, culminating in the magnificent and hypnotic Georgia Lee Brown and its captivating atmosphere (the track would quite logically find its place in the Cramps’ repertoire).
It was Ronny Weiser who rescued Jackie Lee Cochran from obscurity in the early 1970s, having him record for Rollin’ Rock with Ray Campi. We’ll quickly gloss over I Don’t Care If The Sun Don’t Shine, which sounds more like an attempt to get as close as possible to Elvis’s version. More interesting, because it’s much more original, is Swamp Fox, the song that would lend its title to the first Rollin Rock album. The years haven’t diminished Cochran’s talent as a singer and songwriter. This compilation features five tracks from this album, including stunning new versions of Riverside Jump and Hip Shakin’ Mama, which are every bit as good as the 1950s versions. As with all Rollin Rock recordings, there’s a raw, almost amateur feel that gives the recording its unique flavor and perfectly captures all the excitement of this music.
Cochran continued his partnership with Weiser with equal success, releasing two singles, each composed of a cover of a classic and an original song (the Swamp Blues Hungry Hill and Bop Town, with its hints of Tequila).
A new album was released, demonstrating that while embracing the spirit of his time, Cochran remained true to rockabilly. In addition to the hypnotic It’s All Right With Me, Bear Family has also chosen to include a new version of Mama Don’t You Think I Know, just as effective as the original.
Six more songs come from a 1985 session, on which Jackie Lee Cochran is backed by Johnny and the Roccos. The songs, impeccably produced, brilliantly alternates between modern rockabilly, rock ‘n’ roll, and blues. Unfortunately for Cochran, by this time the rockabilly wave had already passed, and the success of this 1985 album remained limited.
This copious compilation (31 tracks) strikes the perfect balance between tracks from the 1950s and more recent recordings. Through the overall vision she offers, she manages to do perfect justice to an artist who has always demonstrated musical rigor.
You can order it on Bear Family’s website or on Raucous Records if you live in UK.
Fred “Virgil” Turgis
