Wayne Cochran


Talvin Wayne Cochran was an American soul singer, known for his outlandish outfits and white pompadour hairstyle. He was sometimes referred to as The White Knight of Soul. Cochran is best known today for writing the song "Last Kiss", which he performed with the C.C. Riders.

Biography

Talvin Wayne Cochran was born on May 10, 1939, in Thomaston, Georgia, to Talvin A. Cochran, a cotton mill worker, and the former Mini Lee Starley, who came from a farming family.
Influenced by the country and rhythm and blues music he heard on the radio, Cochran fronted his first band - a group called the Rockin' Capris - as a teenager, and eventually left high school to pursue music as a full-time career. He moved to Macon, Georgia, where he befriended the soul singer Otis Redding and recorded his first single, "The Coo", attracting the attention of King Records, which signed him to a record deal. Cochran became close friends with King labelmate James Brown, whose stage show and road band influenced his own performing style and inspired him to assemble his own soul revue, the C.C. Riders, which occasionally featured as many as 14 musicians plus two female backing vocalists, the Sheer Delights.
Although his single recordings for King were not commercially successful beyond local markets in the south, Cochran's energetic performances, rigorous touring schedule and appearances on television talk shows such as The Jackie Gleason Show helped to make the C.C. Riders a popular attraction. In the mid-1960s, Cochran made Las Vegas his base of operations and played residencies at several hotels, casinos and theatres. During this time, he met and befriended Elvis Presley, from whom he borrowed elements for his own Las Vegas period, adopting jump suits similar to his wardrobe.
Cochran recorded an album for Chess Records titled Wayne Cochran! in 1967, which featured the blue-eyed soul and rhythm and blues style he had perfected on the road with his revue, but backed by session musicians for most of the cuts instead of his touring band. This was followed by a return to King and two further LPs, Alive & Well & Living... In a Bitch of a World and the instrumental High & Ridin, both in 1970. These albums saw the C.C. Riders' guitarist and musical director Charles Brent' take an important creative role, and featured a jazz-influenced sound comparable to the Chicago Transit Authority or Blood, Sweat & Tears. Cochran also recorded a "live" album for King sometime between 1967 and 1969, but released in 2014 and included in an Ace Records compilation Goin' Back to Miami: The Soul Sides 1965-1970.
Cochran recorded a final album, titled Cochran, for Epic Records in 1972, then toured and made television appearances. He retired from music to become an evangelist minister in Miami, Florida. He died on November 21, 2017 in Miramar, Florida, from cancer at the age of 78.

Legacy

Cochran is best known today for writing the song "Last Kiss", which he performed with the C.C. Riders. Although it was not a success for him, a contemporary cover by J. Frank Wilson and the Cavaliers and a much later take by Pearl Jam became hits. In Mexico, Polo and The Americans cover the song in Spanish. Cochran and his revue also influenced Dan Aykroyd and John Belushi's Blues Brothers musical venture; Cochran is referenced in the 1980 film featuring the Blues Brothers characters and a cover of his song "Going Back to Miami" is featured on the live album Made in America.
Appeared and sang in the movie C.C. and Company as himself.
On June 25, 2019, The New York Times Magazine listed Wayne Cochran among hundreds of artists whose material was reportedly destroyed in the 2008 Universal fire.

Discography

Albums