1960Released
1:59

Did You Know?

Interesting facts and trivia about Summertime Blues. By Songfacts®.

Cochran was 19 when he recorded this. 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 two years later while riding in the back of a taxi. 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 supposed to be the B-side of "Love Again," which was written by 17-year-old Sharon Sheeley. It was clear that this was the bigger hit, but Sheeley eventually became Cochran's girlfriend. She was in the car when it crashed and killed him in 1960.

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Song Analysis

Key, BPM (tempo) and time signature of Summertime Blues.
BKey
MinorMode
4/4Time Signature
156BPM

Album

The album Summertime Blues is released on.

Released By

The record label that has released Summertime Blues.
Parlophone Catalogue
© 1960 Capitol Records, LLC
This Compilation ℗ 1960 Capitol Records, LLC

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