Why Eddie would have been bigger than Elvis

There are four classic Eddie Cochran songs that still fill me with excitement whenever I hear them: Summertime Blues, C'Mon Everybody, Somethin' Else and Three Steps to Heaven. Eddie died far too young at the age of 21 whilst on his 1960 tour of the UK. So he had only just started. On three of the these songs he was co-writer, and he also jointly composed many others. So he was a songwriter as well as a singer. Can the same be said of Elvis?

 

He was also an extremely talented musician, and played lead guitar on sessions for other singers. Can the same be said of Elvis? Some people would say Elvis had the better voice. In my opinion it was too affected, Eddie's had a raw quality that would have only got better. He actually toured the UK, whereas Elvis never appeared once in this country.

 

Sadly, we shall never know what he could have achieved, his songwriting skills were only just developing. But there is no question that he would have been huge. Maybe not universally as popular as Elvis, but probably more so in this country. And in my opinion he had more talent in his little finger.....