Eddie Cochran (October 3, 1938–April 17, 1960)

Eddie Cochran had a brief career, but a lasting influence on rock music
with his rockabilly songs, such as “C’mon Everybody,” “Somethin’ Else,”
and “Summertime Blues”. Cochran died at the young age of 21 in 1960
when the car he was riding in crashed while on tour in England. He died 
of his injuries the following day. The other passengers, songwriter Sharon
Sheeley, who was Eddie’s fiancé, and singer Gene Vincent survived the 
accident.

 
Eddie Cochran (L) and Gene Vincent in the 1950s

 
Eddie Cochran and Sharon Sheely

The 1962 Ford Seattle-ite

Back in the 50’s, everyone thought that we would have flying nuclear powered cars,
hover cars, etc. In 1962 the Ford Motor Company was advertising the never-massed-
produced car of the future…the Ford Seattle-ite, named for the 1962 World’s Fair
in Seattle. Some of the interior features included effortless fingertip steering, a 
travel programing computer and a viewing screen that would show performance,
road and weather conditions, an automatically rolling road map, and estimated
time of arrival for any designation selected. The four front wheels would also turn
in tandem.

Chubby Checker (Ernest Evans) popularized the twist dance style
with his 1960 cover of Hank Ballard‘s R&B hit "The Twist". In 2008
"The Twist" topped Billboard’s list of the most popular singles to
have appeared in the Hot 100 since its debut in 1958.