Gene Watson's Peers: Hank Cochran
Gene Watson's peers within the country music industry
believe in the sheer talent of this unassuming man from east Texas, so much
so that Gene is regarded by many of them as 'the singer's singer' - and
rightly so!
All of Gene's Peers who were contacted in 2008 were most gracious with their
time & words. It is here, within this special part of gene-watson.com, that
you have an opportunity to read a quote from
Hank Cochran, which he submitted to
this site on Tuesday 15 January 2008.
Sean Brady would like to take this opportunity to say 'thank you' to
Hank Cochran who has made a special
contribution to a unique part of this online 'celebration of a Lone Star
Hero'.
Sean Brady would also wish to express a special 'thank you' to Martha Moore
at So Much Moore; without her
kindness, this quote from Hank Cochran
would not have been possible.
Hank Cochran
This quote was submitted on Tuesday 15 January 2008
'Gene Watson is one of the greatest country singers,
period.
First time I heard Gene's version of 'Don't you ever get tired of hurting
me', it was good enough for me to pick up the phone & call him in Europe
just to thank him.
In fact, I am really excited about the entire CD'.
Thank you, Hank Cochran, for your
support of Gene Watson.
About Hank Cochran...
Hank Cochran is deservedly known as
'The Legend' & when you consider the roll-call of song titles that he has
written, it is very easy to see why. On any given day, in one of Nashville's
myriad of recording studios, there is likely to be an artist recording a
song written by Hank Cochran.
And what a catalogue of songs they are! 'I fall to pieces', 'She's got you',
'Make the world go away', 'A little bitty tear', 'The chair', 'Don't touch
me' & 'Don't you ever get tired of hurting me' are just a number of songs
that Hank Cochran has written.
Hank Cochran was born Garland Perry Cochran on 2 August 1935 in Isola,
Mississippi. By the time he was ten years old, Hank was playing guitar &
singing in church. Like many youngsters, he tuned into the Grand Ole Opry on
radio in order to receive musical inspiration. After completing school, he
moved to New Mexico, working in the oilfields during the mid-1950s &
eventually made his way to California, where he began entertaining in small
clubs.
In 1954, he & Eddie Cochran (no relation) formed a duo, the Cochran
Brothers, initially recording country music material but later switching to
rock music after watching Elvis Presley perform in Dallas.
Hank & Eddy appeared on Town Hall Party on KTTV & toured with country music
legend Lefty Frizzell. The Cochrans went their separate ways in 1956 when
Hank joined the California Hayride TV show in Stockton.
Eddie Cochran found stardom in rock 'n' roll, albeit briefly; he enjoyed a
number of hit songs which have gone on to influence a generation namely
'Twenty flight rock', Summertime blues', C'mon everybody', Somethin' else' &
'Three steps to heaven'.
Eddie Cochran died at St. Martin's Hospital in Bath, England at 4.10pm on
Sunday 17 April 1960 following a traffic accident in Chippenham in Wiltshire
the previous night at 11.50pm; Eddie Cochran was just twenty-one years old.
In January 1960, Hank arrived in Nashville & immediately began working with
Pamper Music for a mere $50 a week. As well as his duties as a songwriter,
Hank also helped the company to sign other artists, acquire songs & get them
recorded.
Among the artists that Hank brought on to the company's payroll was Willie
Nelson. Hank even gave up the opportunity to become a recording artist with
Liberty Records so that they could sign Willie first. Eventually Liberty
Records signed Hank as a recording artist in his own right.
In April 1961, Hank Cochran became a full-time songwriter with the release
of 'I fall to pieces' (co-written with Harlan Howard), which was a No.1
country hit for Patsy Cline that year. Hank recorded 'I fall to
pieces' himself in 1965 & included the track on 'Hits From the Heart' (RCA
Victor, 1965).
It wasn't long before Hank found himself playing guitar with Justin Tubb on
the Grand Ole Opry, touring with Ray Price, scoring his first hit as a
recording artist with the Top 20 hit 'Sally was a good old girl' & earning
three BMI Awards for songs he'd written on his own. 'Sally was a
good old girl' was included on Hank Cochran's 'Going on Training' (RCA
Victor, 1965).
Hank Cochran also became a co-owner (along with Ray Price) of Pamper Music, which
was eventually acquired by the Sony/ATV Tree Organisation in 1989. In
1974, Hank was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Association's
International Hall of Fame.
Hank Cochran was married to
Jeannie Seely between 1969 & 1979 and he encouraged her to move to Nashville in 1965, where she
became a writer for Tree International Music. Jeannie also signed with
Monument Records & had an instant hit with Hank Cochran's 'Don't touch me'
in 1966.
The list of artists who have recorded Hank Cochran's songs reads like a
musician's encyclopaedia & include Lynn Anderson, Eddy Arnold, Chet Atkins,
Tracy Byrd, Johnny Cash, Elvis Costello, Bing Crosby, Don Gibson,
Vern Gosdin, Ty
Herndon, Merle Haggard,
Emmylou Harris, Waylon Jennings, Tom Jones, Loretta Lynn, Dean Martin, Reba McEntire, Buck Owens, Elvis Presley, LeAnn Rimes, Linda Ronstadt, Nancy
Sinatra, George Strait, Ernest Tubb & Lee Ann
Womack.
Here is a list of some of Hank Cochran's song-writing achievements
(prepare to be amazed!):
Patsy Cline recorded Hank Cochran's
'I fall to pieces' & included the track on 'Showcase' (Decca
Records, 1961); the track reached No.1 on the Billboard country music
singles chart in 1961
Faron Young recorded Hank Cochran's 'I fall to pieces' (co-written with
Harlan Howard) & included the track on 'The Young Approach' (Capitol
Records, 1961)
Faron Young recorded Hank Cochran's 'I can't find the time' (co-written with
Willie Nelson) & included the track on 'The Young Approach' (Capitol
Records, 1961)
Patsy Cline recorded Hank Cochran's
'She's got you' & included the track on 'Sentimentally Yours'
(Decca Records, 1962); the track was No.1 on the Billboard country music
singles chart for five weeks in March/April1962
Skeeter Davis & Porter Wagoner recorded
Hank Cochran's 'Little bitty tear' & included the track on 'Sing
Duets' (RCA Records, 1962)
Buck Owens & His Buckaroos recorded Hank Cochran's 'A-11' & included the
track on 'Together Again/My Heart Skips a Beat' (Capitol Records, 1964)
Eddy Arnold recorded Hank Cochran's 'Little bitty tear' & included the track
on 'Sometimes I'm Happy, Sometimes I'm Blue' (RCA Records, 1964)
Eddy Arnold recorded Hank Cochran's 'I fall to pieces' (co-written with
Harlan Howard) & included the track on 'Pop Hits From The Country Side' (RCA
Records, 1964)
Ray Price recorded Hank Cochran's 'That's all that matters' & included the
track on 'Burning Memories' (Columbia Records, 1965); the track reached
No.34 on the Billboard country music singles chart in 1965
Eddy Arnold recorded Hank Cochran's 'Make the world go away' & included the
track on 'My World' (RCA Records, 1965); the track reached No.1 on the
country music charts in 1965 & No.6 on the pop charts in 1965
Waylon Jennings recorded Hank Cochran's 'I'm a long way from home' &
included the track on 'Nashville Rebel' (RCA Records, 1966)
Jeannie Seely
recorded Hank Cochran's 'Don't touch me' & included the track on
'The Seely Style' (Monument Records, 1966); the track reached No.2
on the Billboard country music singles chart in 1966 & also reached No.85 on
the pop charts in 1966
Jeannie Seely
recorded Hank Cochran's 'I fall to pieces' (co-written with
Harlan Howard) & included the track on
'The Seely Style' (Monument Records, 1966)
Jeannie Seely
recorded Hank Cochran's 'It's only love' & included the track on
'The Seely Style' (Monument Records, 1966)
Jeannie Seely
recorded Hank Cochran's 'Then go home to her' (co-written with
Jeannie Seely) & included the track on
'The Seely Style' (Monument Records, 1966)
Jeannie Seely
recorded Hank Cochran's 'Darling, are you ever coming home'
(co-written with Willie Nelson) & included the track on
'The Seely Style' (Monument Records, 1966)
Jeannie Seely
recorded Hank Cochran's 'You don't have time for me' & included the track on
'The Seely Style' (Monument Records, 1966)
Ray Price recorded Hank Cochran's 'Don't you ever get tired of hurting me' &
included the track on 'The Other Woman' (Columbia Records, 1966); the track
reached No.11 on the Billboard country music singles chart in 1966
Eddy Arnold recorded Hank Cochran's 'I want to go with you' & included the
track on 'I Want To Go With You' (RCA Records, 1966); the track reached No.1
on the country charts in 1966 & No.36 on the pop charts in 1966
Don Gibson recorded Hank
Cochran's 'Don't touch me' & included the track on 'Great Country Songs'
(RCA Records, 1966)
Eddy Arnold recorded Hank Cochran's 'Don't
touch me' & included the track on 'The Last Word In Lonesome' (RCA Records,
1966
Ray Price recorded Hank Cochran's 'Don't
touch me' & included the track on 'Another Bridge To Burn' (Columbia
Records, 1966)
Porter Wagoner recorded Hank Cochran's 'I'm a long way from home' & included
the track on 'Confessions of a Broken Man' (RCA Records, 1966)
Dottie West recorded Hank Cochran's 'Don't
touch me' & included the track on 'With All My Heart & Soul' (RCA Records,
1967)
Tammy Wynette recorded Hank Cochran's 'Don't
touch me' & included the track on 'Your Good Girl's Gonna Go Bad' (Epic
Records, 1967)
Jeannie Seely recorded Hank Cochran's 'Wanderin'
man' & included the track on 'Thanks Hank' (RCA Records, 1967)
Jeannie Seely recorded Hank Cochran's
'Little bitty tear' & included the track on 'Thanks Hank' (RCA Records,
1967)
Jeannie Seely recorded Hank Cochran's 'Funny
way of laughing' & included the track on 'Thanks Hank' (RCA Records, 1967)
Jeannie Seely recorded Hank Cochran's 'I'm a
long way from home' man' & included the track on 'Thanks Hank' (RCA Records,
1967)
Jeannie Seely recorded Hank Cochran's
'Everything I had going for me (is gone)' & included the track on 'Thanks
Hank' (RCA Records, 1967)
Jeannie Seely recorded Hank Cochran's 'These
memories' & included the track on 'Thanks Hank' (RCA Records, 1967)
Jeannie Seely recorded Hank Cochran's 'I
want to go with you' & included the track on 'Thanks Hank' (RCA Records,
1967)
Jeannie Seely recorded Hank Cochran's
'Someone's waiting' & included the track on 'Thanks Hank' (RCA Records,
1967)
Jeannie Seely recorded Hank Cochran's 'I lie
a lot' & included the track on 'Thanks Hank' (RCA Records, 1967)
Jeannie Seely recorded Hank Cochran's 'Me
today & her tomorrow' & included the track on 'Thanks Hank' (RCA Records,
1967)
Jeannie Seely recorded Hank Cochran's 'Don't
you ever get tired (of hurting me)' & included the track on 'Thanks Hank'
(RCA Records, 1967)
Jeannie Seely recorded Hank Cochran's 'Make
the world go away' & included the track on 'Thanks Hank' (RCA Records, 1967)
Eddy Arnold recorded Hank Cochran's 'He's got you' & included the track on
'Lonely Again' (RCA Records, 1967)
Merle Haggard recorded Hank Cochran's 'Loneliness is eatin' me alive' &
included the track on 'Branded Man' (Capitol Records, 1967)
Eddy Arnold recorded Hank Cochran's 'I'll love you more' & included the
track on 'Turn The World Around' (RCA Records, 1967)
Johnny Paycheck recorded Hank Cochran's 'A-11' & included the track on
'Greatest Hits' (Little Darlin' Records, 1968); the track reached No.26 on
the Billboard country music singles chart in 1968
Waylon Jennings recorded Hank Cochran's 'You'll think of me' & included the
track on 'Only The Greatest' (RCA Records, 1968)
Waylon Jennings recorded Hank Cochran's 'I'm doing this for you' & included
the track on 'Jewels' (RCA Records, 1968)
Jeannie Seely recorded Hank Cochran's 'I'll
love you more (than you need)' & included the track on 'I'll Love You More'
(Monument Records, 1968)
Jeannie Seely recorded Hank Cochran's 'I'd
be just as lonely there' & included the track on 'I'll Love You More'
(Monument Records, 1968)
Jeannie Seely recorded Hank Cochran's 'When
it's over' & included the track on 'I'll Love You More' (Monument Records,
1968)
Jeannie Seely recorded Hank Cochran's 'Your
way, my way' & included the track on 'I'll Love You More' (Monument Records,
1968)
Jeannie Seely recorded Hank Cochran's
'Little unfair' (co-written with Chuck Howard) & included the track on 'I'll
Love You More' (Monument Records, 1968)
Jeannie Seely recorded Hank Cochran's 'You
changed everything about me but my name' (co-written with Jeannie Seely) &
included the track on 'I'll Love You More' (Monument Records, 1968)
Jeannie Seely recorded Hank Cochran's
'Welcome home to nothing' & included the track on 'Little Things' (Monument
Records, 1968)
Jeannie Seely recorded Hank Cochran's
'Little unfair' (co-written with Chuck Howard) & included the track on
'Little Things' (Monument Records, 1968)
Jeannie Seely recorded Hank Cochran's 'Leave
me alone' & included the track on 'Little Things' (Monument Records, 1968)
Lynn Anderson recorded Hank Cochran's 'Don't
touch me' & included the track on 'Songs That Made Country Girls Famous'
(Chart Records, 1969)
Merle Haggard
recorded Hank Cochran's 'Montego Bay' (co-written with Glenn Martin) & included
the track on 'A Portrait of Merle Haggard' (Capitol Records,
1969)
Merle Haggard
recorded Hank
Cochran's 'Who do I know in Dallas' (co-written with Willie Nelson)
& included the
track on 'A Portrait of Merle Haggard' (Capitol Records,
1969)
Jeannie Seely recorded Hank Cochran's 'Just
enough to start me dreaming' & included the track on 'Jeannie Seely' (Decca
Records, 1969)
Jeannie Seely recorded Hank Cochran's 'So
was he' & included the track on 'Jeannie Seely' (Decca Records, 1969)
Jeannie Seely recorded Hank Cochran's 'How
big a fire' & included the track on 'Jeannie Seely' (Decca Records, 1969)
Jeannie Seely recorded Hank Cochran's 'I'll
be better off' (co-written with Dave Kirby) & included the track on 'Jeannie
Seely' (Decca Records, 1969)
Eddy Arnold recorded Hank Cochran's 'Just enough to start me dreaming' &
included the track on 'Love & Guitars' (RCA Records, 1970)
Jack Greene &
Jeannie Seely recorded Hank Cochran's 'Wish I didn't have to miss you'
(co-written with Dave Kirby) & included the track on 'Jack Greene & Jeannie
Seely' (Decca Records, 1970)
Jack Greene &
Jeannie Seely recorded Hank Cochran's 'Willingly' & included the track
on 'Jack Greene & Jeannie Seely' (Decca Records, 1970)
Jeannie Seely recorded Hank Cochran's 'Out
loud' & included the track on 'Please Be My New Love' (Decca Records, 1970)
Jeannie Seely recorded Hank Cochran's 'I'm
afraid I lied' (co-written with Dave Kirby) & included the track on 'Please
Be My New Love' (Decca Records, 1970)
Jeannie Seely recorded Hank Cochran's 'You
wouldn't know love' (co-written with Dave Kirby) & included the track on
'Please Be My New Love' (Decca Records, 1970)
Jeannie Seely recorded Hank Cochran's
'Please be my new love' & included the track on 'Please Be My New Love'
(Decca Records, 1970)
Jeannie Seely recorded Hank Cochran's 'Have
you found it yet' (co-written with Red Lane) & included the track on 'Please
Be My New Love' (Decca Records, 1970)
Jeannie Seely recorded Hank Cochran's 'What
kind of bird is that' & included the track on 'Please Be My New Love' (Decca
Records, 1970)
Roy Clark recorded Hank Cochran's 'Don't
touch me' & included the track on 'The Incredible Roy Clark' (Dot Records,
1971)
Faron Young recorded Hank Cochran's 'I'll take the time' & included the
track on 'It's Four in the Morning' (Mercury Records, 1972)
Merle Haggard
recorded Hank Cochran's
'It's not love but it's not bad'
(co-written with Glenn Martin) & included the track on
'It's Not Love, But It's Not Bad' (Capitol Records, 1972); the track was
No.1 for 1 week in November 1972
Jack Greene &
Jeannie Seely recorded Hank Cochran's 'We know an ending' & included the
track on 'Two For The Show' (Decca Records, 1972)
Jack Greene &
Jeannie Seely recorded Hank Cochran's 'You're heavy on my mind today' &
included the track on 'Two For The Show' (Decca Records, 1972)
Jack Greene &
Jeannie Seely recorded Hank Cochran's 'What in the world has gone wrong
with our love' (co-written with Johnny Slate) & included the track on 'Two
For The Show' (Decca Records, 1972)
Jack Greene &
Jeannie Seely recorded Hank Cochran's 'We found it in each other's arms'
(co-written with Red Lane) & included the track on 'Two For The Show' (Decca
Records, 1972)
Jack Greene &
Jeannie Seely recorded Hank Cochran's 'Whiskey dirt' (co-written with
Dave Kirby) & included the track on 'Two For The Show' (Decca Records, 1972)
Gene Watson recorded Hank Cochran's 'I fell apart' & included the track
on 'Because You Believed in Me' (Capitol
Records, 1976)
Reba McEntire recorded Hank Cochran's 'Why can't he be you' & included the
track on 'Reba McEntire' (Mercury Records, 1977)
Loretta Lynn recorded Hank Cochran's
'She's got you' & included the track on
'I Remember Patsy' (MCA Records, 1977); the track
was
No.1 for 1 week in April 1977
Gene Watson recorded Hank Cochran's
'He little thinged her out of my arms' &
included the track on
'Beautiful Country' (Capitol Records, 1977)
Willie Nelson & Hank Cochran recorded Hank Cochran's
'Ain't life hell'; the track reached No.77 on
the Billboard country music singles chart in 1978
Mickey Gilley recorded Hank Cochran's 'That's all that matters to me' &
included the track on 'That's All That Matters' (Epic Records, 1980); the
track was
No.1 for 1 week in
December 1980
Ray Price & Willie Nelson recorded Hank Cochran's 'Don't you ever get tired
of hurting me' & included the track on 'San Antonio Rose' (Columbia Records,
1980); the track reached No.11 on the
Billboard country music singles chart in 1981
Gene Watson recorded Hank Cochran's 'Speak well of me' &
included the track on 'Sometimes I Get Lucky' (MCA Records, 1983);
Hank Cochran also recorded 'Speak well of me' & included the track on 'The
Heart of Hank' (Monument Records, 1968)
George Strait recorded Hank Cochran's 'The chair' (co-written with
Dean
Dillon) & included the track on 'Something Special' (MCA Records, 1985); the
track was No.1 for 1 week in December 1985
Keith Whitley recorded Hank Cochran's 'Miami, my Amy' (co-written with
Dean
Dillon & Royce Porter) & included the track on 'LA to Miami' (RCA Records,
1986); the track reached No.14 in 1986
George Strait recorded Hank Cochran's 'Ocean front
property' (co-written with
Dean
Dillon
& Royce Porter) & included the track on
'Ocean Front Property' (MCA Records, 1987); the track was No.1 on the
Billboard country music singles chart for 1 week in April 1987
George Strait recorded Hank Cochran's 'Hot burning
flames' (co-written with Wayne Kemp &
Mack Vickory) & included the track on
'Ocean Front Property' (MCA Records, 1987)
Tanya Tucker recorded Hank Cochran's 'Hope you find what you're loving for'
(co-written with Dean Dillon) & included the
track on 'Love Me Like You Used To' (Capitol Records, 1987)
Keith Whitley recorded Hank Cochran's
'Would these arms be in your way' (co-written with Red lane &
Vern Gosdin) & included the track on 'Don't
Close Your Eyes' (RCA Records, 1988)
Ricky Van Shelton recorded Hank Cochran's 'He's got you' & included the
track on 'Loving Proof' (Columbia Records, 1988)
Vern Gosdin recorded Hank Cochran's 'Set 'em
up Joe' (co-written with Vern Gosdin, Dean
Dillon &
Buddy Cannon) & included the track on
'Chiseled in Stone' (Columbia Records, 1988);
the track was No.1 for 1 week in July 1988
Ronnie Milsap recorded Hank Cochran's 'Don't you ever get tired of hurting
me' & included the track on 'Stranger Things Have Happened' (RCA Records,
1989); the track was No.1 for 1 week in March 1989
Clinton Gregory recorded Hank Cochran's 'I wish it was that easy going
home' (co-written with Red Lane) & included the track on 'Freeborn Man' (Step One Records, 1992)
Dawn Sears recorded Hank Cochran's 'That's where I want to take our love'
(co-written with Dean
Dillon) & included the track on 'Nothin' But Good'
(Decca Records, 1994)
Lorrie Morgan recorded Hank Cochran's 'Don't
touch me' & included the track on 'War Paint' (BNA Records, 1994)
Bobby Bare recorded Hank Cochran's 'Which one will it be' & included the
track on 'Singles: 1959-1969' (BMG Records, 1994)
Clinton Gregory recorded Hank Cochran's 'A-11' & included the track on
'Clinton Gregory' (Polydor Records, 1995)
Daryle Singletary recorded Hank Cochran's 'Would these arms be in your way'
(co-written with Red Lane & Vern Gosdin) &
included the track on 'Daryle Singletary' (Giant Records, 1995)
Wade Hayes recorded Hank Cochran's 'Undo the night' (co-written with Willie
Nelson) & included the track on 'On A Good Night' (Columbia Records, 1996)
Gene Watson recorded Hank Cochran's 'A way to survive'
(co-written with Moneen Carpenter)
& included the track on 'A Way to Survive' (Step One Records, 1997)
George Jones
recorded Hank Cochran's 'Don't touch me' &
included the track on 'It Don't Get Any Better Than This' (MCA Records,
1998)
Wade Hayes recorded Hank Cochran's 'Summer was a bummer' (co-written with
Dean Dillon) & included the track on 'When The
Wrong One Loves Me Right' (Columbia Records, 1998)
George Strait recorded Hank Cochran's 'That's where I want to take our love'
(co-written with Dean
Dillon) & included the track on 'Always Never The
Same' (MCA Records, 1999)
Lee Ann Womack recorded Hank Cochran's
'He'll be back' (co-written with Red Lane & Dale
Dodson) & included the track on 'Something Worth Leaving Behind' (MCA
Records, 2002)
Gene Watson recorded Hank Cochran's 'Don't you
ever get tired of hurting me' & included the track on 'In a Perfect World' (Shanachie
Records, 2007)
Interestingly, Hank Cochran has been quoted as saying that, despite the
large number of songs that he has written, his favourite is 'Don't you ever
get tired of hurting me' ('It's my favourite because it can still cut me up
just like the day I wrote it').
'Don't you ever get tired of hurting me' was a No.1 country hit for Ronnie Milsap in March 1989, but it has also been recorded by Ray Price,
George
Jones, Willie Nelson, Jeannie Seely, Don Gibson,
Jack Greene & Bobby Bare.
As a recording artist, Hank Cochran topped the Americana Music charts in
1996 with the 'Desperate Men: The Legend & the Outlaw' album & saw the
release in 2002 of the 'Livin' for a Song: A Songwriter's Autobiography'
album.
On
Thursday 15 July 2010,
Hank Cochran,
one of the cornerstones of the foundation of country music, passed away at his home in Hendersonville,
Tennessee, from pancreatic cancer; he was 74 years old.
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