Several years ago, during a work trip to Bristol, England, I learned about the city’s sad connection to the history of American rock n’ roll. The early rock star Eddie Cochran died in a car crash following a show at the Bristol Hippodrome in 1960. Despite penning some of the greatest songs of the early rock n’ roll era, including “Summertime Blues,” Cochran’s death at the age of 21 has been overshadowed by other music tragedies such as “The Day the Music Died.” It’s surprising because Cochran’s amps-to-eleven style of rockabilly influenced the history of rock n’ roll as much as, say, Buddy Holly or Ritchie Valens.
Sixty-six years later, Cochran is still being honored, most recently by Bob Dylan who started covering Cochran’s “Nervous Breakdown” during a show in Omaha and has played it every night since.
The song is a deep cut from Cochran’s songbook. He first recorded it in 1958, but it wasn’t released until after his death. The song features a hard-driving bassline and drumbeat that will be familiar to anyone who knows “Summertime Blues” or any of Cochran’s other hits. In the context of the ‘50s, the lyrics appear to tell the story of a young lad having a bit too much fun, as opposed to an actual mental health crisis.
Dylan’s band replicated the beat and groove of the original, although at a slower pace. Dylan sang it with his usual drawl, making it tough to pick out all the lyrics, though the words “nervous breakdown” do stand out.
Whenever Dylan debuts a new cover, it feels like he’s trying to make a statement. In this case, it seems to be a reminder about the greats who came before him. So even if you can’t stomach Dylan’s unique “rough and rowdy” vocal stylings, it’s worth revisiting Cochran’s original, and perhaps his whole songbook. As Cochran himself would say, it’s “Somethin’ Else.”
