Few figures in pop music had the same impact on teenagers as Eddie Cochran, who died on 17 April, 1960 aged just 21.

His life was cruelly cut short by a road accident when he was on the brink of proving a worthy rival to Elvis Presley .

With his trademark quiff and good looks, he had jumped on the rock and roll bandwagon which had been kick-started by Elvis in the mid-1950s.

But despite his untimely death, hits like Summertime Blues and C’Mon Everybody meant he achieved more in his short life than most people would ever dream of.

Edward Ray Cochran was born on 3 October, 1938 in Albert Lea, Minnesota, and when he was 14 he moved with his parents to California where he began playing the family’s guitar.

He joined a band in 1954 with songwriter Hank Cochran in which he was the second vocalist. The band became known as the Cochran Brothers, even though Eddie and Hank were unrelated. They began as a country and western act until Elvis burst on to the scene sparking the rock and roll revolution.

The Cochran Brothers split and so he set his heart on life as a rock star. In 1956 he hooked up with old songwriting pal Jerry Capeheart and the pair soon landed a deal with small Hollywood label Crest Records.

But Si Warmoker, a Liberty Records bigwig, thought he had the talent to become the label’s answer to Elvis. Liberty arranged a cameo role alongside Jayne Mansfield in The Girl Can’t Help It (1956) to help launch his career.

His debut single Sittin’ in the Balcony made the Top 20 but it was the following year that Mr Cochran made his big breakthrough with his most famous song, Summertime Blues.

Teenagers worshipped him and fame had arrived in a big way. He then fell in love with songwriter Sharon Seeley and together they produced another hit Somethin’ Else.

But triumph turned to tragedy during a UK tour in 1960. Mr Cochran was killed in a car crash while en route to Heathrow to catch a flight back to the US with Sharon, who was now his fiancée, and singer Gene Vincent.

The taxi smashed into a lamp-post on the A4 in Wiltshire and no other car was involved. Sharon was badly hurt, Gene Vincent broke his leg and several ribs while Mr Cochran suffered serious head injuries and died later in hospital. A young police cadet who attended the scene, David Harman, later became known as pop star Dave Dee .

In similar style to James Dean , who also lived fast and died young, Eddie Cochran became an icon after his death.

With his fresh face and brooding good looks, more of his songs were released posthumously than when he was alive.

He even had a UK number one with Three Steps to Heaven a month after his death

He was belatedly, but deservedly, inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987.