About The Song
“Summertime Blues” is a rockabilly song co-written by Eddie Cochran and his manager Jerry Capehart. It was released in July 1958 as a single by Liberty Records, with “Love Again” as the B-side. The song peaked at No. 8 on the Billboard Hot 100 on September 29, 1958, spending 13 weeks on the chart, and reached No. 18 on the UK Singles Chart. It was not included on an album during Cochran’s lifetime but appeared on his posthumous 1959 compilation The Eddie Cochran Memorial Album, which charted at No. 9 in the UK. The track also hit No. 10 on the Cash Box Top 100 and was Cochran’s biggest US hit.
Recorded in March 1958 at Gold Star Studios in Los Angeles, the song was produced by Boris Morros and Dale Fitzsimmons. Cochran sang lead and played guitar, backed by Connie “Guybo” Smith on bass, Earl Palmer on drums, and Sharon Sheeley on percussion (clapping and possibly tambourine). The track’s distinctive bass-heavy riff and handclaps, engineered by Ted Keep, gave it a raw, driving sound, as detailed in Rhino’s Cochran archives. Capehart, who co-wrote Cochran’s earlier hits like “C’mon Everybody,” crafted the lyrics about a teenager’s summer frustrations—work, parental rules, and lack of freedom—after Cochran suggested a song about “the blues in the summer,” per a 1960 Billboard interview with Capehart.
Cochran, born in Minnesota and raised in California, was 19 and a rising rock ‘n’ roll star, having appeared in the 1956 film The Girl Can’t Help It. The song’s creation was spontaneous; Capehart wrote the lyrics in 45 minutes at Cochran’s Bell Gardens home, aiming for a relatable teen anthem, as noted in Songfacts. Recorded in three takes, it showcased Cochran’s multi-tracking vocals and guitar overdubs, a technique he pioneered, per American Songwriter. The song’s rebellious tone resonated during the early rock era, performed live by Cochran on a 1958 Australian tour and at LA’s Town Hall Party TV show.
Cochran died in a car crash in England in April 1960, aged 21, limiting his career’s scope. “Summertime Blues” became a rock standard, covered by The Who (1970, No. 27 Billboard Hot 100, No. 38 UK), Blue Cheer (1968, No. 14 Billboard), Alan Jackson (1994, No. 1 Billboard Country), and Brian Setzer (1987). T. Rex’s 1968 version, titled “Summertime Blues (Teenage Revolution),” altered lyrics. The song appeared in films like Caddyshack (1980) and American Graffiti (1973). Its influence spans genres, with Rolling Stone ranking it No. 73 on its 2004 “500 Greatest Songs” list, and it was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1999, per Stereogum.
Video
Lyric
I’m gonna raise a fuss, I’m gonna raise a holler
About a-workin’ all summer just to try to earn a dollar
Every time I call my baby, try to get a date
My boss says, “No dice, son, you gotta work late”
Sometimes I wonder what I’m a-gonna do
But there ain’t no cure for the summertime bluesWell, my mama and papa told me, “Son, you gotta make some money
If you wanna use the car to go ridin’ next Sunday”
Well, I didn’t go to work, told the boss I was sick
“Now you can’t use the car ’cause you didn’t work a lick”
Sometimes I wonder what I’m a-gonna do
But there ain’t no cure for the summertime bluesI’m gonna take two weeks, gonna have a fine vacation
I’m gonna take my problem to the United Nations
Well, I called my congressman and he said, quote
“I’d like to help you, son, but you’re too young to vote”
Sometimes I wonder what I’m a-gonna do
But there ain’t no cure for the summertime blues