Outrageously talented, remarkably handsome, internationally renowned, and dead at the age of 21. More than 40 years after the tragic car crash that killed him, Eddie Cochran remains one of the rock 'n' roll's most lamented what ifs . A trailblazing guitarist, gifted vocalist, hit-making composer and arranger, and budding whiz-kid producer, Cochran quickly ascended from Midwestern obscurity in the late '50s to become one of nascent rock 'n' roll's leading lights. He penned or recorded many of the most recognized songs in rock history Summertime Blues , Nervous Breakdown , Somethin' Else , C'mon everybody , Twenty Flight Rock , Sittin' in the Balcony songs whose distinctive sound and defiant, often wryly humorours lyrics have been eagerly digested, analyzed and lovingly reinterpreted by generations of rockers after him, from The Beatles to the Sex Pistols , The Who to U2 . Three Steps to Heaven: The Eddie Cohran Story co-authored by Cochran's nephew, a gifted musicion in his own right, i s the first American biography of this uniquely American rock legend, who was among the first to be inducted into the Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame. The book is a detailded portrait of Cochran's personal and professional triumphs and travails, with fascinating insights into the rock pieoner life that only a family member could provide. Bobby Cochran reveals the dynamics of a musical family and the amazing and tragic parallels between his own life story and that of his Uncle Eddie. Bobby Cochran is rked with Steppenwolf , the Flying Burrito Brothers , Leon Russell , the Grateful Dead's Bob Weir and Adrian Legg .