Wayne Cochran

Wayne Cochran
Cochran in 1969.
Background information
Born	1939 (age 77–78)
Origin	Thomaston, Georgia, United States
Genres	Soul, blue-eyed soul
Occupation(s)	Musician, songwriter, record producer
Instruments	Vocals
Labels	Chess Records, King Records, Epic Records, Raven Records
Associated acts	Wayne Cochran and the C.C. Riders, Jaco Pastorius
Website	www.waynecochranandtheccriders.com

Wayne Cochran (born 1939, Thomaston, Georgia, United States) is an American soul singer, known for his outlandish outfits and white pompadour hairstyle. He is sometimes referred to as The White Knight of Soul.

Influenced by the country and rhythm and blues music he heard on the radio, Cochran fronted his first band - a group called the Rockin' Capris - as a teenager, and eventually left high school to pursue music as a full-time career. He relocated to Macon, Georgia, where he befriended the soul singer Otis Redding (playing bass guitar on Redding's early recording of "Shout Bamalama" and its B-side, "Fat Girl") and recorded his first single, "The Coo", which attracted the attention of King Records, who signed him to a record deal. Cochran became close friends with King labelmate James Brown, whose stage show and road band influenced his own performing style and inspired him to assemble his own soul revue, the C. C. Riders, which occasionally featured as many as 14 musicians plus two female backing vocalists, the Sweet Delights.

Although his single recordings for King (including "Goin' Back To Miami", a song which became a signature tune for the singer) were not commercially successful beyond local markets in the south, Cochran's energetic performances, rigorous touring schedule and appearances on television talk shows such as The Jackie Gleason Show helped to make the C. C. Riders a popular attraction. In the mid-1960s, Cochran made Las Vegas his base of operations and played residencies at several hotels, casinos and theatres. During this time, he met and befriended Elvis Presley, who borrowed elements of Cochran's revue for his own Las Vegas period, adopting jump suits similar to Cochran's wardrobe and adding the song "C. C. Rider" to his set list.