Founding Fathers: Wayne Cochran

Wayne Cochran Makes His First Appearance on the Jackie Gleason Show (YouTube)

Drawing sartorial comparisons to Little Richard and musical comparisons to Otis Redding and James Brown, Wayne Cochran was a flamboyant Founding Father of ’60s R&B.

Born in Thomaston, Georgia in 1939, Wayne Cochran’s flamboyant dress and hairstyle found him with a choice in high school: cut his hair or take a hike. Opting for the latter, Cochran took his piled-high hairstyle to the next level by dying his locks bright blond (winning him the nickname “The White Knight of Soul”).

His first break in the music business was as a songwriter when his tune, “Last Kiss,” was made a hit by J. Frank Wilson and the Cavaliers in 1966. The next year, Cochran won an appearance on the Jackie Gleason Show and a recording contract with Chess ((with Jackie providing him the liner notes for his first LP).

In 1970, he released Alive & Well & Living…In a Bitch of a World on King as well as vocal and instrumental versions of  the exact same album with the exact same title (High & Ridin’).

After a run as a nightclub act during the 1970s, Cochran became a TV evangelist during the 1980s. He’s now a minister living in Miami.

It’s our Gallery of Greats! Check out more Founding Fathers here…