Somethin' Else (song)

"Somethin' Else" is a song by the rockabilly musician Eddie Cochran, co-written by his girlfriend, Sharon Sheeley, and his older brother, Bob Cochran, released in 1959. The first-person lyrics describe how Cochran wants a convertible he can't afford and a girl who he fears will not go out with him. But in the end, by saving money, he is able to buy a slightly older car, and works up the confidence to ask the girl out. The song was written on the back of a match book. Veteran studio drummer Earl Palmer played the same drum beat on "Somethin' Else" as Charles Connor did on Little Richard's "Keep A-Knockin'". But Eddie Cochran was unaware that Sheeley wanted to duplicate the drum sound of the Little Richard recording. The song peaked at #22 on the UK singles chart but only reached #58 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the United States.

Personnel

 * Eddie Cochran: vocal, guitar, electric bass overdub
 * Earl Palmer: drums
 * possibly Jim Stivers: piano

Songwriting Credit
Note writing credit amended to show Bob not Bobby Cochrane. Eddie's brother Bob co wrote the song. Original link was to Bobby Cochrane who is apparently Eddie's nephew.

Led Zeppelin version
Led Zeppelin recorded its version of "Somethin' Else" in June 1969. It was ultimately released on their 1997 album, BBC Sessions and their 2003 Led Zeppelin DVD.

Other versions
The song has been covered by numerous bands and artists, such as
 * Little Richard and Tanya Tucker 1994
 * The Move (as title track to their 1968 live-ep Something Else from The Move)
 * Slade
 * the New York Dolls
 * The Flamin' Groovies
 * Prima Donna
 * UFO
 * Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers (appeared on his albums Playback and Damn the Torpedoes)
 * The Beatles
 * Keith Richards with the X-Pensive Winos
 * The Georgia Satellites
 * Speedy Keen
 * Teenage Head
 * Sid Vicious, who made it his second single as a solo artist. It was released on 23 February 1979, shortly after Vicious' death. It made it to number 3 on the UK Singles Chart and was Sid's biggest success. Vicious also recorded another Eddie Cochran song, "C'mon Everybody", which was released as his third solo single on June 22, 1979.
 * The Head Cat, the American rockabilly supergroup formed by vocalist Lemmy (of Motörhead), drummer Slim Jim Phantom (of The Stray Cats) and guitarist Danny B. Harvey (of Lonesome Spurs and The Rockats), recorded its version of "Somethin' Else" for their 2011 Album, Walk the Walk, Talk the Talk.
 * American folk/punk-rock band The Buddies, covered "Somethin' Else" on their 2010 EP, Leprechaun to the Right. WOJB DJ/music director, Jeff Jones, referred to The Buddies cover of "Somethin' Else" as "neck breaking trash of the highest order."
 * Johnny Hallyday, a major rock'n'roll star in France, covered this song as Elle est terrible in 1963. While not an exact translation, the French lyrics cover the same themes (a young man daydreaming about a girl and a nice, recent convertible car, and going back to reality driving an older car), with some changes suitable for a French audience (dreaming about driving on the Champs-Élysées, the old Ford '41 replaced by an old Citroën).