Born Ray Edward Cochran, 3 October, 1938 in Albert Lea, Minnesota, ; died 17 April, 1960, in Chippenham, Wilts., EC was a rock’n’roll musician and singer-songwriter who played guitar, piano, bass and drums. His image (sharply-dressed, attractive, rebellious) epitomized the stance of the 1950s rocker. He experimented with multi-track recording, distortion techniques, and overdubbing even on his earliest singles. EC was one of the first rock-and-roll artists to write his own songs and overdub tracks. He died in a road accident, when the taxi in which he was travelling, hit a concrete lamp-post during his British tour in April 1960. He was 21. In death he achieved iconic status. He released several singles but his only album release in his lifetime was Singin’ To My Baby (1957). In 1987, EC was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. His pioneering contribution to the genre of rockabilly has also been recognized by the Rockabilly Hall of Fame.

Born Leonard Norman Cohen, 21 September 1934, in Montreal, Quebec, LC is a singer, songwriter, musician, poet and novelist, whose work often explores religion, isolation, sexuality and personal relationships. LC has been inducted into the (Canadian) Music Hall of Fame and Songwriters Hall of Fame. In a speech at LC’s induction to the (U.S.) Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1988, Lou Reed described Cohen as belonging to the "highest and most influential echelon of songwriters."

Sam Cooke

Born Samuel Cook, 22 January 1931, in Clarksdale, Mississippi; died 11 December 1964. SC was an American gospel, R&B, soul, and pop singer, songwriter and entrepreneur. He is considered one of the pioneers and founders of Soul music, where his contribution led to the rise of Aretha Franklin, Al Green, Curtis Mayfield, Stevie Wonder and Marvin Gaye, and popularized the likes of Otis Redding and James Brown. He is commonly known as the King of Soul for his distinctive vocal abilities and influence on the modern world of music.

Born Declan Patrick McManus, 25 August 1954, in London, EC is a singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. He came to prominence as an early participant in London's pub-rock scene in the mid-1970s and later became associated with the punk/New Wave genre. His music has drawn on many diverse genres; one critic described him as a "pop encyclopedia", able to "re-invent the past in his own image".

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