Scott Cochran – 2012 INDUCTEE
Scott “Boogaloo” Cochran was born and raised in Beaverdale and West Des Moines. Early in life he got the music bug after seeing the Beatles on The Ed Sullivan Show in about 1963. Shortly after that he started reading about Rock artists who all talked about the Blues. Primarily, Mississippi Fred McDowell, Muddy Waters, etc., which led him to buy a Fred McDowell album, I Do Not Play No Rock ‘n’ Roll, then he heard The Butterfield Blues Band with Michael Bloomfield, saw Canned Heat, then Lucille Spann and The Chicago All Stars, then Janis Joplin and he was pretty much hooked.
Scott dabbled in guitar first, performing for an audience for the first time in 1966 and got his first bass a couple of years later. From that point forward, bass has been his calling. Throughout the years, he has dabbled in different styles, but always returned to the Blues or derivations thereof.
Cochran has had the privilege to gig with The Drifters, Eddie Kirkland, Jerry McCain, Sweet Betty, Louisiana Red, Ken Polachek (former guitarist for Ike and Tina Turner), and Beverly “Guitar” Watkins. He has also jammed with Willie “Big Eyes” Smith and John Primer of Muddy Waters’ Band, Cootie Stark and the Music Maker revue, Joe Price, The Bel Airs, and Huey Lewis & the News. He has opened for Buddy Guy, Lonnie Brooks, The Kinsey Report, Taj Mahal, The Arc Angels, Eddy Clearwater, Mick Taylor, Savoy Brown, Harvey Mandel, The Fabulous Rhinestones, Asleep At The Wheel, The Uppity Blues Women, Wayne “The Train” Hancock, The Blind Boys of Alabama, and the Tony Williams Lifetime among others.
Cochran has performed several times at the Mississippi Valley Blues Fest, twice at the Simply The Blues Fest, and also at the Living History Blues Fest.
Scott was part of the house band at the first two Iowa Blues Hall of Fame induction ceremonies and performed in bands with IBHOF members Chicago Rick Lussie, Big Mike Edwards and Jimmy “Midnite Cowboy” Pryor.
He has also been a member of several bands including, Speed Limit, Burden, Mountain Music, Tuffy Nuff, Festival, Tomcat, Borderline, Mooky Byrd (which included Jon Hahn on drums, later with Omar & the Howlers), The Night Crawlers, and The Erick Hovey Band, who he recorded two albums with.
In the last 10 years or so Cochran has branched out into songwriting and recording, both as producer and sideman, and has been a member of Matt Woods and The Thunderbolts, winners of the 2007 Iowa Blues Challenge. The Thunderbolts were a big part of Matt Woods’ solo album, If I Was A Fish, and Cochran has also made his own self-produced CD, Crude Yet Effective, which is primarily a song writing project. Matt Woods and The Thunderbolts have released two CDs, Be My Friend in 2007 and their self-titled CD in 2010, both albums featuring some songs penned by Cochran.
Scott’s son, Forest, plays cello, bass, guitar, sings and writes and his father is very proud of his work ethic where music is concerned.
Photo by Scott Allen
