Last Kiss

"Last Kiss" is a song that was released by Wayne Cochran in 1961 on the Gala label. It was unsuccessful chartwise.^[1] Cochran subsequently re-recorded his song for the King label in 1963. The song was later revived by J. Frank Wilson and the Cavaliers, Wednesday, Pearl Jam, and several international artists, with varying degrees of success. The song was one of several teen tragedy songs from that period in music.

The Song's Story

The singer borrows his father's car to take his girlfriend out on a date (on a rainy night). Driving at an obviously high rate of speed, the singer suddenly comes upon a stalled car in the road. Unable to stop, the singer swerves to the right to avoid hitting the stalled vehicle, losing control and crashing violently in the process. The crash renders both the singer and his girlfriend unconscious. The singer later regains consciousness and finds several people at the scene of the accident, but was able to find his girlfriend, still lying unconscious. When the singer cradles his girlfriend in his arms, she regains partial consciousness, smiling and asking the singer to "hold me, darling, for a little while." The singer then gives his girlfriend what would be their "last kiss" as she fades into death.

In the song's chorus, the singer vows to be a good boy so that he may reunite with his girlfriend when his time comes, believing she's made it into Heaven.

"Original Version" by Wayne Cochran, Joe Carpenter, Randall Hoyal & Bobby McGlon - 1961

Wayne Cochran was initially inspired to write "Last Kiss" after having lived near a dangerous highway where several accidents had occurred yearly. Knowing that "Tragedy Songs" were big hits and selling lots of records, he got together with some of his friends at the time from Thomaston, Georgia, United States, to help him come up with a "teen tragedy" type song. Wayne's good friend Joe Carpenter,^[2] a guitar player that had played with Cochran, Randall Hoyal known locally for his song writing ability and Bobby McGlon a good friend of Randall's all got together and over time came up with the lyrics and the music to "Last Kiss". In the summer of 1961 Wayne singing vocals with Joe Carpenter on the guitar, Bobby Rakestraw on bass and Jerry Ripper playing the drums traveled to the University of Georgia in Athens, Georgia where they recorded the original version on the Gala Label. Unfortunately when the Gala label went to print, the names of Joe Carpenter, Randall Hoyal and Bobby McGlon were accidentally left off as co-writers. Wayne never had Gala change the label to include Joe, Randall and Bobby and to this day Wayne Cochran is the only one of the four to have ever received credit for writing the song "Last Kiss".

It has been long rumored that the song was supposedly based on an auto accident that killed sixteen-year-old Jeanette Clark, who was out on a date in Barnesville, Georgia on December 22, 1962, the Saturday before Christmas. She was with a group of friends in a 1954 Chevrolet. J. L. Hancock, also sixteen, was driving the car in heavy traffic and while traveling on Highway 341, they collided with a log truck. Clark, Hancock, and another teenager were killed, and two other teens in the car were seriously injured. This could not be true, since the song was written and recorded in the summer of 1961.

On September 18, 1961 Billboard Music Week printed a review of the song "Last Kiss"^[3] and gave it 3 stars but said nothing about the song itself in the review.

However, when the same publication reviewed the B-side of "Last Kiss" — a song called "Funny Feeling" written by Joe Carpenter and Milt (Pete) Skelton — they gave it 4 stars and said, "Blues, chanted in relaxed style, with a funky guitar backing. Derivative but a good job."^[4]

J. Frank Wilson and the Cavaliers version

"Last Kiss" caught the attention of record promoter Sonley Roush. Roush brought the song to a group that he managed, J. Frank Wilson and the Cavaliers, with the idea of having them cover the song. The song was recorded in a tense four-hour session and led to a disagreement leading to the departure of the lead guitarist, Sid Holmes. On a concert trip to Ohio the band's car collided with a truck, killing Roush and severely injuring Wilson.^[5] In 1964, J. Frank Wilson and the Cavaliers had the first real commercial success with the song. The cover was released in June 1964 and reached the Top 10 in October. It eventually reached number 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 charts,^[6] and also earned the band a gold record.

The song was re-released (Virgo 506) at the end of 1973 and reached #92 in January 1974, spending a total of 5 weeks in Billboard's Hot 100. Coincidentally, J. Frank Wilson's version re-charted only 5 weeks after the version by Wednesday charted.

Pearl Jam version

"Last Kiss" was also covered by the American rock band Pearl Jam for the 1999 charity album No Boundaries: A Benefit for the Kosovar Refugees.^[7] It would also appear on the group's 2003 rarities album Lost Dogs.

Origin and recording

The idea to cover "Last Kiss" came about after vocalist Eddie Vedder found an old record of the song at the Fremont Antique Mall in Seattle, Washington.^[8] He convinced the rest of the band to try out the song and it was performed a few times on the band's 1998 tour. The band eventually recorded the song at a soundcheck at Constitution Hall in Washington, D.C. and released it as a 1998 fan club Christmas single.^[9][10] The band spent only a couple thousand dollars mixing the song.^[11] Bassist Jeff Ament said, "It was the most minimalist recording we've ever done."^[10]

Release and reception

In the following year the cover of "Last Kiss" began to be played by radio stations and was ultimately put into heavy rotation across the country. By popular demand the cover was released to the public as a single on June 8, 1999, with all of the proceeds going to the aid of refugees of the Kosovo War. The cover was also featured on the 1999 charity compilation album, No Boundaries: A Benefit for the Kosovar Refugees.^[12] The song helped earn around 10 million dollars for Kosovo relief.^[11]

The cover would end up reaching number two on the Billboard Hot 100. This remains Pearl Jam's highest position on the Billboard Hot 100. It peaked at number four on the Top 40 Mainstream. The song peaked at number five on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks chart and number two on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart. The "Last Kiss" single has been certified gold by the RIAA.^[13]

Outside the United States, the single was released commercially in Australia, Austria, Japan, Mexico, South Africa, and the United Kingdom. In Canada, the song reached the top ten on the Canadian Singles Chart and became the band's highest charted song in Canada, and later it charted on the Canadian Rock Top 30 chart where it reached number four and stayed there for two weeks. "Last Kiss" also reached number 22 on the Canadian Year End Rock Top 50. "Last Kiss" reached the top 50 in the UK. "Last Kiss" peaked at number one on the Australian Singles Chart. It reached the top 80 in the Netherlands and was a moderate top 20 success in New Zealand.

Christopher John Farley of Time stated, "It's a spare, morose song with Vedder's voice warbling lovelorn over a straight-ahead drum beat. Going back to basics has put Pearl Jam back on top."^[7] Regarding the cover, guitarist Stone Gossard said, "You can try album after album to write a hit and spend months getting drum sounds and rewriting lyrics, or you can go to a used record store and pick out a single and fall in love with it."^[14] Pearl Jam included "Last Kiss" on the 2003 B-sides and rarities album, Lost Dogs, and on the 2004 greatest hits album, rearviewmirror (Greatest Hits 1991–2003).

Live performances

Pearl Jam first performed its cover of "Last Kiss" live at the band's May 7, 1998 concert in Seattle, Washington at ARO.space.^[15] Live performances by Pearl Jam of "Last Kiss" can be found on various official bootlegs and the Live at the Gorge 05/06 box set.

Track listing

1. "Last Kiss" (Wayne Cochran) – 3:15
2. "Soldier of Love (Lay Down Your Arms)" (Buzz Cason, Tony Moon) – 2:54
   • Recorded live on September 19, 1998 at Constitution Hall in Washington, D.C..

Chart positions

Peak positions

End of year charts

Other cover versions

The song has a long tradition in Latin American popular music. In the 1960s, the Mexican rock singer Leopoldo Sanchez Labastida (Polo) recorded a cover of "Last Kiss" ("El Último Beso") in Spanish, reaching number one on Mexican radio, and the Peruvian rock band Los Doltons recorded the song in Spanish, reaching number one on Peruvian radio. In the mid-1960s, the Colombian singer Alci Acosta recorded a cover of "Last Kiss" that became a hit in his country. In the early 1970s, the Venezuelan bands IMPALA and Los 007 recorded covers of "Last Kiss" in Spanish.

In late 1973, the Canadian pop band Wednesday recorded a cover of "Last Kiss", reaching number one on the Canadian Billboard charts and number 34 in the U.S. charts.^[27] In 1989, the Mexican pop-rock singer Gloria Trevi included an extended Spanish version of "Last Kiss" on her first album, ¿Qué Hago Aquí?, and it became popular on Mexican pop radio. The Filipino rock band Kamikazee recorded a cover of "Last Kiss" for its 2002 album, Kamikazee. The Canadian band The Havingas recorded a cover of "Last Kiss" for its 2007 album, Knockin on Heaven's Door.^[28]

In 2011, Trent Dabbs recorded a cover of "Last Kiss" for the hit television series The Vampire Diaries in Season 2 Episode 18: "The Last Dance".

References