He was "simply unique"
December 22, 2014 11:22 AM Subscribe
Singer Joe Cocker has died at age 70, according to the BBC. Here's his iconic performance of "With a Little Help from my Friends".
Not sure what the correct notation is for sad gravel voice
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posted by Cosine at 11:25 AM on December 22, 2014 [3 favorites]
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posted by Cosine at 11:25 AM on December 22, 2014 [3 favorites]
One of my top 10 of all time favorite songs: Woman To Woman, heavily sampled in hip hop.
posted by danny the boy at 11:26 AM on December 22, 2014 [1 favorite]
posted by danny the boy at 11:26 AM on December 22, 2014 [1 favorite]
I'd heard some rumors about this. But now it's been verified.
*sigh*
I didn't always agree with his choices, but I always found his performances to be honest and powerful. One of the great iconic voices, he will be missed.
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posted by hippybear at 11:27 AM on December 22, 2014 [2 favorites]
*sigh*
I didn't always agree with his choices, but I always found his performances to be honest and powerful. One of the great iconic voices, he will be missed.
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posted by hippybear at 11:27 AM on December 22, 2014 [2 favorites]
Damn. One of the truly great voices. Gonna crank up some "Cry Me A River" and "Delta Lady."
RIP. You. Will. Be. Missed.
posted by jonmc at 11:29 AM on December 22, 2014
RIP. You. Will. Be. Missed.
posted by jonmc at 11:29 AM on December 22, 2014
. for Joe
His Woodstock performance of WALHFMF was indeed iconic, but I will also remember this annotated, misheard-lyric version that made the rounds several years ago. It may brighten an otherwise sad day.
Rock on, Joe.
posted by mosk at 11:30 AM on December 22, 2014 [11 favorites]
His Woodstock performance of WALHFMF was indeed iconic, but I will also remember this annotated, misheard-lyric version that made the rounds several years ago. It may brighten an otherwise sad day.
Rock on, Joe.
posted by mosk at 11:30 AM on December 22, 2014 [11 favorites]
Also his version of Randy Newman's "I Think It's Going To Rain Today" was always a favorite of mine.
posted by jonmc at 11:32 AM on December 22, 2014 [6 favorites]
posted by jonmc at 11:32 AM on December 22, 2014 [6 favorites]
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posted by oceanjesse at 11:33 AM on December 22, 2014
posted by oceanjesse at 11:33 AM on December 22, 2014
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posted by AlonzoMosleyFBI at 11:34 AM on December 22, 2014
posted by AlonzoMosleyFBI at 11:34 AM on December 22, 2014
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posted by bashos_frog at 11:37 AM on December 22, 2014
posted by bashos_frog at 11:37 AM on December 22, 2014
I'm not so shocked that he is dead, rather that he was only 70.
posted by Gungho at 11:37 AM on December 22, 2014 [5 favorites]
posted by Gungho at 11:37 AM on December 22, 2014 [5 favorites]
Mad Dogs & Englishmen is one of the best live albums of all time. If you've never heard it, go listen to it now, it's on spotify. If you have heard it, you know how incredible it is and you probably put it on as soon as you heard the news.
70 is too young.
posted by saul wright at 11:38 AM on December 22, 2014 [8 favorites]
70 is too young.
posted by saul wright at 11:38 AM on December 22, 2014 [8 favorites]
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posted by angelchrys at 11:38 AM on December 22, 2014
posted by angelchrys at 11:38 AM on December 22, 2014
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posted by vverse23 at 11:38 AM on December 22, 2014 [1 favorite]
posted by vverse23 at 11:38 AM on December 22, 2014 [1 favorite]
I can't remember who it was, but somebody posted on the blue a few years back (perhaps the misheard lyrics video was posted here, and in that thread?) about how they were a child watching the film of him doing "With a Little Help" and asked their father what was going on, and the dad, apparently without missing a beat, said that Joe Cocker was just "spastic", and this person had gone for a lot of their life thinking that Joe Cocker had CP...
I hope they chime in, because now I wonder who it was...
RIP
posted by symbioid at 11:39 AM on December 22, 2014
I hope they chime in, because now I wonder who it was...
RIP
posted by symbioid at 11:39 AM on December 22, 2014
I was surprised by that too, Gungho. Joe Cocker was actually two years younger than Paul McCartney, though I would have expected that he was ten years older. His music seemed to come from an older generation.
Wikipedia has it that Joe left school to become an apprenticed gasfitter and simultaneously pursued a career in music. Good thing for us he didn't decide to let the music drop and concentrate on gasfitting.
posted by orange swan at 11:41 AM on December 22, 2014 [1 favorite]
Wikipedia has it that Joe left school to become an apprenticed gasfitter and simultaneously pursued a career in music. Good thing for us he didn't decide to let the music drop and concentrate on gasfitting.
posted by orange swan at 11:41 AM on December 22, 2014 [1 favorite]
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posted by quazichimp at 11:41 AM on December 22, 2014
posted by quazichimp at 11:41 AM on December 22, 2014
> I hope they chime in, because now I wonder who it was...
This comment.
posted by ardgedee at 11:42 AM on December 22, 2014 [1 favorite]
This comment.
posted by ardgedee at 11:42 AM on December 22, 2014 [1 favorite]
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posted by lalochezia at 11:46 AM on December 22, 2014
posted by lalochezia at 11:46 AM on December 22, 2014
His gospel-soaked reading of "Bird on a Wire" on his 2nd LP just *kills* - RIP.
posted by ryanshepard at 11:48 AM on December 22, 2014 [2 favorites]
posted by ryanshepard at 11:48 AM on December 22, 2014 [2 favorites]
Joe Cocker and John Belushi-as-Joe-Cocker, SNL 1976
posted by briank at 11:54 AM on December 22, 2014 [21 favorites]
posted by briank at 11:54 AM on December 22, 2014 [21 favorites]
He was up there with Ray Charles and Johnny Cash in the way that he could take someone else's song and totally make it his own.
posted by octothorpe at 11:57 AM on December 22, 2014 [6 favorites]
posted by octothorpe at 11:57 AM on December 22, 2014 [6 favorites]
I loved channeling him when my band in Bishkek would do "You Can Leave Your Hat On". Excellent stuff.
posted by Meatbomb at 12:02 PM on December 22, 2014 [2 favorites]
posted by Meatbomb at 12:02 PM on December 22, 2014 [2 favorites]
Finally saw him live about 5 years ago. Seemed to have way too much energy to die any time soon. RIP.
posted by justgary at 12:04 PM on December 22, 2014
posted by justgary at 12:04 PM on December 22, 2014
Unless you saw him in concert, you just don't know. No recording or film could capture how powerful a performer he was. I saw him play the ARMS concert at the Cow Palace in 1983, and he brought the house down. It was sheer pandemonium in the house, which is saying something, 'cause Northern California audiences just don't get worked up. Literally the single most amazing live performance I've ever witnessed.
posted by ogooglebar at 12:04 PM on December 22, 2014 [4 favorites]
posted by ogooglebar at 12:04 PM on December 22, 2014 [4 favorites]
His voice was like Bonham's drumming or Hendrix's guitar - you hear him going into a phrase and there's like NO WAY he'll make it out of that, and then he does and it's like holy hell how can human beings do that?
posted by digitalprimate at 12:04 PM on December 22, 2014 [13 favorites]
posted by digitalprimate at 12:04 PM on December 22, 2014 [13 favorites]
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posted by Cash4Lead at 12:08 PM on December 22, 2014 [1 favorite]
posted by Cash4Lead at 12:08 PM on December 22, 2014 [1 favorite]
It wasn't until I was a teenager that I discovered With a Little Help from My Friends was a cover of a Beatles song. (As an 80's kid, I knew it from the Wonder Years credits, of course.) That song truly belonged to him, for me.
RIP, Mr. Cocker. May every singer in the world channel even just a glimmer of the light you brought to the stage.
posted by juliplease at 12:09 PM on December 22, 2014 [2 favorites]
RIP, Mr. Cocker. May every singer in the world channel even just a glimmer of the light you brought to the stage.
posted by juliplease at 12:09 PM on December 22, 2014 [2 favorites]
Joe Cocker and John Belushi-as-Joe-Cocker, SNL 1976
Ah, someone beat me to it. Truly one of the best moments (musical or otherwise) in SNL history.
posted by AlonzoMosleyFBI at 12:13 PM on December 22, 2014 [1 favorite]
Ah, someone beat me to it. Truly one of the best moments (musical or otherwise) in SNL history.
posted by AlonzoMosleyFBI at 12:13 PM on December 22, 2014 [1 favorite]
Joe Cocker and John Belushi-as-Joe-Cocker, SNL 1976
John Belushi actually out-Cockered Joe Cocker in that video.
posted by surazal at 12:16 PM on December 22, 2014 [1 favorite]
John Belushi actually out-Cockered Joe Cocker in that video.
posted by surazal at 12:16 PM on December 22, 2014 [1 favorite]
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posted by homunculus at 12:22 PM on December 22, 2014
posted by homunculus at 12:22 PM on December 22, 2014
Joe Cocker's real name was John. He apparently got his nickname from a counting game called "Cowboy Joe from Mexico," which The Lore of the Playground credits to south London in the 60s, but given that Cocker was raised in South Yorkshire in the 40s and 50s, must be older than that. It goes:
Cowboy Joe from Mexico
Hands up
Stick em up
Drop your guns
And pick em up.
Alternately, he may have been named after a local window cleaner named Joe. Cocker was part of a group of British and Irish soul and pop singers who started out in really working class professions: He was a welder, Jess Conrad was a milkman, and Van Morrison ... well, he was a window cleaner. Once of Cocker's final film performances was in Julie Taymor's "Across the Universe," and in that film the main character, Jude, was a welder -- probably a coincidence, but it's interesting to see that this style of 1960s music was associated with this sort of profession.
I mention this because, when somebody I like dies, it is an opportunity for me to learn something interesting about them that I didn't know previously.
posted by maxsparber at 12:39 PM on December 22, 2014 [9 favorites]
Cowboy Joe from Mexico
Hands up
Stick em up
Drop your guns
And pick em up.
Alternately, he may have been named after a local window cleaner named Joe. Cocker was part of a group of British and Irish soul and pop singers who started out in really working class professions: He was a welder, Jess Conrad was a milkman, and Van Morrison ... well, he was a window cleaner. Once of Cocker's final film performances was in Julie Taymor's "Across the Universe," and in that film the main character, Jude, was a welder -- probably a coincidence, but it's interesting to see that this style of 1960s music was associated with this sort of profession.
I mention this because, when somebody I like dies, it is an opportunity for me to learn something interesting about them that I didn't know previously.
posted by maxsparber at 12:39 PM on December 22, 2014 [9 favorites]
♪
posted by Smart Dalek at 12:49 PM on December 22, 2014
posted by Smart Dalek at 12:49 PM on December 22, 2014
Hole in my heart. Very long night. RIP Mad Englishman.
posted by effluvia at 12:51 PM on December 22, 2014
posted by effluvia at 12:51 PM on December 22, 2014
That John Belushi as Joe Cocker, cracks me up every time. Remarkable during that performance how much Belushi looks like Beaker from the Muppets at times.
Joe, you are so beautiful to me.
♪♪♪♪
posted by ashbury at 1:01 PM on December 22, 2014
Joe, you are so beautiful to me.
♪♪♪♪
posted by ashbury at 1:01 PM on December 22, 2014
No mentions of Up Where We Belong? How many teenagers have to experience their first kiss to a song for it to be relevant to you monsters?
posted by PenDevil at 1:02 PM on December 22, 2014 [6 favorites]
posted by PenDevil at 1:02 PM on December 22, 2014 [6 favorites]
Up Where We Belong was our wedding song.
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posted by tommasz at 1:10 PM on December 22, 2014 [2 favorites]
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posted by tommasz at 1:10 PM on December 22, 2014 [2 favorites]
Oh, no. RIP to the great man with golden gravel in his heart and throat.
I had the local French CBC tv channel on a few months ago and was surprised and charmed by a little (subtitled) documentary they ran that included Joe talking about his love of gardening and his "Joematoes". I can't find the video just now, but here's a link to a PDF article on his ranch.
Sadly, it looks as if he sold off his ranch earlier this year. This article makes it clear that as an interpreter, not a songwriter, he just didn't always have the money to live as he liked.
I had the local French CBC tv channel on a few months ago and was surprised and charmed by a little (subtitled) documentary they ran that included Joe talking about his love of gardening and his "Joematoes". I can't find the video just now, but here's a link to a PDF article on his ranch.
Sadly, it looks as if he sold off his ranch earlier this year. This article makes it clear that as an interpreter, not a songwriter, he just didn't always have the money to live as he liked.
Tomatoes make Joe Cocker happy. They fill the small greenhouse where he putters with potting soil and the tangles of vines as songs run through his head in the stillness of the Mad Dog Ranch. ...posted by maudlin at 1:20 PM on December 22, 2014 [6 favorites]
Cocker continues to fund kids' causes, but not because he has money to burn like some celebrities. He said he hopes to keep belting out tunes until he reaches 70 so he can afford to keep his out-of-the-way retreat. Unlike many musicians, he has not written many songs so he cannot rest on royalty payments.
"I keep waiting for the bubble to burst," he confided as he walked through his gardens. "When I'm in the middle of a tour, I wonder if I'll be able to get up and do this again. And I'm afraid if I quit for a while, I may not be able to get it back."
To calm those fears, he walks, he digs in the dirt, he takes his vitamins, he sings in his head, and, just like his buddies, he marvels over new fishing flies, cheers soccer goals and strategizes new snooker shots.
"I'd like to live here forever," he said wistfully as he looked out over his manor. "I've never felt like I've had the freedom that I have here."
Gravelly voice -> death from lung cancer.
In a previous life, when I spent time on the radio, I knew people who would not quit smoking because it contributed to their vocal persona. Rest in peace.
posted by carmicha at 1:37 PM on December 22, 2014 [1 favorite]
In a previous life, when I spent time on the radio, I knew people who would not quit smoking because it contributed to their vocal persona. Rest in peace.
posted by carmicha at 1:37 PM on December 22, 2014 [1 favorite]
He was totally amazing. Brilliant.
Thanks for posting that Belushi bit. It's terrific.
posted by persona au gratin at 1:41 PM on December 22, 2014
Thanks for posting that Belushi bit. It's terrific.
posted by persona au gratin at 1:41 PM on December 22, 2014
It's not that surprising to me that he's not in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (LOTS of deserving performers aren't) what surprises me is that he's never been nominated.
posted by TDavis at 1:41 PM on December 22, 2014
posted by TDavis at 1:41 PM on December 22, 2014
I'm glad I was a teenager when Joe Cocker was still enough of a household name to merit his own SNL impersonation.
My MP3 player is rarely without a Cocker track. Just listened to "Feelin' Alright" for the 10,000th time at the gym yesterday.
A reluctant . for a great presence.
posted by Sheydem-tants at 1:50 PM on December 22, 2014
My MP3 player is rarely without a Cocker track. Just listened to "Feelin' Alright" for the 10,000th time at the gym yesterday.
A reluctant . for a great presence.
posted by Sheydem-tants at 1:50 PM on December 22, 2014
Heard this earlier on NPR while driving home. It always catches me off guard when I am sort of halfway listening to the radio, then I notice they are talking about someone I admire. "Hey, they're doing a profile on Joe Cocker; cool! But why are they talking about him in past tense? Oh shit..."
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posted by TedW at 1:50 PM on December 22, 2014 [1 favorite]
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posted by TedW at 1:50 PM on December 22, 2014 [1 favorite]
Mad Dog Ranch appears to still be on the market. Glad to know he could afford it.
posted by IndigoJones at 1:52 PM on December 22, 2014
posted by IndigoJones at 1:52 PM on December 22, 2014
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posted by Joey Michaels at 1:56 PM on December 22, 2014
posted by Joey Michaels at 1:56 PM on December 22, 2014
Years and years and years and decades ago, I remember reading an article that featured the then-unknown Cocker as an example of post-British Invasion pub singers who just keep going on hearts and dreams, lacking the charisma of Beatles or Stones. Nobody really knew what a broad, high tent pop music would become. Glad Joe had the spotlight he did.
posted by Chitownfats at 2:35 PM on December 22, 2014
posted by Chitownfats at 2:35 PM on December 22, 2014
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posted by Halloween Jack at 2:37 PM on December 22, 2014
posted by Halloween Jack at 2:37 PM on December 22, 2014
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posted by Michele in California at 2:46 PM on December 22, 2014
posted by Michele in California at 2:46 PM on December 22, 2014
His rendition of Come Together from Across the Universe.
posted by spasm at 3:02 PM on December 22, 2014 [1 favorite]
posted by spasm at 3:02 PM on December 22, 2014 [1 favorite]
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Oh man I first knew I was hearing something special back in 1966 with the single Marjorine.
posted by adamvasco at 3:03 PM on December 22, 2014 [1 favorite]
Oh man I first knew I was hearing something special back in 1966 with the single Marjorine.
posted by adamvasco at 3:03 PM on December 22, 2014 [1 favorite]
Requiem aeternam dona eis, Domine, et lux perpetua luceat eis. Requiescant in pace.
posted by ob1quixote at 3:36 PM on December 22, 2014 [1 favorite]
posted by ob1quixote at 3:36 PM on December 22, 2014 [1 favorite]
He had an amazing innate talent of excavating depths of soul and yearning that the original artist was unable to unearth. The ur-example is With A Little Help From My Friends, of course; I am sure Ringo never dreamt of the depths of the song he was singing. Darling Be Home Soon is another fine example.
posted by ricochet biscuit at 3:42 PM on December 22, 2014 [1 favorite]
posted by ricochet biscuit at 3:42 PM on December 22, 2014 [1 favorite]
If Etta James rocks a song, and so does Ray Charles, then anybody would be crazy to cover it.
Well, anybody except Joe Cocker.
posted by Killick at 3:57 PM on December 22, 2014 [2 favorites]
Well, anybody except Joe Cocker.
posted by Killick at 3:57 PM on December 22, 2014 [2 favorites]
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posted by saulgoodman at 3:58 PM on December 22, 2014
posted by saulgoodman at 3:58 PM on December 22, 2014
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posted by Cookiebastard at 4:14 PM on December 22, 2014
posted by Cookiebastard at 4:14 PM on December 22, 2014
His voice was the epitomy of sensuality and this song "You Can leave your hat on.." is proof of that. My fav. There are other videos of this song but this was 1992 at the height of his career. What a loss.
posted by smudgedlens at 4:49 PM on December 22, 2014 [2 favorites]
posted by smudgedlens at 4:49 PM on December 22, 2014 [2 favorites]
I think more than she wanted me to know his music, my mother wanted me to know Joe Cocker was a pipefitter from Sheffield. I'm not entirely sure what we were meant to learn from that, but I've internalised it and that's what I think every time his name is mentioned.
posted by hoyland at 5:00 PM on December 22, 2014
posted by hoyland at 5:00 PM on December 22, 2014
He sang this Jimmy Webb number so sweet. What a way to deliver a lyric. Sheffield Steel is an overlooked diamond.
posted by dubwisened at 5:16 PM on December 22, 2014
posted by dubwisened at 5:16 PM on December 22, 2014
Cocker's cover of "Sorry Seems to Be the Hardest Word" also deserves mention.
posted by orange swan at 5:27 PM on December 22, 2014 [2 favorites]
posted by orange swan at 5:27 PM on December 22, 2014 [2 favorites]
> this person had gone for a lot of their life thinking that Joe Cocker had CP
My dad told me that too, and he wasn't joking. I think finally seeing him in Across the Universe was the clue that my dad totally made stuff up if he didn't know.
RIP Joe.
posted by scruss at 6:11 PM on December 22, 2014
My dad told me that too, and he wasn't joking. I think finally seeing him in Across the Universe was the clue that my dad totally made stuff up if he didn't know.
RIP Joe.
posted by scruss at 6:11 PM on December 22, 2014
Feeling downhearted with the news of Joe Cocker's death. A fool, I imagine people will just go on forever and they don't. 70 is not a bad run for a man who dove deep and hard into drugs and drink for many years.
In 1969, when I was 15 I had the privilege of seeing Joe Cocker a number of times at the Fillmore East concert hall, here in NYC. The first time I saw him I had a seat close to the stage, he played after the Jeff Beck Group, which that year had Rod Stewart singing and guitarist Ron Wood. The Jeff Beck band was a blues rockgasm, fantastic. That music left me wrung out in bliss. Anything after that would likely pale.
Onto the stage came this odd looking guy, kind of lion headed. He wasn't a sleek or wiry rocker type, he looked different. And then he sang. It wasn't just the singing, his gyrating body too, the jagged jerks, the stretched out fingers, yowling mouth shapes, strained neck muscles, his contorted gestures, it was so raw and almost ugly. After the initial shock, his movements were a whole other kind of Zen poetry, something true, meaningful in it that added to to the beauty of the singing. It was a whole thing, singing and movement together in his particular way. That was a surprise too.
In the tail end of the '60's the Mad Men rules, regulations, starched artificiality, still had its grip on society in NYC. It was one thing to sound and look cool, something that could be emulated, turned into groovy fashions, paste on flowers and granny glasses. Anybody could sound gravelly but Joe Cocker's way of singing was jaggedly naked, it felt embarrassing and yet fascinating to watch this man just be himself, true to himself.
And once I saw such a thing, heard his emotive, distinctive singing, saw his movements melded with the singing, it left some sort of lasting change in my being, a permission to honor my true self more, be more free to be myself, less fettered by the trivial. Hard to describe.
His singing cadence too is richly emotional, his timing as well. Ezra Pound said, "Great literature is simply language charged with meaning to the utmost possible degree." I think Joe Cocker's singing is music charged with resonance - emotional and harmonic - to the utmost possible degree.
For a man whose life became ashes in the early 1970's, I'm glad he not only found his way to sobriety but also had a steady love, Pam, and then made a comeback that lasted over 30 years. Pretty wow that.
Condolences to Pam, to his friends and fans. The world is a more amazing place and my heart will always be warmer that he was born. Wishing him an excellent cosmic resonance.
posted by nickyskye at 6:48 PM on December 22, 2014 [33 favorites]
In 1969, when I was 15 I had the privilege of seeing Joe Cocker a number of times at the Fillmore East concert hall, here in NYC. The first time I saw him I had a seat close to the stage, he played after the Jeff Beck Group, which that year had Rod Stewart singing and guitarist Ron Wood. The Jeff Beck band was a blues rockgasm, fantastic. That music left me wrung out in bliss. Anything after that would likely pale.
Onto the stage came this odd looking guy, kind of lion headed. He wasn't a sleek or wiry rocker type, he looked different. And then he sang. It wasn't just the singing, his gyrating body too, the jagged jerks, the stretched out fingers, yowling mouth shapes, strained neck muscles, his contorted gestures, it was so raw and almost ugly. After the initial shock, his movements were a whole other kind of Zen poetry, something true, meaningful in it that added to to the beauty of the singing. It was a whole thing, singing and movement together in his particular way. That was a surprise too.
In the tail end of the '60's the Mad Men rules, regulations, starched artificiality, still had its grip on society in NYC. It was one thing to sound and look cool, something that could be emulated, turned into groovy fashions, paste on flowers and granny glasses. Anybody could sound gravelly but Joe Cocker's way of singing was jaggedly naked, it felt embarrassing and yet fascinating to watch this man just be himself, true to himself.
And once I saw such a thing, heard his emotive, distinctive singing, saw his movements melded with the singing, it left some sort of lasting change in my being, a permission to honor my true self more, be more free to be myself, less fettered by the trivial. Hard to describe.
His singing cadence too is richly emotional, his timing as well. Ezra Pound said, "Great literature is simply language charged with meaning to the utmost possible degree." I think Joe Cocker's singing is music charged with resonance - emotional and harmonic - to the utmost possible degree.
For a man whose life became ashes in the early 1970's, I'm glad he not only found his way to sobriety but also had a steady love, Pam, and then made a comeback that lasted over 30 years. Pretty wow that.
Condolences to Pam, to his friends and fans. The world is a more amazing place and my heart will always be warmer that he was born. Wishing him an excellent cosmic resonance.
posted by nickyskye at 6:48 PM on December 22, 2014 [33 favorites]
Sad news. One of the greatest rock vocalists ever, period. RIP Joe.
posted by flapjax at midnite at 6:49 PM on December 22, 2014 [1 favorite]
posted by flapjax at midnite at 6:49 PM on December 22, 2014 [1 favorite]
Finally saw in the last couple of heard at an outside gig that was hot as hell. He put on a great show. He will be missed.
posted by grimjeer at 6:52 PM on December 22, 2014
posted by grimjeer at 6:52 PM on December 22, 2014
When I was very young, my father gave me a cassette tape. It was called Joe Cocker's Greatest Hits. I thought meh. It's that guy who sings that somebody's so beautiful and cries and shit. A few years later, more mature and curious, I listened to it.
It changed my life.
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posted by NedKoppel at 7:18 PM on December 22, 2014 [1 favorite]
It changed my life.
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posted by NedKoppel at 7:18 PM on December 22, 2014 [1 favorite]
Ah, sad day for music. I'd been listening to Mad Dogs & Englishmen again recently and really loving it .
I got back there in a roundabout way. I stumbled on a Leon Russell YT clip, a musician I loved in my youth but sort of hadn't thought of in years. I was unaware that Elton John had pulled him out of obscurity, made a joint album with him, helped him get his just due in the RR hall of Fame, etc. - so I enjoyed digging into all of that and, of course, any Leon Russell retrospective would inevitably lead to the collaboration with Joe Cocker.
This is a great interview with Joe Cocker conducted by Redbeard on the 40th anniversary of Mad Dogs - one of his few existing live interviews. It features Leon Russell, too. He seems like an all round nice guy and it's fun to hear the background on Cocker and on his storied album, his appearance at Woodstock, and more. Well worth a listen.
I can't quite describe how riveting he was back in the day. Never saw him live, but I well remember my friend Charlie picking a bunch of us up in his green Volkswagen van because "you have got to hear this guy" - good times, rockin down the highway with Joe Cocker and friends. Thanks for the good music and the good times, Joe.
posted by madamjujujive at 7:24 PM on December 22, 2014 [4 favorites]
I got back there in a roundabout way. I stumbled on a Leon Russell YT clip, a musician I loved in my youth but sort of hadn't thought of in years. I was unaware that Elton John had pulled him out of obscurity, made a joint album with him, helped him get his just due in the RR hall of Fame, etc. - so I enjoyed digging into all of that and, of course, any Leon Russell retrospective would inevitably lead to the collaboration with Joe Cocker.
This is a great interview with Joe Cocker conducted by Redbeard on the 40th anniversary of Mad Dogs - one of his few existing live interviews. It features Leon Russell, too. He seems like an all round nice guy and it's fun to hear the background on Cocker and on his storied album, his appearance at Woodstock, and more. Well worth a listen.
I can't quite describe how riveting he was back in the day. Never saw him live, but I well remember my friend Charlie picking a bunch of us up in his green Volkswagen van because "you have got to hear this guy" - good times, rockin down the highway with Joe Cocker and friends. Thanks for the good music and the good times, Joe.
posted by madamjujujive at 7:24 PM on December 22, 2014 [4 favorites]
Should have also noted that his take on "The Weight" from 1970 (which only showed up as a bonus track on a reissue of "Mad Dogs and Englishmen" decades later) is a barnburner.
posted by ryanshepard at 7:33 PM on December 22, 2014 [2 favorites]
posted by ryanshepard at 7:33 PM on December 22, 2014 [2 favorites]
@ RIP Joe Cocker. Godspeed! One of the most dynamic rockers, ever.
posted by Vibrissae at 7:33 PM on December 22, 2014
posted by Vibrissae at 7:33 PM on December 22, 2014
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posted by mondo dentro at 7:43 PM on December 22, 2014
posted by mondo dentro at 7:43 PM on December 22, 2014
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posted by Nat "King" Cole Porter Wagoner at 7:45 PM on December 22, 2014
posted by Nat "King" Cole Porter Wagoner at 7:45 PM on December 22, 2014
Dave Mason posted a tribute to Joe Cocker on his FB page:
When I wrote Feelin' Alright, it had a question mark after it. It was an unrequited love song about not feeling too good myself. Denny Cordell, who was producing a new album with Joe Cocker, said "I have something I want you to hear." He proceeded to play me the recording of Joe's version of Feelin' Alright. Wow. I was blown away. This song was no longer about not feeling too good myself. It WAS feelin' alright! I owe a great debt of gratitude to Joe Cocker for cutting that song. Even though I wrote it and sang it with Traffic, it is the quintessential version that will live on long after his passing and mine. What a voice.
posted by 1367 at 8:12 PM on December 22, 2014 [3 favorites]
When I wrote Feelin' Alright, it had a question mark after it. It was an unrequited love song about not feeling too good myself. Denny Cordell, who was producing a new album with Joe Cocker, said "I have something I want you to hear." He proceeded to play me the recording of Joe's version of Feelin' Alright. Wow. I was blown away. This song was no longer about not feeling too good myself. It WAS feelin' alright! I owe a great debt of gratitude to Joe Cocker for cutting that song. Even though I wrote it and sang it with Traffic, it is the quintessential version that will live on long after his passing and mine. What a voice.
posted by 1367 at 8:12 PM on December 22, 2014 [3 favorites]
Youtube and other video sources have most, if not all, of the performances from Mad Dogs and Englishmen. They really do need to be seen and not just heard. Those shows featured a stage so packed with musicians and backup singers i'm surprised there was room for Joe to work his spastic magic. The energy and sheer talent in those performances is amazing.
A young and crazy Leon Russell led a stellar line-up including Chris Stainton on piano and organ, Carl Radle on bass, Jim Gordon and Jim Keltner on drums, a killer horn section with Jim Price and the recently-departed Bobby Keys, a veritable choir of backing vocalists including Claudia Lennear and Rita Coolidge, and of course, Joe Cocker himself, putting every ounce of intense energy into each track, almost all of which were covers but done in a totally unique fashion.
If I ever get a chance to go back in time, the MD&E tour is on my short list of destinations.
RIP Joe, and thanks for the music.
posted by rocket88 at 9:09 PM on December 22, 2014 [1 favorite]
A young and crazy Leon Russell led a stellar line-up including Chris Stainton on piano and organ, Carl Radle on bass, Jim Gordon and Jim Keltner on drums, a killer horn section with Jim Price and the recently-departed Bobby Keys, a veritable choir of backing vocalists including Claudia Lennear and Rita Coolidge, and of course, Joe Cocker himself, putting every ounce of intense energy into each track, almost all of which were covers but done in a totally unique fashion.
If I ever get a chance to go back in time, the MD&E tour is on my short list of destinations.
RIP Joe, and thanks for the music.
posted by rocket88 at 9:09 PM on December 22, 2014 [1 favorite]
His agent Barrie Marshall said Cocker, who died after battling lung cancer, was "simply unique".
Cocker's friend Rick Wakeman, keyboard player for the rock band Yes, said: "He had a voice that was just unique."
These statements have been bugging me, I have to say. Aside from being banal in the extreme, they are simply… inaccurate. "Unique" is such a lazy descriptor, even when it's true, but in this case, it is pointedly not true. Anyone with half an ear knows that Cocker owed an enormous debt to Ray Charles, who he channeled continuously. He was also greatly influenced by Otis Redding and Howling Wolf, among others. "Just unique"? "Simply unique"? No. Not true.
Now, does that take anything away from Cocker's fantastic performance ability, his wonderful power and persona and depth of expression? No, of course not. But Barrie and Rick, guys, come on: Joe Cocker didn't somehow emerge from some vacuum, fully formed, as some sort of one-of-a-kind entity. His vocal expression was part of a lineage, a musical heritage. So let's pay both him and the singers he adored and emulated the proper respect, shall we?
posted by flapjax at midnite at 10:35 PM on December 22, 2014 [3 favorites]
Cocker's friend Rick Wakeman, keyboard player for the rock band Yes, said: "He had a voice that was just unique."
These statements have been bugging me, I have to say. Aside from being banal in the extreme, they are simply… inaccurate. "Unique" is such a lazy descriptor, even when it's true, but in this case, it is pointedly not true. Anyone with half an ear knows that Cocker owed an enormous debt to Ray Charles, who he channeled continuously. He was also greatly influenced by Otis Redding and Howling Wolf, among others. "Just unique"? "Simply unique"? No. Not true.
Now, does that take anything away from Cocker's fantastic performance ability, his wonderful power and persona and depth of expression? No, of course not. But Barrie and Rick, guys, come on: Joe Cocker didn't somehow emerge from some vacuum, fully formed, as some sort of one-of-a-kind entity. His vocal expression was part of a lineage, a musical heritage. So let's pay both him and the singers he adored and emulated the proper respect, shall we?
posted by flapjax at midnite at 10:35 PM on December 22, 2014 [3 favorites]
• :(
posted by Katjusa Roquette at 11:25 PM on December 22, 2014
posted by Katjusa Roquette at 11:25 PM on December 22, 2014
.
posted by hurdy gurdy girl at 12:58 AM on December 23, 2014
posted by hurdy gurdy girl at 12:58 AM on December 23, 2014
[...] when asked by police if he had any marijuana, Cocker politely replied: “There’s some around here somewhere.”From Joe Cocker on being deported from Australia: we were used as guinea pigs
posted by Joe in Australia at 1:49 AM on December 23, 2014 [2 favorites]
.
posted by El Brendano at 2:21 AM on December 23, 2014
posted by El Brendano at 2:21 AM on December 23, 2014
A piece of my heart, a piece of my youth, died today. He was one of the 60's icons, and a beautiful soul. RIP, Joe.
posted by lometogo at 5:31 AM on December 23, 2014
posted by lometogo at 5:31 AM on December 23, 2014
Sad news indeed; RIP Joe. I felt a kinship with him solely because he was born five years to the day before me but – since I’m much more fond of people who play instruments than of singers – it took me way too long to appreciate just how good he was.
This also in part, I guess, was because back then we already had perfectly good versions of his best-known songs, and not a lot of people in those days were known solely for covers. There are of course classic exceptions (Hendrix taking Watchtower away from Dylan, and Aretha with Respect), but it seemed like that was all Cocker did. I’m not impressed, I decided at first… plus he looks so weird. Anyway, I finally figured it out and became a big fan.
The elderly among us will remember just how stunning it was to see that Joe/John duet actually live on Saturday Night Live, with the show’s already fantastic band augmented by NYC’s top sessions musicians from the band Stuff (hence those t-shirts): Steve Gadd, Richard Tee, Eric Gale, etc. Supposedly, friends of Cocker told him he should sue Belushi for the caricature, but instead he was enough of a class act to come take part in the joke.
In addition to his gyrations, John did a commendable job singing live with Joe – although it wasn’t exactly hospitable for him to start drinking during the song, and offer his guest, suffering from alcoholism at the time, a beer during the performance.
posted by LeLiLo at 5:48 AM on December 23, 2014 [3 favorites]
This also in part, I guess, was because back then we already had perfectly good versions of his best-known songs, and not a lot of people in those days were known solely for covers. There are of course classic exceptions (Hendrix taking Watchtower away from Dylan, and Aretha with Respect), but it seemed like that was all Cocker did. I’m not impressed, I decided at first… plus he looks so weird. Anyway, I finally figured it out and became a big fan.
The elderly among us will remember just how stunning it was to see that Joe/John duet actually live on Saturday Night Live, with the show’s already fantastic band augmented by NYC’s top sessions musicians from the band Stuff (hence those t-shirts): Steve Gadd, Richard Tee, Eric Gale, etc. Supposedly, friends of Cocker told him he should sue Belushi for the caricature, but instead he was enough of a class act to come take part in the joke.
In addition to his gyrations, John did a commendable job singing live with Joe – although it wasn’t exactly hospitable for him to start drinking during the song, and offer his guest, suffering from alcoholism at the time, a beer during the performance.
posted by LeLiLo at 5:48 AM on December 23, 2014 [3 favorites]
Thanks for saying that about the beer in the SNL skit LeLiLo. An example of two exceptional, gifted human beings, one an addict finding his way out of deadly addictions and the other who did not.
posted by nickyskye at 6:22 AM on December 23, 2014
posted by nickyskye at 6:22 AM on December 23, 2014
.
posted by Token Meme at 4:23 PM on December 23, 2014
posted by Token Meme at 4:23 PM on December 23, 2014
but – since I’m much more fond of people who play instruments than of singers – it took me way too long to appreciate just how good he was.
Amen.
posted by Mental Wimp at 7:48 AM on December 24, 2014
Amen.
posted by Mental Wimp at 7:48 AM on December 24, 2014
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