Sad to hear of Joe Cocker’s death. Thanks to my Uncle Joe, he was one of my first Rock Superheroes. Uncle Joe bought me the early Cocker albums, including the mind-blowing The Mad Dogs & The Englishman live album, in which the band members were given little sobriquets, like Leon Russell’s (I believe) unattainable title of “Master of Space and Time.” My uncle saw a tour after that album at the Spectrum and brought me home a huge button with the cover shot and a cardboard cutout of Cocker’s wild face on a stick. I wish I still have that face on a stick. I loved the way Cocker and his band simply KICKED IT OUT. Even his ballads were delivered with force. He will be missed in this age of the navel-gazing artists who sing like Confederate soldiers taking their last breath while holding their newborn sons. Cocker, who was not a songwriter, made the most of so many other artists’ works. Here’s my favorite by him, “Delta Lady.”
Some singers sing from the gut but this clip perfectly demonstrates how Joe sang from some place deeper. He’s singing from the ankles.
Well said, cliff and Mod.
I’ve never been a big fan of Mr. Cocker, but even I can attest to the emotion behind his singing. Even my sister, she of the never ending 80’s remixes, was saddened and mentioned how much she liked “You Are So Beautiful.”
As I mentioned recently about another r&r death (was it Jack Bruce?) who would have thought we’d reach a time when Joe Cocker’s death was front page news on the Hartford Courant?