Today I found out of the passing of a true Rock n’ Roll original – Mr. Joe Cocker! As I found out the news on my lunch break, I began to reflect on those Joe Cocker moments of my life and how I became familiar with this unmistakable and individual talent.
How did I “discover” Joe Cocker? I can’t remember how I first figured out who he was. It was a series of events. After seeing footage of Joe Cocker in the 60’s and 70’s, I think I would be safe to say that my older sisters were probably not fans of Joe in those years. I remember hearing bits of You Are So Beautiful as a kid. But, I think I heard of Joe Cocker when John Belushi did his stunning impression of Joe Cocker and his rendition of the Beatles’ A Little Help From My Friends on the early years of Saturday Night Live. I don’t think it was until Joe Cocker appeared with Jennifer Warnes on the Grammy Awards in 1983 to perform their duet Up Where We Belong that I finally figured out who he was.
I remember initially thinking that this guy with the weird movements acts a lot like the caricature that John Belushi had done. As I soon learned, this WAS the guy that Belushi was imitating/paying tribute to.
It wasn’t until I entered college and my good friend Shaun insisted we watch the movie version of the Woodstock Music Festival during the PBS Labor Day pledge weekend. In those days, the TV’s with Cable were only in the main lounge and the separate floors. So, we sat in the main lounge of Mantor Hall and watched as these classic artists ran through the sets. When Joe Cocker came on, I listened to these lyrics of a song I had known for years known as the Beatles’ With a Little Help From My Friends. The pattern and melody of the song was different and yet fresh. I finally made the connection to John Belushi and Joe Cocker. At first, I didn’t understand why he acted like he did when he sang. As the 80’s progressed and my love of music grew, I didn’t care how he acted onstage. He sounded fantastic. His definitive raspy belting voice was hard to deny. I began to love and respect the rocky raspiness of Joe Cocker. Even my love of Led Zeppelin crossed paths with Joe Cocker as Jimmy Page played guitar on the studio version of With a Little Help From My Friends.
In 1986, the Mickey Rourke/Kim Basinger movie 9 1/2 Weeks used Joe’s version of the Randy Newman song You Can Leave Your Hat On. This song was predominantly featured in the movie and actually was in some heavy rotation on MTV. Years later, my friends in the Kearney cover band Fear of Flying added You Can Leave Your Hat On to their set. One night as the band played, I sat in front of the stage and began miming my own version of the John Belushi /Joe Cocker impression. It got big laughs. At one gig, I asked the keyboard player Jon Coleman if they could play it. He said they would play it if I got up and sang it in my Joe Cocker impression. I agreed even if I couldn’t remember all the words. But, until the band played the song, I sat in the back of the bar with his (then) wife and his in-laws and they kept buying me drinks. So, I eventually performed it drunkenly with all the spastic Joe Cocker mannerism as well. Also, this gig happened to be in my childhood hometown of North Platte Nebraska. My childhood friend Mick played drums and his parents came to see him play. But, when I got up and did my Joe Cocker impression and rendition of You Can Leave Your Hat On, Mick’s parents didn’t know whether I they should applaud me or feel bad because I was moving in a spastic Joe Cocker moves. Mick’s brother Dan had to explain that I was doing an impression of Joe Cocker and that I really didn’t sing like that.
In the summer of 1990, my fellow Dustys Records employee Jayson Obrecht called me to ask if I was interested in tickets to see Stevie Ray Vaughan at Fiddler’s Green in Denver with Joe Cocker in mid July. As a huge SRV fan, I obviously said yes. Joe Cocker was incredible to hear. Many of the songs were so well played. His band was fantastic including the outrageous bassist TM Stevens. At one point, Joe made the comment to the audience that he broken a couple ribs recently before the concert and to excuse him if he winced a bit. I remember thinking “I don’t think anyone is going to notice” just because of his onstage movements.
When I finally bought my own stereo system along with a CD player, one of my earliest CD purchases was Joe Cocker Live and With a Little Help From My Friends. It wouldn’t be long until these songs would become some all-time favorites.
One of those songs that became a favorite would be the song Feelin’ Alright written by Dave Mason. The live album starts out with that song I love the percussion on it with congas laying down a funky groove and soulfulness of the song.
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Of course, this song is classic for a historic pairing of both Joe Cocker and his imitator John Belushi on Saturday Night Live. Apparently, the story was that John Belushi had the wardrobe and costume department make an identical outfit for John to the one that Joe Cocker would wear on the show. I still love this clip.
As I heard the news of Joe Cocker’s passing and his battle with lung cancer, I thought about the history of Rock and Soul singers and belters. In today’s world of American Idol and The Voice, Joe Cocker probably would never make it in today’s world of popular music where an individual vocal style isn’t celebrated as opposed to how a singer appears and how they are made up for the audience.
Joe Cocker, you were one of a kind and you’ll be missed!
