He was blessed with one of the burliest voices in the history of British blues.
Joe Cocker, who died Monday at 70, had been suffering from small cell lung cancer for some time.
Best known for his eruptive shrieks and his barrel-chested tone, Cocker carved out yet another trademark with his flailing hand motions. They made him seem like either a man afflicted with a physical condition or a man possessed.
Either way, the approach gave him the image of a singer so committed to the pain and truth of the material, he would drive himself to ruin to get the emotion of a song across.
Few vocalists sang as hard as Cocker. Like Janis Joplin, he threw himself into his performances with a fury that could frighten as well as rivet.
Cocker’s performance in the Woodstock movie, on a version of The Beatles’ “With A Little Help From My Friends,” built to a volcanic series of crescendos. They allowed Cocker to turn what had been a charming ode to kinship into a desperate cri de coeur.
John Robert Cocker, born on May 20, 1944, grew up in Sheffield, the youngest son of a civil servant. He earned what later became his stage name from a childhood game “Cowboy Joe.”
Cocker first performed in 1961 under the name Vance Arnold in a blues group known as Vance Arnold and the Avengers. Even then, his vocals showed the clear influence of his boyhood idol, Ray Charles.
Cocker had a similar timbre and pitch to Charles. They both owned husky voices that resounded deeply. For a twist, Cocker applied Charles’ bluesy and soulful inflections to the intensity of psychedelic rock.
Cocker’s connection to the Beatles goes back as far as 1964. He recorded their song “I’ll Cry Instead” as his first solo single recording for Decca Records.
When it bombed, he lost his contract. He then formed a new group, called Joe Cocker’s Big Blues which, likewise, went nowhere.
Things began to coalesce in 1966 when he hooked up an old friend, the spirited keyboardist Chris Stainton, to form the Grease Band. That group came to the attention of Denny Cordell, producer of Procol Harum and The Moody Blues. He helped Cocker get his contract with A&M Records in 1968.
His debut, “With A Little Help From My Friends” rates as one of the most emotive albums of the rock era. Buttressing the Grease Band with guitar work from Jimmy Page, drumming from BJ Wilson and keyboards from Steve Winwood, the album matched impeccable musicianship to a voice capable of both uncommon anger and tenderness.
Cocker’s take on the title track became a No. 1 hit in his native U.K. and a staple of American FM radio. Far later, it became the theme song for the nostalgic TV show “The Wonder Years.”
But the album’s greatest marvels could be found at the close of sides one and two. Cocker’s selected two Dylan covers to punctuate each side of the album, “Just Like A Woman” and “I Shall Be Released.”
They stand as two of the most personal Dylan covers ever recorded. Cocker infused each with the consequence of Greek tragedy. The way Cocker phrases the line (in “Just Like A Woman”) “please don’t let on that you knew me when,” has the poignancy, and degradation, of a man begging for his life.
Likewise, his version of “Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood” contains a level of implicit violence and threat that oft-covered number never otherwise achieved.
Cocker threw himself into his performances with a fury that could frighten as well as rivet.
Cocker equalled that power with his second work, 1970’s emphatically-titled “Joe Cocker!” The Beatles were so impressed by the earlier take on “With A Little Help From My Friends,” they encouraged him to record both “She Came In Through The Bathroom Window” and “Something.”
Cocker’s versions give the Beatles’ classics an edgier stamp. The album also featured a take on John Sebastian’s “Darling Be Home Soon” that proved the singer could nurture as well he could lash-out or plead.
In mid-1970, Cocker fronted one of the most exciting tours of the rock era, “Mad Dogs and Englishman.” The show featured over 30 musicians and singers, including ally Leon Russell (who penned his hit “Delta Lady”), drummer Jim Keltner, singer Rita Coolidge and saxist Bobby Keys (who contributed particularly ecstatic work in a roiling “Honky Tonk Woman”).
The double album stands as one of the most thrilling live discs in history, yielding hits with a take on Alex Chilton’s “The Letter,” (which went Top Ten), and a riotous run through “Cry Me A River.”
Unfortunately, the tour turned out to be a financial disaster. Worse, Cocker was suffering from exhaustion, which made him mentally unstable and physically vulnerable. It took him years to recover.
In the summer of ‘71, A&M issued the rollicking single “High Time We Went,” a rare highlight of a somewhat disappointing, self-titled studio album that arrived ‘72.
Cocker soon retreated into heroin addiction and, though that burden ended a year later, he began drinking heavily. In an incident that haunted him for years to come, he threw up onstage during two west coast performances in 1974.
Cocker launched a commercial comeback in’75 with the album “I Can Stand A Little Rain.” It featured the Top 5 hit cover of “You Are So Beautiful.” But even in the studio, fans could hear both the damage in his voice and the waning of his spirit.
In due time, Cocker righted himself personally; he went on to enjoy another huge hit in 1982 in a duet with Jennifer Warnes on “Up Where We Belong.”
The star recorded right up until 2012, when he released the album “Fire It Up.” He also toured until last year. Yet, Cocker will be best remembered by his first three releases — each perfect works that plumb the depths of human want. At the same time, they exorcise the hurt with music of uncommon beauty and excitement.
Coming up at a time when artists were meant to write their own material, Cocker stuck mainly to covers. Yet, his versions proved he didn’t need to author a work. When he sang a song, it became his.
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