RIP Joe Cocker

[oldr_n_wsr]

‎December‎ ‎22‎, ‎2014

Joe Cocker Dies at 70(photo: Getty Images)

by Jason Lipshutz

Joe Cocker, the British rock artist best known for his cover of the Beatles’ “With a Little Help from My Friends” and the 1982 smash “Up Where We Belong,” has passed away at the age of 70.

Cocker’s agent Barrie Marshall confirmed the death to the BBC, calling Cocker “simply unique” and saying “it will be impossible to fill the space he leaves in our hearts.

Born in 1944 in Sheffield, Cocker performed at the Woodstock Festival in 1969 and scored 19 charting hits on the Billboard Hot 100, including familiar recordings like 1968’s “With a Little Help From My Friends,” which later became the theme song for the hit 1980s TV show The Wonder Years.

Cocker topped the Hot 100 with the 1982 single “Up Where We Belong,” with Jennifer Warnes, from the film An Officer and a Gentleman. The song also won him his only Grammy Award, for best pop performance by a duo or group with vocal.

He also charted top 40 hits with “You Are So Beautiful” (No. 5), “The Letter” (with Leon Russell and The Shelter People, No. 7), “When the Night Comes” (No. 11) and “Feeling Alright” (No. 33). Another famed Cocker track, the Randy Newman-penned “You Can Leave Your Hat On,” became a hit in 1986 after it was used in the film 9 1/2 Weeks. The song reached No. 35 on the Mainstream Rock Songs chart.

[Gob]

RIP Joe.

[TPFKA@W]

I never thought of him as a singer so much as a maker of noise.

[Long Run]

I thought he was awesome, one of the unique voices of that era.

[MajGenl.Meade]

What do you see when you turn out the light?

Sad - another icon passes

[Big RR]

I enjoyed a lot of his music as well. RIP Joe.

[TPFKA@W]

He, and a few others who grunt sang, where not favorites of mine. Still and all, RIP.

[Big RR]

True, he did have a style all his own; something you either loved or hated.

[dales]

At least we still have Leonard Cohen.

[MajGenl.Meade]

At leastThank God, we still have Leonard Cohen.

[Lord Jim]

After the a fore posted "I get by with a little help from my friends" my second favorite Cocker number was a version he did of Randy Newman's You Can Leave Your Hat On...

Not as good as Randy's, but not bad:

[Lord Jim]

At least we still have Leonard Cohen.

Cohen's been dead for years, he just hasn't had the sense to lie down...

[Joe Guy]

[MajGenl.Meade]

Joe Cocker knew great music when he heard it. And he sure sung the heck out of it, too!

[rubato]

He was the best of the singers who was influenced by Ray Charles' phrasing.

Great singer. 70 is old for a heavy drinking rock star but too young for everyone else. He left a huge legacy.


yrs,
rubato

[Big RR]

Jim--don't tell me you really like Randy Newman's singing. And you make fun of Leonard Cohen?

eta: Don't get me wrong, I like a lot of what he has written, and some are covered by greats and were great hits. But his singing? I just don't get it.

[MajGenl.Meade]

Psst. Big RR. It's Jim-lad as doesn't get it!

or Big Ar Ar Jim-lad, doesn't get it

[Big RR]

Aye me bucco.

[MajGenl.Meade]

Joe Cockaaaaarrrr

[Lord Jim]

Jim--don't tell me you really like Randy Newman's singing. And you make fun of Leonard Cohen?

I've made clear before that I'm a big fan of Randy Newman...(Good Old Boys is probably my all time favorite album...)

And I'm also a huge fan of John Prine...(Sweet Revenge is probably my second all time favorite album...)

Their singing abilities (not to mention their skills as song writers) make them sound like a pair of Enrico Carusos compared to The Late Leonard Cohen...