Personalities | Joe Cocker | Sixties | Rock

(Vocals, b. 1944)

A UK Top 50 entry with 1968’s self-penned ‘Marjorine’ prefaced a sweaty and chart-topping overhaul of The Beatles’ ‘With A Little Help From My Friends’. This domestic success was not repeated in North America. Nevertheless, he became a bigger star there following a show-stealing performance at Woodstock (1969) and hit revivals in 1970 of The Beatles’ ‘She Came In Through The Bathroom Window’, The Box Tops’ ‘The Letter’ and ‘Cry Me A River’, Julie London’s signature tune. After a tour as de jure leader of the oversubscribed Mad Dogs And Englishmen troupe of Hollywood ‘supersidemen’ and their associates plus what was left of his English backing group, The Grease Band, progress was erratic until 1983 when ‘Up Where We Belong’, a duet with Jennifer Warnes, was a US No. 1 and reached the Top 10 in Britain. Since then, he has settled down to regular tour-album-tour sandwiches as a rock treasure guaranteed well-paid work for as long as he can stand.

Styles & Forms | Sixties | Rock
Personalities | Leonard Cohen | Sixties | Rock

Source: The Definitive Illustrated Encyclopedia of Rock, general editor Michael Heatley

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