Joe Cocker has died. Born in Sheffield, perhaps it would have been more appropriate that he be born in Cockermouth………After all his voice was his fortune projecting him from gas fitter to international superstar!!

Joe Cocker’s distinctive gravelly voice became universally known when he covered The Beatles’ “With A Little Help From My Friends”, which reached No1 in the UK in 1968. Sir Paul McCartney once told him his rendition was “clearly the definitive version of the song”. Perhaps the greatest accolade and tribute came from R&B legend Ray Charles, who described Joe Cocker as one of the three best blues singers in the world, in the esteemed company of Aretha Franklin and Marvin Gaye. Credit where credit is due as Paul McCartney and Ray Charles know a little bit about music!!

Supported by Led Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page, Joe Cocker brought a completely different feel to the Beatles’ “With A Little Help From My Friends”. The song that had originally appeared on The Beatles’ “Sergeant Pepper” album in 1967 was a light-hearted, jaunty ditty sung by Ringo Starr. Joe Cocker’s rendition made it unrecognisable from the original – it became a lung busting, painful, primal, tortured anthem.

If “With A Little Help From My Friends” was the springboard Joe Cocker needed, he was able to follow his breakthrough success up with a series of hit covers – “Delta Lady”, written by Leon Russell; the Box Tops’ hit single “The Letter”; Julie London’s torch song “Cry Me A River”; Billy Preston and Dennis Wilson’s “You Are So Beautiful”; and Jimmy Webb’s “It’s A Sin When You Love Somebody”.

After a drink and drug fuelled 1970s, Joe Cocker bounced back with a Grammy for the song “Up Where We Belong”, his 1982 duet with Jennifer Warnes, from the film “An Officer And A Gentleman”. Joe Cocker’s lasting legacy is his voice, encapsulated by this Top 5 Best Joe Cocker Songs –

Top 5 Best Joe Cocker Songs

1)   With A Little Help From My Friends

2)   The Letter

3)   You Are So Beautiful

4)   Cry Me A River

5)   Up Where We Belong

Which is your favourite Joe Cocker song? Let us know in the Reply Box below.

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