Monday, December 22, 2014

Joe Cocker (1944-2014)

It came across the wires this morning that Joe Cocker had passed away at 70 after a lengthy battle with lung cancer.

Most of Cocker's hits were covers. For example, he made his first splash at the original Woodstock festival in 1969 with a cover of the Beatles' "With a Little Help From My Friends". His cover of Billy Preston's "You Are So Beautiful" was later used as the theme to the short-lived sitcom, Struck by Lightning. "Friends" was later used as the theme to The Wonder Years. With help from Leon Russell, Cocker hit with a remake of the Box Tops' "The Letter"........



Cocker would finally score with some original compositions in the 80's. His duet with Jennifer Warnes, "Up Where We Belong", from "An Officer & a Gentleman", hit #1. He missed the top 10 with "When The Night Comes", and charted with "You Can Leave Your Hat On".

Rest in peace, Joe.

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