Joe Cocker died yesterday of an undisclosed illness. He essentially reproduced—in a very convincing way— the vocal stylings of Ray Charles and, with the help of musicians such the great Leon Russell and Bobby Keys, applied it to a rock template, creating some of the great r & b influenced rock of the early 70s. Yes, he released some risible music later on his career—Love with Lift Us Up Where We Belong makes me want to run from restaurants when its played—he deserves to be remembered for his great Mad Dogs & Englishmen years; together with Russell he put on one hell of a show.
Posted on: Tue, 23 Dec 2014 18:23:45 +0000