The two-disc collection The Life of a Man is a fine summation of Joe Cocker’s varied career. His origins were like that of many British rock performers of his generation. Reared in gritty working class Sheffield, Cocker began as a teenager in a 1950s skiffle band but was soon caught up in northern England’s enduring fascination with the exotic sounds of R&B and soul.
Cocker became a popular singer in local pubs for strenuously copying the recorded voices of Otis Redding and other great African-American singers. For years he juggled a day job at the East Midlands Gas Board with local gigs, releasing singles that attracted regional interest and opening for The Rolling Stones and The Hollies. After moving to London in 1967 with his group, The Grease Band, he had a minor UK hit written with his keyboardist Chris Stainton, “Marjorine” (1968). Although the song and arrangement was uncharacteristically baroque for Cocker, his distinctive vocal style was already apparent.
The exposure led to his first album with The Grease Band, with guest performances by Led Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page and Procol Harum drummer B.J. Wilson. With a Little Help From My Friends (1969) established him as a remarkable interpreter of other people’s songs by melding the fervent testifying of soul with the dynamics of rock. The Beatles’ “A Little Help from My Friends,” a charming interlude on Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, was performed as if it were the climatic hymn at a gospel church service. Cocker electrified “Feelin’ Alright” with a funkiness only suggested by Traffic’s original recording.
While on tour in the U.S., he met pianist Leon Russell who co-produced his next album, Joe Cocker! (1969). Russell also wrote the LP’s hit, “Delta Lady,” a catchy pop tune that foreshadowed the musical direction Cocker would eventually take.
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Adopting the name from a Noel Coward song, Cocker’s Mad Dogs and Englishmen (1970) was a boisterous live album and concert film featuring a large retinue of talented rock musicians including Russell, drummer Jim Gordon and bassist Carl Radle from Derek and The Dominos, singer Rita Coolidge. The album netted two hits, a soul revue revamping of the jazz standard “Cry Me a River” and an expansively soulful rendition of The Box Tops’ hit “The Letter.”
Although he had performed at Woodstock and other prominent rock festivals in the late 1960s and early 1970s, Cocker’s career was hampered by alcoholism. He sometimes appeared too drunk to recall the lyrics; sometimes he vomited on stage; tours were cancelled. For many who came of age in the 1970s, Cocker was epitomized by John Belushi’s parody on Saturday Night Live, complete with gravelly vocals and spastic attempts at emulating the sharp movements of African-American soul singers.
Despite setbacks, Cocker regained his stamina, recorded popular albums with reggae and fusion influences, and maintained an enduring career with a string of innocuous adult contemporary hits. Among them were the Billy Preston-penned love song “You are so Beautiful” (1974); his Grammy-nominated collaboration with The Crusaders, “So Glad I’m Standing Here Today” (1982); his duet with Jennifer Warnes from the film An Officer and a Gentleman, “Up Where We Belong” (1982); “When the Night Comes” (1990); and “Feels Like Forever” (1992). Cocker’s “A Little Help From My Friends” was used as the theme for a television series set in the 1960s, The Wonder Years (1988-1993). He continued touring and recording into the twenty-first century until his death from lung cancer in 2014.
