Joe Cocker

Kickass rock/blues belter Joe Cocker has died at age 70 — lung cancer.

He had pretty much fallen off my radar for the last few decades, but his first two solo albums (1970, give or take a year) were un-fuckin'-real.  He didn't sound like anybody else.  Yes he was heavily influenced by Ray Charles, but he covered a lot of uncharted territory as well.  And it didn't hurt that he had Jimmy Page and Steve Winwood — among others — backing him up.

I usually don't like cover versions of songs I'm already familiar with, but he sure pumped some life into “With A Little Help From My Friends” and “She Came In Through the Bathroom Window,” compared to the Beatles' bland original versions.  And he did a wicked version of “Unchain My Heart” that even surpasses Ray Charles' version, IMHO.

The only cover song of his I can think of that I disliked was “Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood.”  Sorry, but the Animals' version ruled.  Accept no substitutes.

A few years ago there was a YouTube video of Joe Cocker singing “With A Little Help From My Friends,” captioned with “misheard” lyrics.

Check it out.

R.I.P.