Got this great piece from Bob Merlis regarding Joe Cocker's first-ever Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame Nomination ...
(how can this even be?!?!?)
JOE COCKER HAS LONG BEEN ELIGIBLE FOR INDUCTION INTO THE ROCK AND ROLL HALL OF FAME
THIS YEAR MARKS THE FIRST TIME HE’S BEEN NOMINATED
Based on the rule that one is eligible for induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame 25 years after an artist’s first legitimately released recording, Joe Cocker, who recorded a version of the Beatles’ “I’ll Cry Instead” back in 1964, first became eligible for the honor in 1989. Now, 36 years after that milestone and 11 years after his tragic death, he’s finally been nominated for induction with the Rock Hall’s class of 2025.
In reality, Cocker’s initial Beatles cover was not much of a success, but in 1968 his version of another Beatles classic, “With A Little Help From My Friends,” just a year after the song’s debut on the Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band album, broke through in a big way, going all the way to #1 in the UK. It was Cocker’s performance of that song at the Woodstock Festival the following year that cemented his status as one of the most soulful and committed vocalists of the rock era.
Cocker’s career was off and running, taking the Sheffield, England native, who had a job as pipefitter with the local gas company before he was a rock star, to the highest reaches of the international record charts time and time again. “With A Little Help..” was certainly a signature song for him that merited a John Belushi impression, but his career soon transcended that singular success. For the next four decades, he became a paragon of unpredictable excellence, and despite a tumultuous personal life, he tackled rock, R&B, soul, blues, jazz and ballads with astounding aplomb.
Paul McCartney recalled his initial encounter with Cocker: “He was a lovely northern lad who I loved a lot, and, like many people, I loved his singing. I was especially pleased when he decided to cover 'With A Little Help From My Friends' and I remember him and (producer) Denny Cordell coming round to the studio in Saville Row and playing me what they'd recorded and it was just mind-blowing, totally turned the song into a soul anthem and I was forever grateful to him for doing that.”
Beyond “I’ll Cry Instead” and “With a Little Help,” Cocker would record many other songs from The Beatles catalog, giving each one, including “She Came In Through The Bathroom Window,” “Across The Universe,” “Let It Be, “Something,” “Come Together,” “You’ve Got To Hide Your Love Away,” McCartney’s “Maybe I’m Amazed,” John Lennon’s “Jealous Guy” and The Plastic Ono Band’s “Give Peace A Chance,” a new slant that Paul, John and George had never imagined.
However, he was much more than an interpreter of that iconic repertoire; his 1970 version of the Box Tops’ #1 1967 hit “The Letter” brought new life to the song and Top 10 status in the US. Cocker became an in-demand touring attraction, crossing the world as the centerpiece of Mad Dogs & Englishmen, a troupe of more than 30 performers whose antics were chronicled in the feature length documentary film that was released by MGM. Vincent Canby in the New York Times called it “a most satisfying record album of a movie which patronizes neither its audience nor its stars . . . It is uncluttered, one of the best concert films so far.” Joe Cocker’s life and times were the subject of another documentary, Joe Cocker: Mad Dog with Soul that was released posthumously in 2017.
Late
in his career, Cocker hit with the poignant Billy Preston-penned ballad
“You Are So Beautiful To Me” that revealed him to be the sensitive
nuanced singer that made his duet with Jennifer Warnes “Up Where We
Belong” from the film An Officer and a Gentleman such a
phenomenon in its time. Apart from Jennifer Warnes, Cocker collaborated
with a wide range of artists including Rock Hall inductees Eric Clapton,
Stevie Wonder and Tina Turner.
In 2014, when Cocker’s health was failing, Billy Joel took to the stage at Madison Square Garden and called him “a great singer who should be in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame,” adding, “I’m amazed that he’s not yet, but I’m throwing in my vote for Joe Cocker.” He proceeded to do a note perfect rendition of Cocker’s version of “With A Little Help,” bringing down the house.
Apropos of the Rock Hall, Pam Cocker, Joe's widow who shared 38 years with the star, recalls experiencing the announcement of each year’s nominees with her late husband. “When the nominations were revealed, he would be upset to realize that an artist that he thought had long been in the Hall hadn’t yet been inducted. He was an advocate for so many of these people that he felt were deserving but was never angry or upset that he, himself, had been overlooked,” she commented. "Though he certainly wanted that honor, he wasn’t covetous of it and felt that it would someday come. He was confident in his career and talent and that was really all that mattered to him.” She noted, “He would have been delighted to have this recognition not only for himself but for other great artists he thought were deserving of it.”
Vic Cocker recalled of his younger brother – with whom he was very close – after being informed of the nomination, “Joe was born in May, 1944, a perfect age to hear the first wave of the new music of Rock and Roll through the jukebox and the family radiogram; eventually the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame honoured those heroes who created it. Later, as a performer himself in the second wave there were new heroes – some were part of incredible bands with whom Joe shared a stage and some whose genius he admired from afar - he was delighted to see them honoured, too.
"Joe often closed his show with the words 'Rock and Roll!' It was a reflection of his musical passion. To be recognised among his heroes would be the greatest privilege he silently wished for. In the ten years since Joe passed, there has been plenty of time to reflect on whether he made a distinctive contribution. What are the tests? His voice and delivery remains unique among a huge theatre of talent. He is instantly recognizable, still reaches into our hearts, stirs our souls and makes us want to rock or just relive our moments. Joe had a gift of musical interpretation and an amazing power and intensity of performance. He staked his claim on stage and in the studio, but never verbally. Judgement, in Joe’s view, was best left to others.”
Apart from successes as a recording artist, who received five Grammy nominations, including a win for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Jennifer Warnes for “Up Where We Belong,” which also was an Academy Award winner, Joe was listed on both MOJO and Rolling Stone’s respective lists of 100 Greatest Singers of All Time. He has five Top 20 albums, nine Top 40 singles and multiple gold and platinum certified (US) albums to his name. The New York Times called him “the rock world’s most distinctive interpreter of others’ songs.” In 2007 he was awarded the Order of the British Empire by Prince Charles at a ceremony at Buckingham Palace.
-- Bob Merlis
December 13, 2007: Prince Charles presents Joe Cocker with Order of the British Empire honor on behalf of Queen Elizabeth II
Cast your vote NOW for Joe Cocker in The Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame Fan Vote ... https://vote.rockhall.com/
And be sure to check out our tribute piece to Joe Cocker in Forgotten Hits ... https://forgottenhits60s.blogspot.com/2014/12/joe-cocker.html
And look for Mark Bego's book (soon to be reissued and updated with Joe's Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame information)
CHECK THIS OUT:
When Paul McCartney heard about our collective efforts to draw attention to Joe's deserved place in The Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame, he sent this letter to all parties concerned ...
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