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The man from Sheffield has gone in untimely fashion, aged a mere 70.

I can think of few other singers whose entire career rested on one single note. He had the immense good fortune to perform at the Woodstock festival, where he covered With a Little Help from my Friends.



It's a once-in-a-lifetime interpretation. Wham. I've enjoyed listening to him ever since I first heard what he did, it prickles my skin every time I hear it played.

What a voice.

This was one of my favourite tracks from him. Fabulous voice. A huge loss

One of my all time heroes, very strange to watch but great to listen to.

Not a favorite, I liked him, .

RIP

I was crushed to hear this news. My son & I just left the theater (we saw The Hobbit) & he was looking on his phone, stopped & said he had very bad news, but he wanted me to hear it from him & not later on TV. I feel very sad, I loved Joe, as Bruv said "One of my all time heroes, very strange to watch but great to listen to."

RIP Joe.

The song I remember him for is 'Up where we belong'

Very sad. Joe you went too soon, but you left some brilliant recordings for which I thank you XXX

My favorite:





Also, when he did SNL with Belushi.

That's also my favorite, valerie. He may be dead, but that doesn't mean his music won't live on.

It's a shame that he never had the opportunity to team up with the R&B group The Spaniels.

Mark Aspam;1469935 wrote: It's a shame that he never had the opportunity to team up with the R&B group The Spaniels.


That would have been quite a gig.:yh_rotfl

Fuzzy;1470059 wrote: That would have been quite a gig.:yh_rotfl
They could have done a cover of Hound Dog.

sheffields finest he was a gas fitter from crookes before he took up singing

and parodied by former sheffield club act the 3 discoes

I enjoyed his stuff as well.

though my favorite memory of Joe was kinda second-hand.

Some years back in post-Navy college days, one of my roomies brought home a a teeny-bopper he met. She was all of 18, or at least claimed to be that old.

We were all sitting around, passing the pipe and a bottle of Boone's Farm or some such, and listening to the local FM station.

The station played the Beatles' "A little Help From My Friends"

Suddenly the bopper jumped up and yelled, "Hey! they stole that from Joe Cocker!"

Took us a while to settle down enough to explain to her what was so funny.

Not many covers 'work'......you can count successful ones in single figures.....Joe Cocker made " A little Help From My Friends"

It was his song.

Bruv;1470335 wrote: Not many covers 'work'......you can count successful ones in single figures.....Well, this could be a whole new thread - in fact, I might start a separate one, out of respect to Joe.

But just for starters, "Wild One (Real Wild Child)" by Iggy Pop, Everlife, Joan Jett, "Ivan" (Jerry Allison), Chris Otcasek, Jerry Lee Lewis, all way, way better than the rather limp Johnny O'Keefe original.

Also, during the so-called "big band era", covers were common, the rule rather than the exception, and a really, REALLY successful pop recording might be covered by twenty or more bands.

Bruv;1470335 wrote: Not many covers 'work'......you can count successful ones in single figures.....Joe Cocker made " A little Help From My Friends"

It was his song.
I know what you mean, but there are quite a few covers which 'work'. In fact there are quite a few covers out there which very few people are even aware that they're covers & believe the cover artist to be the original. For instance, both the Flying Pickets hits ("Only You" & "When You're Young & In Love") were covers, relatively unknown as performed by their original performers. What's more, technically every single one of Elvis's numbers were covers.

FourPart;1470360 wrote: I know what you mean, but there are quite a few covers which 'work'. In fact there are quite a few covers out there which very few people are even aware that they're covers & believe the cover artist to be the original. For instance, both the Flying Pickets hits ("Only You" & "When You're Young & In Love") were covers, relatively unknown as performed by their original performers. What's more, technically every single one of Elvis's numbers were covers.


Heartbreak Hotel?

Mark Aspam;1470353 wrote: Well, this could be a whole new thread - in fact, I might start a separate one, out of respect to Joe.


Go on then, I will respond there.

ZAP;1470361 wrote: Heartbreak Hotel?


Tommy Durden - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia



While Reeves thought the idea of the "lonely street" leading to a "heartbreak hotel" was not worthy of a song (and turned down the offer of a co-writing credit), Axton composed a tune, and recorded an initial version with Durden. The song was later re-recorded as a demo by Reeves who had a better singing voice. Axton had previously promised to write a song for Elvis Presley, and presented Presley with the demo at a 1955 disc jockey convention in Nashville. Presley liked the song, and he and Parker, his manager, agreed that he should record it so long as he was given a co-writing credit, which Axton and Durden accepted. "Heartbreak Hotel" eventually became Presley's first record on RCA Records and his first number one hit.

FourPart;1470360 wrote: What's more, technically every single one of Elvis's numbers were covers.Well, not every one, not even close, but most of his early R&B numbers were covers, beginning with "Hound Dog", "One Night", "So Glad You're Mine" and several others.

And of course, a lot of the Beatles' early numbers were covers. The reason that that comes to mind is that "Devil in Her Heart" was written by Richard Drapkin, with whom I used to work at Artie Fields' recording studio in Detroit. Originally recorded as "Devil in His Heart" by an obscure Detroit group named The Donays. Don't know what Richard is doing today - a very talented musician, producer and songwriter.

FourPart;1470368 wrote: Tommy Durden - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


I didn't know that. Thanks for the info.