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Joe Cocker eternal heartbreakerLast summer marked the unbelievable 40th anniversary of the magnificent breakthrough performance by Joe Cocker at the legendary American Woodstock festival. This English singer and composer (who turned 66 on 20th May this year!) confirms the truth about vintage wines. The increasing years are just adding new layers of characteristic and unmistakable tones to his million-dollar gravelly voice which is able to soften in ballads, as well as to harden in more strident music.Cocker, born in industrial Sheffield, became famous for the very first time in the Autumn of 1968 for his cover version of the Beatles’ opus: “With a Little Help from My Friends” (at that time Number 1 on the Top 20 Desert Island Discs), for which the guitar lines were recorded by Zeppelin’s wizard, Jimmy Page. This song ranks among the last great confirmations of the “classical” scene of international popular music. Cocker’s Pop-Rock repertoire, resembling the sound of an immense hammer striking – softly and loudly – on an emotionally resounding anvil, contains acknowledged evergreens that have been properly tested by time. Examples are: “Summer in the City”, “The Letter”, “You Are So Beautiful”, “Delta Lady” and “Come Together” (another creative re-arrangement of The Beatles), and other pearls of his carefully built repertoire. Joe Cocker began his musical career already at the beginning of the 6th decade of the last century. As a 14-year-old boy, educated as a gas fitter, he discovered Ray Charles. When he was 15, he started singing with the Cavaliers group. He properly developed and strengthened his vocal cords with them, in smoky workers’ pubs of his native Sheffield. However, that was all that happened for a very long time. In 1964, he recorded his first single, “I’ll Cry Instead”, a song by John Lennon and Paul McCartney which, however, was a failure. Nevertheless, he did get in as an opening act on the Manfred Mann group’s concert tour. After that, he humbly returned to his job as a fitter. However, he continued playing music, but at that time only as a hobby. He put together his own amateur group, Grease Band, in which he featured mainly as the solo vocalist. Even though the single, “Marjorine”, was not very successful, it did help Cocker to be able to perform at a Jazz and Blues Festival in Windsor. And then finally came the breakthrough “Beatles’ single”! In 1969 came the hit Delta Lady and then the debut album, “With a Little Help from My Friends” – and people started talking about Cocker. As early as 1969, he went on a concert tour in the United States with Grease Band (where the earlier mentioned performance at Woodstock took place), where he was noticed by Leon Russell. A bizarre concert series, “Mad Dogs and Englishmen”, produced by Russell, which took place in the following year, featured at least 50 performers and, during a two-month period, almost 50 concerts. A double album by the same name and a movie documented the concert series. However, Cocker almost died from the strain. On the other hand, it can be said that, since then he has never been out of the international music scene. Joe Cocker, who was also awarded the Order of the British Empire, received, among others, a jubilee Grammy Award for his duet, “Up Where We Belong” (1975), which he sang with Jennifer Warnes for the movie, “An Officer and a Gentleman”, starring Richard Gere in the main role. The prestigious Rolling Stone magazine listed him in 97th place of the Best Singers of All Time. He has released over 30 albums, including several selections of his top hits. Joe Cocker was born to sing. And he sings like nobody else can – perhaps because he does not make a big deal out of it.
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News and tips The Spring Antique Fair  Shahaf Shabtay, the Chef of SaSaZu,  TOUCH OF FASHION by Czech Tourism  Exhibition of Schel’s statues and Zika’s photographs  Children’s Program of the 16th Annual Multigenre Festival Strings of Autumn 21. – 23. 10. 2011  A Land of Fairy Tales |
