Growing up, I wasn’t allowed to listen to “secular” music. Occasionally, my mom would allow The Beach Boys, which knowing what I know now, seems an odd exception. Much of the the music I heard and fell in love with came from television. I remember watching The Wonder Years and feeling strongly aligned with Kevin, the boy whose life was followed throughout the series. The opening theme of course was a remake of With a Little Help from My Friends written by The Beatles and performed by Joe Cocker. I didn’t know The Beatles at the time, but I did love the that song and looked forward to hearing it weekly. It was just as much a part of what that show meant to me as the ending that revealed “all roads don’t lead to home anymore.”
Today, at age 70, Joe Cocker passed away in his adopted state of Colorado. Years of excess and a long fought battle with addiction wreaked havoc on his health and ultimately contributed to the small cell lung cancer that ended his life. Cocker had long since settled down and had actually become quite famous for something other than his music, his tomatoes. With his wife Pam, they gave back through their charitable organization, The Cocker Kid’s Foundation. Over the years they donated over a million dollars which was generated through private events hosted on their ranch.
Though he became known for his cover of The Beatles, which he performed at the original Woodstock, Cocker recorded a bevy of hits that still are molding generations of musicians and fans alike. A few of his others include Feelin’ Alright, The Letter, Love Lift Us Up Where We Belong, She Came in Through the Bathroom Window, You are so Beautiful, You Can Leave Your Hat On, and Night Calls. These are but a few of the amazing interpretations that made Cocker so beloved.
On Sunday, April 18, 2009, I finally got to see him perform. A nine day vacation in Orlando, Florida, was made complete by the discovery that Cocker would be putting on a free show only a few blocks from my friend Sam’s apartment. Just a few numbers into the concert, a new friend Brian’s girlfriend walked up with a grin on her face and gave all of us pit access passes. I might have squealed. Even in his late 60’s, Cocker came prepared to astound. His jumps were a little less dramatic and barley left space between his feet and the stage, and his spins were stopped short of 360 degrees, but his voice was unmistakable. Unshaken and full of all the power that wowed audiences 40 years before on a farm in rural New York, Cocker’s voice carried me out of that over crowded downtown concert and back to childhood, to a time full of wonder and the beginning of a lifelong belief that music really can heal anything.
Sony music issued a statement on behalf of the Cocker family asking for donations to be sent to The Cocker Kid’s Foundation at P.O. Box 404, Crawford, CO, 81415, in lieu of flowers.
We will miss you Joe. I don’t know how to wrestle with the idea of world without your soulful singing, without you. Thank you for settling a little boys heart on fire through the magic that is music.
