There is nothing sadder than a death. Whether that death be a close family member, a friend, or someone you respect, the sudden departure of someone is jarring.
Artists, whether they paint, sing, write, or do films, are a bit of all of the above. This can, at times, make their death feel quite like a slap. That’s what the news of the death of Joe Cocker felt like to me today.
Joe Cocker was a giant piece of the emergence of Rock and Roll as a lifestyle, just as Rock and Roll was emerging back in the ’60s. With albums, his live appearances, and his classic tracks, the voice of Joe Cocker was distinctive. Even his video take of “Come Together” in the brilliant Julie Taymor-directed film, Across The Universe was HUGE!
From his emergence, to his Woodstock appearance, to his ’80s Top 40 hits, to his video take of “Come Together”, Joe Cocker was a talent not to be ignored. His death at 70 is too early!
I miss him terribly! I’m now spinning my favorite of his, “High Time We Went”!
Joe Cocker
1944-2014
RIP
I just picked up his “The Long Voyage Home” boxed set a couple of weeks ago. What a talent!