It's almost one year ago since Joe Cocker died at his home, Mad Dog
Ranch, on the 22nd December, 2014, aged 70. The iconic British rock star has
been much missed. He was undoubtedly one of the pre-eminent rock musicians of
his generation, releasing 22 studio albums, 10 live albums, 68 singles, and
numerous compilations during his lifetime.
Universal
Music Enterprises is honoring the memory of Joe Cocker with the release of the
two-CD collection, The Life Of A Man: The Ultimate Hits 1968-2013, a 36-track
compilation which comes out December 11. The Life Of A Man: The Ultimate Hits
1968-2013 is the first comprehensive double album with all the hits and
highlights of his career, the definitive 'Best Of' of all time, encapsulating
Cocker's entire musical history, delivered in his signature husky blues voice.
The Life Of A Man: The Ultimate Hits 1968-2013 offers a career retrospective,
with tracks from his 1969 A&M Records debut, With a Little Help From My
Friends, which included the title song – a UK No. 1 in 1968 – his first single "Marjorine," which Joe penned, and
his cover of Traffic's "Feelin' Alright"; his self-titled sophomore
album (featuring his covers of the Beatles' "She Came in Through the
Bathroom Window," George Harrison's "Something," Leon Russell's
"Delta Lady" and the Lovin' Spoonful's "Darling Be Home
Soon") and, of course, "Up Where We Belong," his hit with
Jennifer Warnes, to the title track of his final studio album, Fire It Up, and
a live version of "You Are So Beautiful," recorded in Cologne,
Germany, in February, 2013, with both never available in the U.S.
Two
additional Joe Cocker titles have also been made available on CD including two
of his final three album releases. Hymn For My Soul, his 20th studio album was
first released in 2007. Produced by Ethan Johns, who plays several instruments
on the album, the songs include his signature covers of George Harrison's
"Beware of Darkness," Bob Dylan's "Ring Them Bells," John
Fogerty's "Long As I Can See The Light," The Meters' "Love Is
For Me," Stevie Wonder's "You Haven't Done Nothin'" and a Cocker
favorite, Percy Mayfield's "River's Invitation." Guest musicians on
the album include Benmont Tench from Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers, guitar
legend Albert Lee, drum icons Jim Keltner and James Gadson, and horn players
Greg Adams (Tower of Power) and Tom Scott. The disc's spiritual theme put the
record in the top 10 of the Christian Album chart.
Fire It
Up was Cocker's 22nd and final studio album. A hit across Europe when first
issued in 2012, reaching the Top 5 in several countries, going platinum in
Germany, the album is now receiving its first-ever U.S. release. Produced by
Matt Serletic, known for his work with Matchbox Twenty and many other artists,
the album features songs by Keith Urban, Joss Stone, Marc Cohen and Marc
Broussard, and includes three bonus tracks including Serletic's "The Last
Road," Marc Cohn's "Walk Through the World With Me" and
"Let Love Decide."
Cocker
always gave his carefully curated songs his unmistakable trademark regardless
of genre from Lovin' Spoonful's "Summer In The City" to Jimmy Cliff's
"Many Rivers To Cross," with his own signature stamp, an incomparable
interpretation, often and publically endorsed by the original writers. Paul
McCartney was quoted: "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 Denny Cordell coming round to the
studio in Savile 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."
Joe
Cocker was born in Sheffield on 20th May, 1944 to Harold and Madge, into a
working-class background. Cocker crafted his performance in inner city pubs and
clubs, even supporting The Rolling Stones in November, 1963 at Sheffield City
Home under the name Vance Arnold And The Avengers. But Cocker finally came to the forefront of
the musical landscape when he delivered a historic performance at Woodstock on
Sunday 17th August, 1969. That iconic moment led to The Mad Dogs &
Englishmen tour in 1970, and he remained relevant through five decades,
constantly delivering music and emotions to audiences around the world.
Cocker's
final and official posthumous album The Life Of A Man: The Ultimate Hits
1968-2013 is a collection of outstanding songs over two CDs; an essential album
for every music collection, the final curtain call for an artist loved and
missed. These three releases offer a fitting retrospective on one of the most
remarkable musical careers in rock history.
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