Joe Cocker
at Woodstock 1969
Joe Cocker's extraordinary rearrangement of "With a Little Help from My Friends" closed his Woodstock set just before storms darkened the mood.
Joe Cocker — Woodstock 1969
Blues singer Joe Cocker's breakthrough rearrangement of the Beatles' song "With a Little Help from My Friends" is known as one of the brightest spots at Woodstock, which happened just before thunderclouds darkened the mood.
The English-born Cocker had been in a few bands that mainly played pubs in the Sheffield area with minimal success. His break came with the formation of The Grease Band and their cover of the Beatles song, which hit the British top ten charts and eventually took the number one slot on November 9, 1968.
Cocker is most well known for his unique interpretation of songs by other artists. At Woodstock, Cocker's set included "Just Like a Woman," "Dear Landlord," and "I Shall Be Released" (written by Bob Dylan), "Let's Go Get Stoned" (by Ray Charles), and of course the fabled "With a Little Help" by The Beatles.
The entire set was well performed, but the final song was so audibly and visually stimulating that it ranked in the same category as watching Hendrix and Joplin perform. Cocker's full-body convulsions and rawly emotional delivery of the Beatles song was unlike anything anyone had ever seen.
After Woodstock, Cocker continued to tour and release albums. After The Grease Band broke up, he formed a band named Mad Dogs and Englishmen. Their cover of the Box Tops song "The Letter" became his first U.S. top ten hit. He later scored a #1 hit with the duet "Up Where We Belong" with Jennifer Warnes.
Cocker was the opening act at the 1994 25th anniversary of Woodstock, making him one of the few returning acts.