Thursday, August 27, 2009

Cry Me A River

I've always loved this guy. His growling shout and retarded-inspired air guitar mannerisms are his trade mark.

In 1969, Joe Cocker and The Grease Band embarked on an American tour. They released an album called With a Little Help From My Friends and played a little music fesitival called Woodstock. The rest, as they say, is history. Cocker's rendition of that Beatles tune is one of the highlights of not only the festival but of all live rock and roll performances.
Shortly after Woodstock, Cocker released Joe Cocker!, toured further and made many television appearances. At the end of the year, tired and burned out he refused to tour any more and dissolved the Grease Band.

But Cocker had to meet contractual obligations whether he wanted to tour or not and so he quickly assembled another group to head out on the road. The outfit was called Mad Dogs And Englishmen and was comprised of 30 musicians, led by pianist Leon Russell.
The tour, and the group, lasted about 4 or 5 months but it spawned, in my estimation, one of the all time greatest live rock albums and rock concert films Mad Dogs and Englishmen. Here's a performance of Cry Me A River...





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