Joe Cocker, renowned British blues who parlayed an appearance at Woodstock into a career spanning over forty years, died today after a lengthy battle with lung cancer at age 70.
On a normal day, I might grouse that "we're losing all the big stars, there's no one coming up to replace them". And believe me, that is a valid point. In fact, if we lose too many more stars in the coming months and years, I can see pop culture devolving into an ongoing celebrity deathmatch starring Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Peter Noone, and a cockroach, hosted by William Shatner.
But I digress with my stab at late night humor. In the mood of the holiday season, let's just let three of Mr. Cocker's greatest performances wash over us:
First, the Woodstock breakthrough in 1969 :
The open hearted slow jam to end all open hearted slow jams :
Because I am a Gen Xer after all, I just have to add this one. Schmaltzy though it may be, the Oscar-winning Up Where We Belong at least conveys the feeling of the slow-building romance of the film it supports, 1982's An Officer and a Gentleman (yes folks, Richard Gere was once young and brooding. So was Tommy Lee Jones, believe it or not, but I'll get to that in my next post. Joe and Jennifer sell the hell out of those lyrics!
And let's end on an alright note shall we?
Happy New Year everyone! A little extra...still miss Dick Clark :
How did Mick and Keith wind up in the tags? Let's do one more!
MTMG
