Joe Cocker was feelin' alright with the help of a few friends to create one of the greatest cover bands of all time on this soulful classic. Born in Sheffield, England he had started singing onstage when he was twelve and performed through his teens in various groups like the Cavaliers, Vance Arnold and the Avengers, and Joe Cocker's Big Blues before forming the Grease Band with Chris Stainton and Tommy Eyre. Cocker remembers: "[Vance Arnold] was self-invented, much to my embarrassment for years. But everyone used to have names in Sheffield – like Johnny Tempest and the Cadillacs. We were called the Avengers, and the guys said: "You'd better come up with a name." I remember just sitting one day, and I thought of Eddy Arnold, the old country guy, and the Vance was from an Elvis film [Vance Reno – brother of Elvis's character Clint Reno – in 'Love Me Tender']."
'With A Little Help From My Friends' was recorded with producer Denny Cordell and mixing engineer Tony Visconti at Olympic Studios and Trident Studios in London. The album features Joe Cocker on vocals; with a star-studded supporting cast that included David Cohen, Tony Visconti, Jimmy Page, Henry McCullough, and Albert Lee on guitar; Chris Stainton on piano, organ, and bass guitar; Tommy Eyre on piano and organ; Artie Butler on piano; Matthew Fisher and Stevie Winwood on organ; Carol Kaye on bass guitar; Paul Humphrey, Clem Cattini, Mike Kellie, B.J. Wilson, and Kenny on drums; Laudir on tumba and maracas; Brenda Holloway, Patrice Holloway, Merry Clayton, Madeline Bell, Rosetta Hightower, Sue Wheetman, and Sunny Wheetman on backing vocals.
Cocker considers: "[The blues is] an emotion – a way of carrying an emotion. It's a very simple format but I find myself leaning that way as I get older. It's a very nice way to sing...I actually saw myself with Eric Clapton – you know you see all your old stuff on YouTube now – and I was horrified at myself, with my arms just flailing around. I guess that came with my frustration at never having played piano or guitar. If you see me nowadays I'm not quite so animated, but it's just a way of trying to get feeling out – I get excited and it all comes through my body."
'With A Little Help From My Friends' went gold in the US and peaked at number thirty-five on the album chart. In the UK, it went to twenty-nine. His revelatory rearrangement of the title track (written by Lennon and McCartney and featured on the Beatles' 'Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band') went to number one in the UK. His performance at the Woodstock Festival later that same year cemented the song in the American consciousness. For Cocker, it was the beginning of a period of excess that almost sunk him: "If I’d been stronger mentally, I could have turned away from temptation; but there was no rehab back in those days. Drugs were readily available, and I dived in head first. And once you get into that downward spiral, it’s hard to pull out of it. It took me years to get straight...When I first became successful, I was a beer-drinker from Sheffield. Then I was thrown into the world of American rock...The first few years were fine. I was touring the States with Hendrix and Janis Joplin. I never knew what the next day would bring."
http://www.cocker.com/
"With a Little Help from My Friends"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k6HAb88163w
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bRzKUVjHkGk
"Feeling Alright"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pPym6DUM-Ig
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FoAO0851FwA
"Bye Bye Blackbird"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5UCxwAxB7Jc
"Change in Louise"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qmmMRF1HSmo
"Marjorine"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZPEwOupGe_I
"Just Like a Woman"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AMJbuM1AMFc
"Do I Still Figure in Your Life?"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fGWsB0RW-UI
"Sandpaper Cadillac"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nb8czWLYsCM
"Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XPkuRK63EFs
"I Shall Be Released"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qbZzAw7Q2ww
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6kgNG5DOMTY
bonus tracks
"The New Age of Lily"
"Something's Coming On"
'With A Little Help From My Friends'
full album:
Side one
"Feeling Alright" (Dave Mason) – 4:10
"Bye Bye Blackbird" (Ray Henderson, Mort Dixon) – 3:27
"Change in Louise" (Joe Cocker, Chris Stainton) – 3:22
"Marjorine" (Joe Cocker, Chris Stainton) – 2:38
"Just Like a Woman" (Bob Dylan) – 5:17
Side two
"Do I Still Figure in Your Life?" (Pete Dello) – 3:59
"Sandpaper Cadillac" (Joe Cocker, Chris Stainton) – 3:16
"Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood" (Gloria Caldwell, Sol Marcus, Bennie Benjamin) – 4:41
"With a Little Help from My Friends" (John Lennon, Paul McCartney) – 5:11
"I Shall Be Released" (Bob Dylan) – 4:35
outtakes released as B-sides
"The New Age of Lily" (Joe Cocker, Chris Stainton) – 2:15
"Something's Coming On" (Joe Cocker, Chris Stainton) – 2:15
