Photo: Knight/Retna

Born May 20th, 1944 Key Tracks "With a Little Help From My Friends," "You Are So Beautiful," "Feelin' Alright," "Cry Me a River" Influenced Bryan Adams, Brian Johnson

"He brought ray Charles to the mix as an influence on rock & roll," says Steve Van Zandt. Joe Cocker's voice is an irresistible force that combines a love of American soul music with an undeniable depth of feeling: The Northern English belter supercharged Charles' raw-throated vocals with rock & roll attitude, most famously on his hit cover of the Boxtops' "The Letter" and his monumental Woodstock performance of the Beatles' "With a Little Help From My Friends." The response to that helped push along a wave of blue-eyed-soul acts, including Leon Russell, and Delaney and Bonnie. Cocker would go on to interpret tunes by Randy Newman and Traffic as if they were R&B classics. And once he was done with them, that's what they were.

1. With a Little Help From My Friends
2. You Are So Beautiful
3. Feelin' Alright
4. Cry Me a River

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