4 Songs Proving That Nobody Interpreted a Track Quite Like Joe Cocker

Joe Cocker didn’t write many songs in his career. But that didn’t stop him from leaving an indelible imprint on the songs of others that he recorded. Cocker possessed a knack for finding new nooks and crannies in his interpretations.

This list could have gone on and on with tracks that Cocker essentially reinvented. But we’re sticking with just four of his most well-known vocal performances to start.

“She Came In Through The Bathroom Window”

We could have chosen “With A Little Help From My Friends”, also written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney and first performed by The Beatles, for this list. Certainly, Cocker and his standout session players did an amazing job of transforming that gentle Sgt. Pepper’s classic into a rock freakout. But we’re going against the grain and choosing “She Came In Through The Bathroom Window”. On The Beatles’ Abbey Road, the song has to compete with all the other tracks crammed into the Side Two medley. But Cocker gives the song a showcase on his second LP, imbuing it with his signature grit. This was his first US Top 40 hit in America.

“Feelin’ Alright”

Traffic possessed the kind of musical chemistry that made their originals hard to cover. It was tricky to top the band’s ability to rhythmically twist a song into exciting, unexpected shapes. They certainly pulled off that kind of magic on their original version of “Feeling Alright”. But Cocker went after it anyway. The addition of female backing vocalists gave the song a bit more soul than it otherwise might have displayed. Whereas Dave Mason, who wrote the song for Traffic and took lead vocal, trips about the melody gingerly, Cocker attacks it. And that makes a huge difference in terms of the sonic impact that his version makes.

“The Letter”

Cocker did two versions of this song, which was first a hit for The Box Tops. And they’re both stellar. The single was a studio take, one in which he and his cohorts radically altered the arrangement. Leon Russell’s herky-jerky piano stands out as the distinguishing element. That take hit the American Top 10 in 1970. Not long after came the thrilling live album Mad Dogs & Englishmen, where Cocker was joined by a cast of thousands on stage. In the live take of “The Letter”, the power of the horns is quite thrilling as they arrive to punctuate Cocker’s breathless exhortations. Alex Chilton sang the original for The Box Tops, utilizing his subtly soulful approach. Cocker gives it his blustery all to triumph in his own unique way.

“Darling Be Home Soon”

The previous three songs on this list all showed how Cocker could tear into material that was uptempo and aggressive. We thought we’d balance that out by looking at what he could he could do with a tender love song. And in terms of the 60s, they don’t get much more tender or more winning than “Darling Be Home Soon” by The Lovin’ Spoonful. Written and originally sung by John Sebastian, the song was given a baroque pop arrangement by the Spoonful, complete with fluttery horns. Cocker’s take is much more earthbound and yet no less moving. When he begs his love to return to him in the chorus, the urgency he projects practically tears its way through the speakers.

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