With his gravelly vocals and frenzied stage performances, Joe Cocker certainly left his mark on rock music. Breathing new life into classics like the Beatles’ “With a Little Help From My Friends” and “You Are So Beautiful,” Cocker’s legacy lingers more than a decade after his death in 2014 at age 70. Still, several of the blues-rocker’s peers don’t understand why the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame hadn’t cemented Cocker’s legacy before this year. That includes Billy Joel, who once hand-delivered a letter to the institution on Cocker’s behalf.
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Billy Joel Compares Joe Cocker to Ray Charles
Billy Joel gained entry into the Rock and Hall of Fame in 1999. Since then, the “Piano Man” crooner has been waiting not-so-patiently for his buddy Joe Cocker to join him.
Following Cocker’s death in 2014, the five-time Grammy winner decided to take matters into his own hands. Joel, 75, wrote a letter urging the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame to consider Cocker for nomination. The “Vienna” crooner read the letter to filmmaker John Edginton in a 2016 interview for Edginton’s 2017 documentary Joe Cocker: Mad Dog With Soul.
In the letter, Joel wrote of feeling inspired by Cocker’s “incredibly raw and soulful vocal style” when he attended the 1969 Woodstock Festival.
“I thought Joe was the most powerful rock ‘n’ roll interpretive male singer I had heard since first hearing the iconic early recordings of Ray Charles,” he wrote. “In my opinion, no one has since come even close to him as one of the great primal rock ‘n’ roll vocalists of all time. I feel very strongly that Joe Cocker should be considered for induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. I hope you will consider putting his name on the voting ballot this year.”
Unfortunately, Joel’s efforts proved fruitless that time. “I never heard back,” he told Edginton. “Shows you how much impact I have.”
Other Artists Have Campaigned For Joe Cocker’s Induction
Billy Joel isn’t the only Rock and Roll Hall of Famer making the case for Joe Cocker’s nomination. In February of this year, ex-Beatle Paul McCartney penned his own letter in support of the “Feeling Alright” singer.
The Wings frontman recalled feeling “especially pleased when Cocker decided to cover “With a Little Help From My Friends.”
“[It] was just mind-blowing, totally turned the song into a soul anthem and I was forever grateful to him for doing that,” said McCartney, 82.
It appears these legends’ pleas did not entirely fall on deaf ears, as Cocker is among this year’s first-time nominees.
Featured image by Myrna M. Suarez/Getty Images
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