# Joe Cocker nails "The Letter" (1970) **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 10, 2008, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/joe-cocker-nails-the-letter-1970/459465 "2008-08-10T02:05:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2008, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/joe-cocker-nails-the-letter-1970/459465/1 "2008-08-10T02:05:01Z")
Yes, it looks like he’s having a spastic fit, and the piano player is clearly stoned, but this song ROCKS: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/4RnjWLVyMps/hqdefault.jpg "Joe Cocker "The Letter" in live 1970 (MAD DOGS & ENGLISHMEN)") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4RnjWLVyMps) ---
**Author:** ![saddata](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/41988e/32.png) [@saddata](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/saddata)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2008, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/joe-cocker-nails-the-letter-1970/459465/2 "2008-08-10T02:17:37Z")
oh yeah! i remember when rock was \*real \* , not like a lot of the over-produced saccharine pop drivel that gets airplay today. we had the mac, the stones, floyd, the dead, janis, jimi. the industry needs to take its children back to school for a lesson on what’s **real**. ---
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2008, 2:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/joe-cocker-nails-the-letter-1970/459465/3 "2008-08-10T02:20:05Z")
Reprefuckingzent. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2008, 2:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/joe-cocker-nails-the-letter-1970/459465/4 "2008-08-10T02:21:37Z")
Eh. This version is slightly better than my version, sung in the shower. The Box Tops’ version is far better. ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2008, 3:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/joe-cocker-nails-the-letter-1970/459465/5 "2008-08-10T03:21:09Z")
[QUOTE=elfkin477] Eh. This version is slightly better than my version, sung in the shower. The Box Tops’ version is far better. [/QUOTE] +1 - no disrespect to Cocker, but the Box Tops and especially Alex Chilton are much better. ---
**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2008, 3:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/joe-cocker-nails-the-letter-1970/459465/6 "2008-08-10T03:25:00Z")
[QUOTE=Elendil’s Heir] Yes, it looks like he’s having a spastic fit, and the piano player is clearly stoned [/QUOTE] The piano player is Leon Russell, who is pretty awesome in his own right, and his eyes always look like that. (Well, maybe it’s because he’s always stoned, I don’t know.) ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2008, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/joe-cocker-nails-the-letter-1970/459465/7 "2008-08-10T03:58:29Z")
Sounds a little different than the one I grew up listening to, but it’s cool to have a visual to go with it. Cocker’s version of The Letter has always been one of my favorite songs. ---
**Author:** ![Talon\_Karrde](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Talon\_Karrde](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Talon_Karrde)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2008, 4:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/joe-cocker-nails-the-letter-1970/459465/8 "2008-08-10T04:27:23Z")
[QUOTE=WordMan] +1 - no disrespect to Cocker, but the Box Tops and especially Alex Chilton are much better. [/QUOTE] I have to agree. I do like how in this version he adds a lot of tension in the chorus. ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2008, 5:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/joe-cocker-nails-the-letter-1970/459465/9 "2008-08-10T05:48:12Z")
I beg to differ. Somehow, despite looking like a wino with CP, which is why Leon Russell’s cane is not an affectation–the CP, not because he’s a wino, though I wouldn’t be surprised if he dips his bill now and then, and Cocker has spent his time sleeping on park benches, but it, in a reversal of expectations but fully in keeping withe the Leon Spinks method of fame, was AFTER he became famous, and despite having a voice like ice cubes in a blender, the man managed to own nearly every song he sang. The popularity of the singer-songwriter has obscured the contributions of the song stylist, a person without a great voice but who understands that singing a song is not just a robotic MIDI recitation of the notes and words, but requires the singer to internalize the song and turn its performance into something far beyond the original. My parents’ generation had Frank Sinatra as its premier song stylist and my generation had Joe Cocker, who took “She Came In Through The Bathroom Window” from a trifle that probably took Lennon and McCartney ten seconds to write to a masterpiece of blues rock. Try out his “Come Together” from _Across the Universe_ and you will see what I mean. ---
**Author:** ![devilsknew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4da419/32.png) [@devilsknew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/devilsknew)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2008, 6:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/joe-cocker-nails-the-letter-1970/459465/10 "2008-08-10T06:41:40Z")
[Check out the drummer](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-z8RCfnWPOo&feature=related)… reminds me of some of my earliest memories. I had a similar casual beige, Alec Chilton Sport/leisure Coat in the 80’s. ---
**Author:** ![DanBlather](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/f4b2a3/32.png) [@DanBlather](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DanBlather)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2008, 6:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/joe-cocker-nails-the-letter-1970/459465/11 "2008-08-10T06:42:14Z")
[QUOTE=elfkin477] This version is slightly better than my version, sung in the shower. [/QUOTE] You’re all wet. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2008, 1:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/joe-cocker-nails-the-letter-1970/459465/12 "2008-08-10T13:29:07Z")
[QUOTE=WordMan] +1 - no disrespect to Cocker, but the Box Tops and especially Alex Chilton are much better. [/QUOTE] I fail to see the reason for all this fannish lust for Alex Chilton. The Box Tops and Big Star are good, but no better than hundreds of other groups of the time. The Box Tops version of “The Letter” was a good song. Cocker’s version is a **great** song. ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2008, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/joe-cocker-nails-the-letter-1970/459465/13 "2008-08-10T16:05:59Z")
I am on a BlackBerry so don’t want to type long - and this is a Cocker thread and he _is_ great so no need to hijack. But suffice to say there is a _lot_ more to Chilton IMHO… ---
**Author:** ![Zebra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/c0e974/32.png) [@Zebra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zebra)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2008, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/joe-cocker-nails-the-letter-1970/459465/14 "2008-08-10T19:09:44Z")
[This is my favortie Joe Cocker](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T4_MsrsKzMM) ---
**Author:** ![Ponch8](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ponch8/32/9883_2.png) [@Ponch8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ponch8)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2008, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/joe-cocker-nails-the-letter-1970/459465/15 "2008-08-10T22:35:29Z")
[QUOTE=RealityChuck] I fail to see the reason for all this fannish lust for Alex Chilton. The Box Tops and Big Star are good, but no better than hundreds of other groups of the time. The Box Tops version of “The Letter” was a good song. Cocker’s version is a **great** song. [/QUOTE] I agree. Cocker’s version really whips the Box Tops’ version’s buttocks. ---
**Author:** ![unstrung](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/a698b9/32.png) [@unstrung](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/unstrung)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2008, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/joe-cocker-nails-the-letter-1970/459465/16 "2008-08-10T23:03:39Z")
[QUOTE=Ponch8] I agree. Cocker’s version really whips the Box Tops’ version’s buttocks. [/QUOTE] Agreed. But you know what really strikes me about that video that \*\*Elendil’s Heir \*\*posted? It’s the backup singers. They’re only shown for a brief period, but goddamn if it doesn’t look like they are having a fun time. Love it. ---
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2008, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/joe-cocker-nails-the-letter-1970/459465/17 "2008-08-10T23:27:17Z")
[This](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dPQcIxWoVOY)\* is my favorite version. You think I’m kidding. But I so dig the way the pounding jungle drums at the beginning “evolve” into all the great disco cliches (which weren’t of course cliches when this pioneer was recording). And then when they come back in, pounding, during the chorus. Nostalgia plays a big part of course; I’m more a product of the disco era than the Woodstock era. Still, Amii Stewart is one of the few disco artists I still listen to. (Her versions of Knock on Wood and, especially, [Great Balls of Fire](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ZNLFVJAqzQ)\*, are even better.) \*Links directly to a video file. ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2008, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/joe-cocker-nails-the-letter-1970/459465/18 "2008-08-10T23:37:15Z")
I don’t know, I always preferred the Beatles’ version of “A Little Help From My Friends.”