THE MAN WHO MET JOE COCKER ON HIS WAY BACK HOME FROM WORK
THE MAN WHO MET JOE COCKER ON HIS WAY BACK HOME FROM WORK
I used to have a colleague in the office opposite to mine. He was an absolute fan of Joe Cocker.
Once or twice a week, he had some sort of hormone surge. He then pushed up the sound of his computer and played a Cocker song full blast. We got used to that, and most of the times, it was only one song and then he cooled down. It was just a matter of being patient and wait a while.
His favorite song was « With A Little Help From My Friends ».
One morning, when he entered the office, he was very excited. He claimed that he met Joe Cocker on his way back home the night before. We all thought that this was probably just about time to have him locked up, but we listened to his explanations and he was right. It happened in a service station on the highway from Liège (Belgium) to Germany. He was stopping for cigarettes and there was a big Mercedes stopping for fuel.
Inside the building, Joe was buying a coke. My colleague asked him « Are you Joe Cocker ? ». The man said « Yes ». They exchanged a few words. Joe was on his way to a concert in Germany. My colleague rushed to his car to find a piece of paper for an autograph. When he came back, two bodyguards blocked him at a safe distance. And that was the end of the story.
A few months later, my colleague unfortunately forgot the keys of his apartment inside and was locked out. He asked the lady next door if he would be allowed to try and pass from her balcony to his. The lady strongly tried to discourage him, but he was as stubborn as a mule, and he went forward.
He must have slipped, and he fell from the 3rd floor down to the concrete pavement below.
Dead.
Now in memory of my colleague, please listen to a few bars of his favorite song,
He, the man who didn't get the little help from his friends when he most needed it !
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nCrlyX6XbTU
I used to have a colleague in the office opposite to mine. He was an absolute fan of Joe Cocker.
Once or twice a week, he had some sort of hormone surge. He then pushed up the sound of his computer and played a Cocker song full blast. We got used to that, and most of the times, it was only one song and then he cooled down. It was just a matter of being patient and wait a while.
His favorite song was « With A Little Help From My Friends ».
One morning, when he entered the office, he was very excited. He claimed that he met Joe Cocker on his way back home the night before. We all thought that this was probably just about time to have him locked up, but we listened to his explanations and he was right. It happened in a service station on the highway from Liège (Belgium) to Germany. He was stopping for cigarettes and there was a big Mercedes stopping for fuel.
Inside the building, Joe was buying a coke. My colleague asked him « Are you Joe Cocker ? ». The man said « Yes ». They exchanged a few words. Joe was on his way to a concert in Germany. My colleague rushed to his car to find a piece of paper for an autograph. When he came back, two bodyguards blocked him at a safe distance. And that was the end of the story.
A few months later, my colleague unfortunately forgot the keys of his apartment inside and was locked out. He asked the lady next door if he would be allowed to try and pass from her balcony to his. The lady strongly tried to discourage him, but he was as stubborn as a mule, and he went forward.
He must have slipped, and he fell from the 3rd floor down to the concrete pavement below.
Dead.
Now in memory of my colleague, please listen to a few bars of his favorite song,
He, the man who didn't get the little help from his friends when he most needed it !
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nCrlyX6XbTU
A compelling and sad story ending Laurent Truillet I am so sorry this happened to him .(balcony)
ReplyDeleteThat's quite a story of a risk taker. I'm sorry his life ended in that way. If it truly wasn't so sad a story, I would have said that he should have tried to come in through the bathroom window.
ReplyDeleteDidn't expect such an ending, but that's sadly the way life sometimes works out. I'll willingly listen to the song - have always liked Joe Cocker - a voice with distinction.
ReplyDeleteAnn Kennedy I'm surprised that you seem to know where his bathroom was !
ReplyDeleteIt reminds me of a very simple story that happened to me in a B&B in England. It was on the morning we left. I used the bathroom for my morning toilet. The key was on the door inside. When I left the room, I left my thumb on the latch while closing the door. The result was that this locked the door and that it could not be re-opened in any way. It was on the first floor, and there was only a very small window to the outside. We showed a very low profile when we left the house like burglars, before anybody had the slightest idea about how to re-enter the room again.
Mike Perry I also think it's a good song by Joe Cocker, because it is quite different from the Beatles version. Not only an amazing voice, but also good harmonies an a strong piano presence..
ReplyDeleteLaurent Truillet I hope this story will be followed with pictures:-)
ReplyDeleteAnn Kennedy Sorry no, Ann !
ReplyDeleteI wasn't there to make a video when he fell (*), but I have other pictures of the man...
(*) ps : Sorry, This humor is horrible !
Laurent Truillet No! I mean pictures of you climbing out the window of the B&B!
ReplyDeleteTruly a very sad story but I agree with his admiration of Joe Cocker and that particular track. Quite a few people have made cover versions of Beatles songs but very few have been an improvement or as good as the original tracks. Joes version of "With a little help from my friends" was unique as, in my opinion, it was a significant improvement of the Beatles original.
ReplyDeleteOnly one other artist ever got that close and that was Elton John with "Lucy in the sky with Diamonds". It was good but not better.
Joe Cocker was/is one of my all time favourite singers. RIP Joe, born 20th May 1944 in Sheffield, Yorkshire, England. Died 22nd May 2014, Colorado USA.
Ann Kennedy It was the other way round. I was not locked in, but my thumb on the latch resulted that nobody else could get back in the room...
ReplyDeleteDavid Bennett I wholly agree with you. It is rare that a cover is an improvement on the original, but this was the case.
ReplyDelete