#joecocker #reaction JOE COCKER With A Little Help From My Friends 1969 Woodstock REACTION! Join this channel to get access to perks: / @blackpegasusraps
BP certainly likes to get support from us "Boomers", but does NOT understand our music at all. I think I need to snooze him for a while - he has pissed me off with this.
@candacemay7187 why? Music is such a personal experience and every person is allowed their own thoughts on it. I love Joe Cocker but don't like this performance specifically because the band filling in as backup singers are awful. They didn't sing backup regularly for a reason. Not liking them is not the same as not understanding or appreciating the music. I hope you reconsider that thought.
BP is absolutely right! It's not his fault that he didn't know the extenuating circumstances. I first saw "Woodstock" in the movie theater back in the 70s and some people in the audience laughed at those voices because they were atrocious. it took years before I heard the story about the backup singers being stuck in traffic. Most reactors make a point to NOT research the song before they listen so the reaction will be spontaneous and honest. Can't blame a guy for calling out the emperor with no clothes, even if the emperor had a really good reason to be naked.
Not so much brainwashing back then thru music, social media, government schools....TV/Movies etc. The calm before the indoctrination and destruction of America..which is being reversed now. God is so good!
You are a different generation, you don't know the vibe at festivals like Woodstock, it was about feeling the music, not the perfection of the musical quality. These were musicians more than singers. Everyone was high and into a summer of love. You are too young to know what you were missing and too old to let yourself go. These were the greats, never to be repeated. Exciting times. Glad I lived through them.🇬🇧
The late, great comedian John Belushi did a BRILLIANT impression of Joe Cocker singing this song on Saturday Night Live back in the day. It is absolutely worth watching. He also does a duet with Joe Cocker on SNL singing "Feelin' Alright" which is IMHO is absolutely freakin' brilliant.
I was there. He was the reason that 4 13 yr olds ran off to Woodstock. It was my birthday. Different times, different vibes. You are lost in the quality we were lost in the church-like experience. The backup singers never made it thanks to the traffic so the guys improvised. It's not even about the music, it's about the vibe. And for the true vibe, you had to be there.
OMG YES THIS!!! tho i was not around then i do feel the same exact way about great genius music that just takes you away it puts me in a trance out of body experience etc Luv everything you said & i agree wholeheartedly cuz yea it was kinda like my generation as well no parents around for us so we were pretty free & independent heh luvd it! So just wanted to say Thank YOU for bringing back some wonderful fantastical memories for me indeed different times
He was a lovely, kind, unassuming person. He bought books from the store I was temping in in the early 90ies and he was among the loveliest celebs I ever met. I cherish that memory. And yes, he was something else.
You completely missed the point BP…this is Woodstock 69!!! This is legendary. Who cares if the backups aren’t great singer? Joe’s the attraction. And funnily enough I always loved the contrast between his powerful voice and the weird backing vocals. Adds to the charm of the performance. It’s raw.
I tend to see a strong reaction to the background singers from young people - us old rock and rollers don't care if things aren't perfect, so long as the feel is there, and the passion.
It was said that Joe Cocker felt the music so hard, he couldn't stop his body from moving, as if it was playing every instrument at the same time.......By all accounts, this amazing man, was the most gentle person you could ever meet, and wore his soul like a blanket, for all of us to see 💗💗💗 ***RIP GREAT ONE*** 💗💗💗
Why des there always have to be someone like you, that tries to ruin, a nice moment......Is your life really that horrible.....did JC do drugs, of course he did, it was the 70's, but many did drugs, yet could not deliver a song like him......also, I did not say, he could play instruments, I said he moved his body, as he was playing the instruments....please read comments thoroughly before you decide to throw your 1 cent in! *Thank You* @@smilie-pm9gb
He LITERALLY got through that performance 'With a Little Help From His Friends" . . . . . the backup singers couldn't get there in time due to the traffic issues caused by the concert . . . . .
They were stuck in traffic! Its a solid B- for effort to the band on their mediocre attempt to fill in. In their defense, there was probably several weird psychedelics involved.
Trying to sing in a girls voice, an octave too high, without any practice. He should have sang in his normal voice, but what the hell, he give it a shot.
Black Pegasus, "Am I trippin"? Probably not, but the band may have been, and a hell of a lot of the audience was. By this time, I hope you have read that the backup singers didn't arrive, and the band members had to sing falsetto, so go easy on them.
🙋🏼♂️ 🇬🇧 🤯 Winnie !! 🤯 i think any boy who watched the show had a serious crush on Miss Cooper !! 😳 .. # 23 attempt BP requsting Cab Calloway , Jumpin' Jive .. please & thank you 🙏🏻✌🏻
Around 400,000 people who were there were getting high with a little help from their friends. You're too young to understand what the late '60s were like for us. Love, peace, and rock 'n roll! If you weren't alive for it you'll never know!💯🤗❤️✌️
Help from his friends is exactly what he needed. Who else is going to put their pride aside and pitch in and do what needs to be done. Definition of a friend.
I just watched Joe Cocker at Woodstock without any problems - just writing "JC at Woodstock". What a performance. This is actually a cover of a song from the Beatles. Love this man and I miss him sadly.
Dude 1969 a handheld camera to take videos would take up the entirety of a pickup truck bed. If this is as you think. It would have been filmed in 9mm. This took place a good 12-15 years before VHS cameras. Do not fall into the trap of normalcy bias. Do like your reactions. keep up the good work. and the dog was at Woodstock. LOL be thankful this is in color. It is only 7 years after color film was used. Also, most of the acts at Woodstock were majorly Fuked up. There was great Acid there. How the only video? Easy no camera phones. People watched and enjoyed.
Remember, this is Woodstock. The venue was in less than desirable conditions. Some bands didn't get all their members there, some bands had to be helicoptered in. That could be what's happened. The guy didn't look too happy to be standing in for a female chorus. You could research Woodstock to get a better understanding of the situation. There's a documentary you could watch. Have a great day. 😊 Just watched this again and noticed the BU singer was the bassist or guitarist pulling double duty.
Apparently his backing singers were stuck in traffic and couldn't make the performance, so his 2 band members had to stand in last minute. So take it easy on them bro.
I think the point was Joe Cocker's voice, not the filming or the off key dude. This did not air on television in 1969. Those of us who didn't make it to Woodstock saw clips on the news, but did not see the films from the concert until years later when the movie came out. The poor dude who can't sing might have been filling in for somebody sick or too fucked up on drugs. Everything went wrong at this concert. But there was no violence. Watch the movie on your own.
Remember when watching, that Joe Cocker really gets into his singing, and the spazzy moves are his normal behaviors when singing. But, his voice is incredible, so don't get thrown off by it. :)
I saw Joe in the early 80's. He fronted for Jimmy Page, Jeff Beck, Eric Clapton and the rythm section of the Rolling Stones (minus Jagger & Richards). They played tunes from all their works, as well as Joe's. Can you imagine watching Joe Cocker sing Stairway to Heaven, along with all their other greats? It didn't suck
Also, just a cute story….i don’t love the Royal Family but he had loyalty to his Queen. He was asked to perform this for her on a major anniversary of her reign. And he was old but he hit that scream perfectly for his Queen.
This is the one. That was the 60's. Raw and emotional music, unfiltered. That's how Janice, Jimmi, & Morrison did it. Due to the crowds, the backup singers couldn't get in or there. This is what it was and it was beautiful teamwork. Just chill and enjoy the art. ;) Not all good music is perfect.
Joe is a treasure to music. We had a vote on who has given the most emotional performance and this is the top performance where the artist lost them selves in the music. RIP Joe.
Yeah, you’re the one who noticed the back ups were struggling. Wow, what a reaction. They did what they had to do that day. I’m thankful they did. 55 years later you saw it and pointed out that they struggled. It is part of our consciousness now.
We used to imitate Joe Cocker’s movements as a kid when we had our little homemade concerts. I was 7 when Woodstock came out. My older siblings exposed me to all kinds of music. It was the best time. This was during the Vietnam war so the words were meaningful. I am thankful my two brothers came back. The brother of my brother in law did not.
I'm about to turn seventy one in a few days. Our boomer generation grew up on small screen black and white TV that was grainy, snowy and the screen might roll every minute or two. This was filmed in 16mm on Eclair Cameras and Lenses, then transferred to 35MM and 70mm printed film format for showing. We look back with fondness on this while you youngsters wonder "what were they thinking!?"
This footage is from the movie they made of Woodstock. It was made to be watched in Theatres. So the split screen looked good on a big screen. A great piece of music history. And a well made documentary/film. Worth watching even if you don't like all the music. Some amazing performances by great artists. Remember this is 1969 the original Woodstock. And there was a lot of LSD around. When Santana played. Carlos Santana said later in an interview. That before he went on stage someone gave him a hit of acid. And he had to play. He had to keep his eyes closed because when he looked at the neck of his guitar it was wiggeling around like a snake😄 He was concentrating so hard. And it was an amazing solo. And shot the band to stardom. A lot of the musicians were on LSD. It was not illegal then & easy to get hold of. And the guy who was singing the other part. Wasn't a singer. The backup singers like a lot of people couldn't get to the show. The movie I belive is free to watch on RU-vid still.
I remember reading somewhere that the BU singers where stuck on their travels to the gig, so the band had to do their best with the backing vocals! It shows and makes sense 😁 But agreed, he's vocal is better from this era.
Woodstock was from another time. Joe Cocker was known for his wild gyrations on stage. Woodstock had a lot of psychedelic drugs, and it was so crowded that I was told the ground was vibrating, which probably made the camera work with added "benefits" sketchy at best. However, you need to understand the importance of the moment and the mass appeal this concert had for the younger generation at the time, caught up in Vietnam and the "antidisestablishmentarionism." Word from my past!
The thing about this performance is that this is the moment that launched Joe into stardom out of nowhere. You're right about the backing vocals but joe is smokin hot cookin here.
I was screaming 😮 at you just play it. Dude it was Woodstock 69. I've always loved Joe because he was so in tune with his music. So just close your eyes.
Amazing how Cocker's near crazed, ataxic movement disorder influenced performance turned out so well. He was way, way beyond needing any help from anyone!
Backup singers couldn't get there. Traffic sucked. This is classic. He feels his music from head to toe!! I was there in spirit. Love it. Love it. Love it. Peace, love and music. You'd have been dizzy had you been there. Feeling no pain.
Sometimes I wish you would make comments on our comments when we correct you on certain things that are going on in the video. And let us know you did read them and understand that that choir was last minute.
Yes he should just say, "There's probably a good reason and I'll wait for my subscribers to tell me". Then again, I thought they did it on purpose because of the words to the song. I'm probably wrong. 😂. That was my logic, but last minute sounds reasonable too. 😊
The "choir" was his brilliant band, The Grease Band, and not a single comment here about their stirring musicianship, I liked the backup singing, it was quite effective, I think there are some racists on this thread.
Joe Cocker and Jetro Tull were cut from the same cloth. Each felt the spirt of the music and couldn't control their bodies. Both were beyond awesome and enveloped the word "Legendary"
You should check out Joe singing 'You are so beautiful'. He sang with every atom of his body. If you want to react to another phenomenal vocal performance, try Tom Jones, 'I'll never fall in love again'. Powerhouse. There are also videos of Tom singing with Joe and with Janis
I enjoyed your reaction- thanks for your effort to post this one for reaction! I am an older woman that can tell you that Woodstock was the experience of a lifetime. I live in a retirement community where we have a Woodstock committee (35 couples that were at Woodstock) that organizes our annual Woodstock event and the details of the event and their stories are incredible. As others have told you in the comments, Traffic Jams were so bad the musicians and singers from some of the other bands were late getting there so every band mixed and mingled to try to help wherever they could. They even ran out of food so the local merchants gathered what food they could for donation and everybody still talks about living on granola bars for meals at times after the sandwiches sent were gone. I would highly recommend that you explore the Woodstock rabbit hole a bit more with videos of other artists at Woodstock such as Jefferson Airplane, Santana, and Jimi Hendrix.
You haven't heard his other music. The more you hear the more you realize how good he is. He has great voice control over with notes. You can't get it with him unless you hear more.
As others have said, it was Woodstock. It was a cultural happening that unfolded as it did, not a professionally orchestrated / controlled event to be rewound and over dubbed and polished. And truly, Joe Cocker WAS getting by with a little help from his friends. Musicians that were not singers stepped up to fill in the missing parts of the song as best they could so that Joe Cocker could do his thing. Very much Woodstock.
Guys I'm serious this is not the stock video I've seen of with a Little help from My Friends it definitely was no shakiness or no dog barking so this is a re-edited version from a VHS recording. Now I'm going to go try to see if I can find the video from the actual Woodstock video because this one is not the one I remember seeing and I'm only 56 and I seen the original video of the song from Woodstock 1969.
I was a Woodstock 1969. This performance was fire🔥It was a time of Sex,Drugs,n Rockin Roll.So much history boycotting the Vietnam War .Make Love not War.There will never be so much talent at one place.Ty for sharing this & the memories.✌️
I was in Army basic training at Ft Benning Ga when Woodstock happened. Didn't know about it until I arrived at the DMZ in Korea in Jan 1970. The movie theatre at Rc 4 showed it. They showed it over and over for 24 hrs. You could come and go as you wanted, one of the most memorable experiences of my life.
From what I understand he used to move around that way because he was directing his band at the same time as he was singing. He couldn't put his back to the audience, so this was his alternative. It worked for him/them. I miss this dude something fierce. There will never be another Joe Cocker.
I am in my 60s now and I remember when we first started seeing and hearing Joe cocker there were a lot of comments made about his movements and I was never sure exactly what the reason was but recently I watched this video and I realize the same thing that you said that he seemed to be directing the music with his movements. Watching it again tonight I noticed again how when his movements slowed down the music would slow down and get softer and when his movements picked up the music picked up and you can even hear some of his movements reflected in the different instruments so I think you're right
This was a cover of a popular Beatles song. Woodstock was 1969. Not sure anyone thought the event would be as big as it was. It was on Max Yasgur's dairy farm in Bethel, NY (not the nearby town of Woodstock). Small one lane roads to get there could not handle the traffic. Literally ten plus mile backup. People just left their cars and walked. Many performers couldn't even get there. Minimal professional cameras and not very good home movie film cameras at that time. Also was raining most of the weekend and performers were getting bad shocks on stage. We are lucky to have any decent audio and video of the event.
The regular backup singers were stuck in traffic so his guys from the group filled in, they didn't do too bad! Joe Cocker was so spaz, I love that about him! If I had been a bit older I might have gone to Woodstock, but I was only 12 in 1969 and although I was rebellious I wasn't that rebellious! Joe Cocker would almost be a religious experience to see him perform live!
The backup singers were stuck in the Woodstock traffic and this song can’t be performed without them. He had his band members sing and this one poor guitarist was choose to sing backup.
You're watching a video recorded outdoors in 1969 with a camera, mics and speakers from 1969... its going to sound like crap lol. Joe wasn't even supposed be on stage that day. He could have found better back up singers but HE was the attraction. Highly recommend watching Joe Cocker- You are so beautiful 👌
I saw Joe Cocker at Filmore West with The Grease Band in 1969, and then the following year at Winterland, part of his Mad Dogs and Englishmen Tour, featuring Leon Russel. It was a great time to be alive and living in the San Francisco Bay Area during the Bill Graham era.
Maybe you should watch the full Woodstock documentary and you would understand the magnitude of what went on. For sure lots of issues but some absolutely insane performances that would never be repeated.
What really makes this song is that it's a cover of a song absolutely everyone at the time knew. It's a Beatles song off the Sgt Pepper album. It couldn't be more different than the original. That's its genius and very key context
As consistent with his wonderful voice as JC showed throughout his career, even he could not replicate the amount of his soul that he put into his Woodstock slot. btw, Woodstock put a cherry on top of the multi-layered cake that was the 1960's and is a must see in it's entirety to understand what it gave to culture, and also what we could have kept
The dudes singing backup are not regular singers, and they're singing a part of the song that is for female vocals, so they're doing the best they can, singing falsetto. When half a million people are waiting for you to sing, and your backup girls can't get to the stage, you take whoever you can get! THE SHOW *MUST* GO ON! 😂 That's also one of the great things about LIVE performance. Sometimes things don't go as planned, and sometimes, because you have to fly by the seat of your pants, you get 'one for the ages' as a result!
My sister went to his concert in Cairns, Australia. He opened with the statement "Hello, Cairns, I may have been here before, but I can't remember it". She said it hit the spot for a great start to the concert.
Check out the letter, unchain my heart, feelin alright, you are so beautiful, you can leave your hat on he has a lot of classic hits you will love and don’t sweat the small stuff 😂 post it and they will come
He felt the music in his soul and every fiber of his being and sang his heart out because that’s what great singers did. It was not about the perfection or the show being perfect it was about his singing and feeling his song. Today the music is all about everything music is not all you need is a great singer like him a great band and a stage to perform your heart out. It’s a shame we will never hear great music like this again. Oh and his back up singers couldn’t make it through all the traffic so they did what had to be done.
This was Woodstock in 69 so the original footage was in either 8 or 16mm movie film or some remote broadcasting team (not sure what film they used) and the sound quality is bad because it was live with no studio mixing. For a live performance it was top notch back in the day. Raw talent on full display. props to the back up singers for sounding that good on cheap crappy sound equipment ! Cocker never disappoints !
This is a Beatles tune which Joe made his gospelly own. The background singers were stuck in the parking lot that was the NY Thruway to Woodstock. Guitarists had to fill in. Btw- this is NOT the original Woodstock cut- it’s off someone’s VHS. Try the Woodstock original. It’s clear and fabulous.
I love Joe Cocker! This song still gives me chills and I'm 68 now. I always thought of him as the male equivalent of Janis Joplin. One of a kind! Like Janis, he sings with everything he has.
A little research into the logistics that went into getting a show on stage during Woodstock goes a long way into understanding the situational innovation produced by the entertainers. Ritchie Havens was put on stage straight from the helo early in the program. He wrote the song he did 5 minutes before singing it on stage. The song is called Freedom.
I believe you have that just a little wrong. He was first [unexpectedly, as he was supposed to go on much later] because they weren't ready for electric guitars yet, so they were late starting the show already and needed someone who only needed microphones [acoustic guitar]. They kept him on for around two hours while they sorted out the electrical issues. Finally, he had done every song he knew and the story [as I understand it] is he made up "freedom" on the spot and it was his last song, not his first [if that was implied, I'm not sure]. It was recorded [by the film crew of the movie Woodstock] [luckily] and so it became a big hit for him. But it was more or less made up on the spot and it was the last song he did [wrapping up about a 2-hour set] Very impressive, as his guitar style has to be very tiring, and he had been playing a very long time before doing this one. [reportedly each time he would start to get up to go they would make him continue [about 3 or 4 times till he knew nothing more to do than make one up and finally the electrical issues were solved enough, and he could leave and enjoy the rest of the event. [he likely hadn't even had enough time there to get high yet!] Great event!
just discovered your channel this evening... And what a pleasure... Thanks Joe Cocker Woodstock 1969... My year of birth... I grew up with him and others (I had a big brother who was a music fan who educated me) Thank you, I found him a little again this evening thanks to you And thank you for passing the torch on to the youngest
Joe had lots of ticks and movement quirks, not just 'air guitar', but pulling at his sideburns, arms flailing around, he was IN the moment in the best sense, completely losing himself in the music, like a free spirit. There's even a Saturday Night Live clip where Joe Cocker was the guest singer, and John Belushi comes out and mimicks Joe's various quirky movements, and it doesn't faze Joe at all. That's just how Joe Cocker rolled, part of his charm, giving it his all, letting his soul shine 👍😁
I think other essential views from Woodstock '69 are "10 Years After - I'm Going Home" (full version is about 10 mins), "Hendrix - Star Spangled Banner", "The Who - See Me Feel Me" and Crosby Stills and Nash doing Judy Blue Eyes is pretty dope too.