The turbulent life of soul and blues singer, the late Joe Cocker. A former gas fitter from Sheffield, catapulted to world stardom in 1969 at Woodstock with his legendary performance of the Beatles song, "A Little Help from My Friends". But in the early 1970s, Joe Cocker's inner demons nearly killed him. Overcoming his struggles with alcohol and drugs, he rebuilt his reputation as "one of the great primal rock and roll vocalists of all time" (Billy Joel's description). The film mixes Joe Cocker's own words, with rare archive. His wife (Pam Cocker) & family, friends and the legendary songwriters and musicians he collaborated with, tell Joe Cocker's story. The film has raw, historic, electric performance footage throughout. Extensive interviews of key people through his life include: Pam Cocker, Ben Fong-Torres (Rolling Stone magazine editor), Randy Newman, Jimmy Webb, Billy Joel, Rita Coolidge, Deric Dyer, Glyn Johns, and numerous others.
Acting
Joe's own archive footage — no actor could fake that wrecked grace.
Direction
Edginton lets the performances breathe, doesn't over-edit the pain.
Sound
That voice. Unfiltered, unpretty, absolutely holy.
Director
John Edginton
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
The 'Mad Dog' nickname came from a 1970 tour where Cocker's band went through $1000/day in cocaine — the record label literally hired someone to follow them with a briefcase of cash.
Cocker's spasmodic stage presence wasn't performance — it was genuine, uncontrollable physical response to the music, later diagnosed as related to his autism spectrum traits.
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