Joe Cocker remembered: 10 essential performances

Joe Cocker had one of the more distinctive voices of any Woodstock-generation artist. As the music world mourns his passing — Cocker died at 70 on Monday, Dec. 22 — here's a playlist of some of the songs for which he'll be remembered.

"With a Little Help From My Friends" (1968)

A lot of people know this Beatles cover as the theme song to "The Wonder Years," but it was Cocker's mainstream breakthrough, with lead guitar by Jimmy Page and a soulful lead vocal from Cocker, performed as a call-and-response with gospel singers. The studio recording topped the U.K. charts in 1968 and he performed it live at Woodstock the following year.

"Feelin' Alright" (1968)

Does the piano intro on this Traffic cover sound like it's about to break into that "Peanuts" theme song with Latin percussion? Yes, it does. Released in 1968, the Cocker version, a funky feel-good track with gospel-flavored backing vocals from Brenda Holloway, Patrice Holloway and Merry Clayton, peaked in the U.S. at No. 68. When the label re-released it in 1972, it went to No. 33.

"Delta Lady" (1969)

Leon Russell, Cocker's musical director on the career-defining Mad Dogs & Englishmen tour, wrote the first single from Cocker's second album, a self-titled release that hit the streets in 1969. A U.K. Top 10 hit, the single peaked at No. 69 in the States.

"She Came In Through the Bathroom Window" (1969)

Another Beatles cover, this "Abbey Road" track peaked at No. 30 on the Billboard Hot 100, Cocker's highest-charting U.S. hit to that point. Not unlike "With a Little Help From My Friends," it's a total departure from the song's original recording, adding a country-rock flavor.

"The Letter" (1970)

This Box Tops cover was taken from the live album, "Mad Dogs & Englishmen," captured at the Fillmore East. In keeping with Cocker tradition, it's a total reinvention, arranged by Russell. The single peaked at No. 7 on the Hot 100 and hit U.K. No. 39.

"Cry Me a River" (1970)

Also taken from the live "Mad Dogs & Englishmen" recording, this gospel-rocking reinvention of a jazz standard written by Arthur Hamilton and popularized by Julie London features more call-and-response between Cocker and his female backup singers. The single hit No. 11 on the Hot 100.

"Midnight Rider" (1972)

This Allman Brothers cover was a No. 27 hit on Billboard's Hot 100. His arrangement starts off slow and tortured before kicking in with the same sort of Latin percussion he'd used on Traffic's "Feelin' Alright." And from that point, it's really not that far removed from the Allmans' recording (at least not by Cocker standards).

"You Are So Beautiful" (1974)

This gospel-flavored Billy Preston ballad (co-written with Bruce Fisher and an uncredited Dennis Wilson of the Beach Boys) peaked at No. 5 on Billboard's Hot 100, blessed with one of Cocker's most vulnerable vocal performances and tasteful orchestration. It's slower than Preston's original, which makes the vocal that much more emotional.

"Up Where We Belong," with Jennifer Warnes (1982)

A duet with Jennifer Warnes, featured on the soundtrack to "An Officer and a Gentlemen," this very '80s ballad topped the Billboard Hot 100 to become his biggest U.S. hit. Written by Jack Nitzsche, Buffy Sainte-Marie and Will Jennings, it won the Golden Globe for best original song and the Academy Award for best original song. Cocker and Warnes also picked up a Grammy for best pop performance by a duo or group with vocal.

"When the Night Comes" (1989)

Cocker's last big U.S. single hit No. 11 on the Hot 100. Written by Bryan Adams, Jim Vallance and Diane Warren, it sounds like what you'd get from that crew -- big, bombastic mainstream rock of a clear '80s vintage. But the vocal makes it worlds better than it had a right to be.