179 Hello Joe Cocker - Marjorine

Chart  entered : 22  May  1968

Chart  peak : 48

Number  of  hits : 16

This  minor  hit  is  another  new  one  to  me. I  had  assumed  his  first  hit  was  the  big  one.

"Joe"  was  born  John  Cocker  in  Sheffield  in  1944. His  father  was  a  civil  servant. He  formed  his  first  band  at  school  , The  Cavaliers , who  broke  up  when  Joe  left  school  and  became  an  apprentice  gas fitter. He  soon  formed  another  band, Vance  Arnold  and  the  Avengers, doing  covers  of  Chuck  Berry  and  Ray  Charles  in  the  Sheffield  pubs. Their  biggest  gig  was  supporting  the  Rolling  Stones  when  they  played  Sheffield  City  Hall  in 1963.

Decca  came  calling  in  1964  but  they  only  wanted  him  as  a  solo  act  so  he  dropped  the  stage  name  and  went  into  the  studio  to  record  the  Beatles' "I'll  Cry  Instead"  with  session  men  including  Jimmy  Page  and  Big  Jim  Sullivan  and  Mike  Leander  arranging. What's  most  surprising  in  the  light  of  Joe's  later  records  is  how  restrained  the  lead  vocal  is  with  Joe  sounding  a  lot  like  the  Dave  Clark  Five's  Mike  Smith. Otherwise  the  record  is  a  little  too  close  to  the  original  for  comfort  and  despite  Decca's  heavy  promotion  it  wasn't  a  hit  when  released  in  September  1964.

Decca  cut  him  loose  without  making  another  record  and  after  a  brief  spell  with  a  new  band  Joe  Cocker's  Big  Blues  he  stepped  out  of  the  music  scene  for  a  time  in  the  mid-sixties. In  1966  he  returned  to  the  fray, forming  the  Grease  Band  with  keyboard  player  Chris  Stainton. They  played  the  Sheffield  scene  until  spotted  by  Moody  Blues  producer  Denny  Cordell  who  invited  him  to  London.

Although  "Marjorine"  was  a  group  composition  Joe's  new  record  deal  with  Regal-Zonophone   was  again  as  a  solo  artist  and  the  Grease  Band  was  promptly  dissolved  although  Stainton's  services  were  retained  and  he's  credited  as  arranger  on  the  label. Despite  the  dreadful  pun  in  the  title  which  must  surely  have  deterred  some  potential  purchasers,  it's  a  pretty  good  record. Cordell's  production  , with  Joe's  gritty  vocals  and  Stainton's  piano  upfront, perhaps  deliberately  makes  it  sound  a  lot  like  his  other  clients , Procol  Harum.  It's  a  bit  ramshackle, seeming  to  fall  out  of  tempo  at  one  or  two  points  and  the  lyrics  suggest  there  was  a  rhyming  dictionary  knocking  about  the  studio  but  there's  a  good  tune  in  there.