The Foote Files: Joe Cocker, Leon Russell, Mad Dogs & Englishmen
(CBS 11 NEWS) - How about a #1 song from 1967 originally done by the American pop-rock group The Box Tops, but was also a hit in 1970 for an Englishman named Joe Cocker?
Cocker was born May 20, 1944 in Sheffield, Yorkshire, England. At age 26, after releasing a song performed originally by The Beatles ("She Came In Through The Bathroom Window"), he recorded "The Letter" on March 17, 1970 during rehearsals for his upcoming "Mad Dogs And Englishmen" tour. Accompanying him on piano was Leon Russell and backup vocals by the Shelter People. A&M Records (Herb Alpert's company) released the song in April 1970 with "Space Captain" as the B-side. The song reached #7 on the Billboard Hot 100 and was on the charts for nine weeks. Yet it would be another five years before Cocker had another Top 10 hit and twelve years before he had his only #1 hit, "Up Where We Belong", a collaboration song with Jennifer Warnes. That song was the love theme from the movie "An Officer And A Gentleman" starring Richard Gere and Debra Winger.
"The Letter" was written by Wayne Carson (who also was active in country music circles) and produced by Russell and Denny Cordell. Running 4:10, the lyrics go like this:
"Gimme a ticket for an aeroplane
Ain't got time to take a fast train
Lonely days are gone, I'm a-goin' home
My baby, just-a wrote me a letter"
I don't care how much money I gotta spend
Got to get back to my baby again
Lonely days are gone, I'm a-goin' home
My baby, just-a wrote me a letter
Well, she wrote me a letter
Said she couldn't live without me no more
Listen mister, can't you see I got to get back
To my baby once-a more
Anyway, yeah!"
Cocker passed away on December 22, 2014. Russell passed away on November 13, 2016. Two very talented recording artists.
Enjoy!
