Joe Cocker "Unchain My Heart"

"Unchain My Heart" is a song written by Bobby Sharp and recorded first in 1963 by Trini Lopez and later by Ray Charles. Sharp, a drug addict at the time, sold the song to Teddy Powell for $50. Powell demanded half the songwriting credit. Sharp later successfully fought for the rights to his song. In 1987, he was also able to renew the copyright for his publishing company, B. Sharp Music. The song was a hit for Charles when released as a single in late 1961. Accompanied by his Raelettes, Charles sang about wanting to be free from a woman "who won't let (him) go". It was also accompanied by his longtime saxophonist, David "Fathead" Newman and other members of Charles' band. The song reached #9 on the pop singles chart and number one on the R&B singles chart and was the working title of Charles' 2004 biopic Ray.

In 1963, doo-wop band The Rivingtons covered "Unchain My Heart" on their Doin' The Bird LP. The track was further popularised by Joe Cocker when he named his 1987 album after the song. His version of the song was re-released in 1992 and reached #17 in the UK. Another a cappella group, The Bobs recorded a version in 1994. Also, the Australian government used the Joe Cocker version - illegally - to promote the introduction of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) in 2000. [Wikipedia]

Joe Cocker "A Little Help From My Friends"

With a Little Help from My Friends" (originally titled A Little Help from My Friends) is a song written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney, released on The Beatles album Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band in 1967. The song was written for and sung by Beatles drummer Ringo Starr as the character "Billy Shears"; it is ranked #304 on Rolling Stone's list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.

Joe Cocker's version was a radical re-arrangement of the original, in a slower, 6/8 meter, in a different key, using different chords in the middle eight, and a lengthy instrumental introduction (featuring memorable guitar lines from Jimmy Page). It was used as the opening theme song of the American television series The Wonder Years and is one of Joe Cocker's most famous songs. Cocker can be seen performing the song at Woodstock in 1969 and can be seen in the related documentary film, "3 Days of Peace and Music". [Wikipedia]