When The Beatles reached out to Joe Cocker with a telegram of congratulations in 1968: “Clearly the definitive version”
Lennon-McCartney was a songwriting partnership of untold power, but a side effect of the universality of their writing meant that, in many cases, The Beatles had to make peace with the fact that a litany of other artists were performing their songs back to them, occasionally eclipsing the original versions.
The Beatles are, rather unsurprisingly, one of the most-covered groups to ever grace the airwaves. Walk into an open-mic or live music night at any local pub, and you will invariably be greeted by at least one rendition of ‘Hey Jude’, ‘Let It Be’, ‘With A Little Help From My Friends’, or any number of beloved pop standards first carved out by the Fab Four.
During their heyday, in fact, everybody from Aretha Franklin to Jimi Hendrix had a good go at replicating their iconic sound. Franklin, in fact, released ‘Let It Be’ before The Beatles’ own version had hit the airwaves.
Hendrix, on the other hand, famously performed a blistering cover of ‘Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band’ mere days after the band’s original version had been released. So ubiquitous were The Beatles in the pop and rock landscape of the 1960s that being covered by artists of such legendary ilk was an occupational hazard. To their credit, though, neither Lennon nor McCartney ever seemed to have any qualms with their songwriting efforts being re-recorded by others.
A not insignificant part of that, of course, was that it meant more royalty cheques rolling in for the constantly-struggling Apple Corps, but on a deeper level, The Beatles could always appreciate the artistic worth of their fellow artists. In that sense, there was one Beatles cover that triumphed over all, particularly in the mind of Paul McCartney, and it was Joe Cocker’s version of ‘With A Little Help From My Friends’.
Forming the title track of the Sheffield blues hero’s 1969 debut album, Cocker’s distinctive voice seemed almost naturally suited to the Lennon-McCartney composition, which had originally been issued on Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band two years previous.
To be fair to Cocker, his version wasn’t a straight cover of the Fab Four’s original. Taking his cues from the soul, R&B, and blues inspiration of his ultimate heroes, Ray Charles being a notable figure of worship, the performer re-arranged The Beatles’ version to suit his own styling, and amp up the R&B influences that had been somewhat masked in the original recording.
In the end, even McCartney himself had to concede that Cocker’s recording far outshone The Beatles’. When the cover shot to the top of the UK singles chart back in 1968, the group sent the Steel City singer a letter of congratulations, with Macca also admitting that Cocker’s single was “clearly the definitive version of the song”.
Not only did that cover exemplify the universal power of Lennon-McCartney’s songwriting, so much so that it could transcend artist and genre, but it also ushered in the arrival of Joe Cocker, who still remains one of the greatest blues artists to ever arise from Great Britain.
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