Interview with Derek Trucks about Joe Cocker

For the book TRIBUTE: COCKER POWER

About to go to see Tedeschi Trucks Band on May 27th & 28th at the Paramount in Seattle. Love that we’ll be able to hang with Sue and Derek and the rest of the band.

What a great honor to have been able to photograph on stage at the Lockn’ Tribute with TTB and my JCMD&E alumni nine years ago. So much has happened since then as we all know. Pre-Covid, pre-Trump, pre-so many wars we wish were not happening.

Enjoy this clip I put together with Derek’s interview:

It’s great how much attention Joe Cocker is getting these days. A new biographic feature film is in production. A recent PR piece just released recently:

The estate of legendary British singer Joe Cocker has entered into an agreement with Irving Azoff’s Iconic Artists Group to acquire and develop the singer’s five-decade catalog. The acquisition includes the singer’s music intellectual property assets, including his interest in his sound recordings, compositions, and his name, image and likeness; further terms were not disclosed.

After working as a singer through the early 1960s, Cocker burst into the mainstream in 1969 with his electrifying cover of the Beatles’ “With a Little Help from My Friends,” which topped the British charts and sparked a major U.S. following, thanks in large part to his show-stopping performance at the Woodstock festival (and subsequent film). With his powerful and unmistakable soul-blues voice and explosive stage presence, Cocker’s popularity grew with the “Mad Dogs & Englishmen” tour, live album and film, which featured an all-star band helmed by Leon Russell.

As you can hear, Derek is one of the kindest, warmest human beings. Working with him and Susan as well as the whole band, including Kebi (so miss him), Warren Haynes, Chris Robinson, Doyle Bramhall, Dave Mason, and my friends Rita, Claudia, Pamela, The Moore Bros, Bobby Jones, and Bobby Torres was a great high point - plus having Heather, Gen and Talina with me on stage was the ultimate high.

Photographing Susan Tedeschi 2015 Lockn’ Festival