Joe Cocker: Mad Dog with Soul

The film chronicles the tumultuous journey of the late Joe Cocker, a soul and blues singer who rose from being a gas fitter in Sheffield to achieving global fame in 1969 with his iconic rendition of the Beatles’ “A Little Help from My Friends” at Woodstock. However, the early 1970s saw Cocker battling personal demons that almost claimed his life. Despite these challenges, he managed to conquer his issues with alcohol and drugs, reestablishing himself as “one of the great primal rock and roll vocalists of all time,” as described by Billy Joel. The documentary weaves together Cocker’s own reflections with rare archival footage. It features insights from his wife, Pam Cocker, family, friends, and the legendary songwriters and musicians he worked with. The film is rich with raw, historic, and electrifying performance clips, and includes in-depth interviews with significant figures from his life, such as Pam Cocker, Ben Fong-Torres (editor at Rolling Stone magazine), Randy Newman, Jimmy Webb, Billy Joel, Rita Coolidge, Deric Dyer, Glyn Johns, among many others.