This is a quick trivia question that popped into my head. I guess Dale is about the same age as me and like me, used to read Circus Magazine and The Rolling Stone like it was "The Holy Grail" during classic rock's heyday.

This question is about, what I think probably is TV's funniest and awe inspiring musical moment. It was on a early Saturday Night Live.

It was when Joe Cocker, at the start of his comback from his severe drinking problems that took him all the way back, out of music and to drive a truck again for a living.
It appears that Joe has remained sober since the seventies and I have nothing but pure admiration for anyone who can dramtically turn their life around as he has.

In the live show, Joe was introduced and started singing one of his most famous "covers", the Beatles "With a Little Help From My Friends", with all of those spastic type movements that are unique to Joe.
After about a verse of the song, to the surprise of Joe, the late John Belushi came out singing with Joe, but immitating Joe to the letter, they even traded verses.

What made it so special was Joe's incredible class on how he handled the situation as well as how good Belushi was, he can sing and do that R&B.

After that unforgetable performance, John Belushi was invited to go somewhere and did.
Does anyone know where John went after the show was done ??

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To the men's room to do a speedball?

HA !!!

Dale, at that time. Belushi was not popular enough to get away with that type of thing.

Years ago, I read the biography of Belushi by one of the "Watergate" writers and it was fascinating. What was fascinating was not so much Belushi, but how, if someone gets celebrity status and personal abuses are taking control, how there are so many around them who excuse it all, help their negative habits. They do whatever because the celebrity is making a lot of money for the TV and movie studios, and that is the priority.

Belushi's abuses were amazing, one both drugs and food.

But Johno was a speedball king !!

Thanks Dale.

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Don't know, but in my dream band, Joe Cocker sings and Alvin Lee plays the guitar. Did they ever perform together? I can think of no other singer who can match Joe Cocker's voice, tone-sureness and magic appearence on stage - still to this day. He's as good singer as Alvin is guitarist, IMHO. Imagine a slow blues or a swinging gospel with those two on stage..

I would love to see them do a number together, it would be fun. But I think of Joe as more of a Rhythm and Blues guy. I just had a vision of Joe singing Help Me. But, I would rather see the originator singing and playing his the best blues harp in the business, the late Sonny Boy Williamson.

I have always loved really good vocal harmonies, so if Alvin played with some backup singers.

How about Alvin recording with one of my favorites, in their early years, before they had a few top singles, "The J. Geiles Band" !!

If you have never heard J. Giles live album "Full House", it absolutely smokes with incredibly energy and talent. Now they had maybe the most original blues harp player and someone who has the best nick name in Rock/Blues, "Magic Dick". Peter Wolf could sing and play with "off the chart energy", and they knew the blues, real roots blues too.

With the energy that Alvin generates just by himself, and the early J. Geiles, WOW.

I am thinking, who is still alive who really knows how to sing with their heart and soul. Buddy Guy would be fantastic, to play and sing with Alvin. Steve Winwood.
Billy Preston would be nice as well.


Although Alvin abviously more than made up for this, with his talent, prescence and energy, but I would have liked it if TYA would some of the times record or have some singers who could harmonize, just add a little more seasoning to the pot.

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Borge,

I got another one who I think would be fantastic to sing with Alvin.

Paul Rogers of "Bad Company", "Free" and others. I just saw him on cable TV from a 2002 "Bad Company" tour and he still has that great voice.

Dale,

Although you might be very correct in your answer to the Joe Cocker/John Belushi trivia question, it is not the answer I had in mind.

If anyone WANTS to know the answer, please post it hear and I will tell you what John Belushi did after the show. Another hint is that he went to work.

Right I'm going to show off - and probably get it wrong:

Hear Me Calling on Stonedhenge had a harmony, I think it was the producer.

In Flight had a few harmonies from the backing singers.

Pete Pritchard did some harmony in the concert last year at Brighton, can't remember which songs, and I have a vague memory that Edgar Winter joined in at the end.

Finally, didn't Alvin and Mylon LeFevre double up a couple of times on On The Road To Freedom.

OK I'll shut up now, except that I do agree about Joe Cocker. What a fantastic voice.

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Hmmmm Cocker.. well each to his own.

Interesting thing, though... In the mid-to-late 60s, many old blues guys toured over here in the UK.. some well-known (I remember seeing John Lee Hooker, Jesse Fuller, Jimmy Reed) and some obscure.. possibly hoiked out of jobs as janitors and waiters... to cash in on awareness brought about by people like the Stones referencing them. But when we bring up names of people who're still around, whose influences hark back to the blues... they're invariably white and more often than not, British. Black artists, and it was black music after all.. had already moved on - into Soul and Motown (at least, those who got famous), mostly, when the blues revival took shape.

It is an unfortunate fact of history that most white artists benefited far more from the influence of black music than the black artists that originally created it.

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Don,

Well said and very important to remember.

While most music artists have gotten screwed by their management or record companies, black artists REALLY got screwed.

If one follows the history of blues/rock, it parallels the unfortunate racism that is still so prevelent in the U.S.
I have always felt that Racism of all kinds has been the "achilles" heel of the U.S. and as a citizen and someone who cares deeply about this country, it is important to discuss and be aware of.

I do feel a debt of gratitute for the "British Invasion" artists from The Beatles, to Alvin Lee to The Rolling Stones, Clapton, etc, etc, etc who listened, understood what they were hearing, covered all those songs, added another dimension to that great "American Form" and most importantly, gave credit to and helped promote the artists who inspired them.

Sadly the Brits and Europeans were more exposed to the great American artists than white Americans were.

Jon

PS: Is anyone interested in the trivia question answer ?????

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