While writing the book I spoke to a ton of people involved, not just in the story but in the music scene of the late 1970s and early 1980s.
Mitch Chakour was Joe Cocker’s Musical Director for five years in the late 1970s and early 1980s. He was with Joe when they played International Banquet House in Anchorage just a few months before Rod Evans and The New Deep Purple.
I contacted Mitch as I was looking for background info on venue and town. Little titbits that can only be gleaned from performers who have played on the stage, hung out in the backstage area and generally experience the venues the way that punters never do.
I’ve removed the parts of our chat that I’ve included in the book and what remains is an interesting slice of history and a few lovely tales of life on the road with Joe Cocker. I’d like to thank Mitch as he was very generous with his time.
WHAT AN AMAZING CAREER YOU’VE HAD. I READ THAT YOU WERE ON OF THE IN-HOUSE MUSCIANS AT JOE’S PLACE (BOSTON BLUES VENUES)
There’s a couple of people who want to write that story. For a year and a half I was the house guitar player at Joe’s Place. I played with every blues artists that was alive and they’d stay at my apparment. Muddy Waters, Howling Wolf, Bo Diddley,
HOW DID YOU COME TO BE INVOLVED WITH JOE COCKER
The end of 77, beginning of 78, some friends of mine were in a band called the American Standard Band and Nicky Hopkins was supposed to record on Joe’s Luxury You Can Afford Album but he ended up injuring his hand so my friend said ‘Call our friend Mitch to come down’
So Michael Lange who was Joe’s manager at the time said ‘Come down and play on the record, the guys spoke very highly of you’. I was really interesting too because at that point I played piano but I was a guitar player in my own band, even though I played piano as well. I went down, the beginning of January 1978 down at Criteria Studios
WAS THAT YOUR BIGGEST GIG AT THE TIME?
Maybe it was? But at that point I’d also been playing with Bonnie Raitt and I was hanging out with BB King and Muddy Waters. Of course Joe is a big gig but I’d already been playing with all of these people.
The funny thing is I never thought about it, I didn’t really know Joe’s stuff that well but I loved playing music and I really didn’t know the deepness and the history of these blues artists, I just knew they played good music and having a wonderful time.
So I went down to do the record and I’d done other records before and I started playing one of the ballads with Joe and he gave this little sigh and I thought ‘oh I’m out he’s gonna send me home’ because the other piano players on the record were like Billy Preston, Donny Hathaway, Richard Tee, Dr John… All of my heroes. So I just sat there for a second and he said ‘oh lovely, you play piano just like I would if I could’. I took me a second because I was ready to get thrown out. He really liked it.
It wasn’t that I was the stellar player like those other players, I guess I realised it was because I singer and I breathed with him and I moved with him and everything we did was like a dance.
It was funny because when we were on tour in Europe Richie Havens said ‘I love to watch you and joe dance’ and we did a song called the Mood Is A Harsh Mistress and Richie said I love to watch you two dance every night.
So that’s how I got the gig and Joe asked me to go on the road with him and it was probably until 82.
HE WAS JUST ABOUT TO HAVE CAREER RESURGANCE IN 82 WASN’T HE? HE HIT THE CHARTS AGAIN….
That’s right, An Officer And A Gentleman.
WERE YOU AROUND WHEN THAT WAS GETTING DISCUSSED? DID YOU PLAY ON THAT?
No, I wasn’t. I’d been performing since I was 14 or 15 years old and all of a sudden I’m going on the ripe old age of 29 and I wanted to have some more kids and I thought ‘I think I’m gonna stay home’
DO YOU FEEL YOU MISSED OUT?
In some ways yes but in other ways everything has been brilliant. If I’d gone that route then things would have been different obviously, I was getting a lot of recognition outside of the band as well at that time. But I also had a lot of recognition in the New England East Coast area. It’s interesting to look back and think ‘what would it have been’
This is not the dress rehearsal, this is the show. I would say I’m 99% happy about it. My kids are brilliant, my granddaughter is brilliant, my wife is brilliant I’m the only bone head in the goofball family. Every body else is brilliant.
My whole career has been pretty amazing. I talk to people about it and they say ‘what?!’ You know back in the late 2000s I toured with Peter Wolfe and the J Geils band and I’m still in touch with all of my blues friends who are still alive.
WHO AREN’T BEING REPLACED WHEN THEY PASS
BB King, you can’t step into that. You can be an amazing band, It doesn’t matter how amazing you are, there’s not going to be another Beatles.
WITH SOMEONE LIKE BB KING, PART OF IT WAS THE HARDSHIP OF HIS EARLY LIFE AND MEMORIES AND IT’S HARD TO REPLICATE THAT BECAUSE A LOT OF YOUNG MUSICIANS LIVE IN RELATIVE COMFORT.
Exactly, that’s a great point. His pain. I talk to people about meeting different famous performers and they say ‘oh this person was terrible, that person was terrible’ and every single one of those blues artists If you caught them outside where they were playing, they would stop and look you in the eye and ask you about yourself. I learned so much about the graciousness and the understanding. Without exception.
WHEN SOMEONE YOU ADMIRE SAYS ‘HOW ARE YOU’ IT CAN BE INSPIRING
Joe was a lot like that in so many ways too. Although he was very shy. Even the Joe on stage, if you understand his intensity on stage was just his natural intensity. He was not a showman. If he was sitting at a table with you and you got into an intense conversation with him he would start making all of the movements that he makes on stage. He was connected. I do a lot of teaching, I’m head of the vocal jazz department at the university of Massachusetts
I’M GLAD THERE’S A VOCAL JAZZ DEPTARTMENT!
That’s a totally different conversation. We have a lot to talk about Steve! I wish my website was up because there’s a couple of videos of when we were in Berlin. Jim Webb the famous songwriter used to send him songs he wanted them to do. We learned the song that afternoon and played it in the evening. I’d say to people ‘Watch him (Joe). What he’s seeing. What is so intense about him’ and just watching this video of this close up of him. And it was the same with these blues artists, their pain coming through, their intensity coming through. The same with Joe. His eyes were so honest.
THE VENUE IN ALASKA WAS A BIT ODD, WAS THAT NORMAL?
I played in so many strange places with Joe. Once we hit the stage the show was the same. Joe was so powerful. Such an entity on stage, just him. It didn’t matter where we are who we were playing for. Everything else was gone. We could be playing Carnegie hall or we could be playing in some club. We played at this place called the Heat club that was just nasty, funky and huge.
I SAW THE GIG IN 1980. AND HE GIVES THE STAGE TO HIS BACKING SINGERS. HE DOESN’T COME ON UNTIL THEY HAD THE FIRST VERSE…
I have to tell you a story about that. We called that the European soundcheck. In 1979 We were touring a show called Woodstock in Europe with Joe, Arlo Guthrie, Ritchie Havens and Country Joe McDonald. It was great, talk about a crazy month. Apparently we got threatened by some political terrorist groups that they were going to blow up our stage. The 80s was a really bad time to be in an English rock band.
They were wondering what to do. I was this young crazy guy and I said ‘Let’s do this; we’ll go on stage one at a time for cry me a river. I’ll go out and I’ll start playing the piano. The drummer BJ Wilson then said ‘I’ll go out next’ and one by one we get into it and the first backing singer would come out and she’d sing a verse and if we didn’t get blown up then the second one would come out and then the third backing singer would come out and sing the bridge and if we hadn’t blown up, Joe would come out. So we called it the European soundcheck.
THAT’S AN AMAZING STORY. I JUST THOUGHT IT WAS PURE SHOWBIZ, YOU COULDN’T TELL THAT IT WAS ANYTHING OTHER THAN SHOWMANSHIP.
He was also a good showman. I can’t believe I was the one that one wanted to come out first. I’ll take the hill Sarge!
IF YOU’RE EVER WONDERING WHAT YOU’D DO IN WORLD WAR 2 YOU’D HAVE JUMP ON THAT GRENADE!
That’s me! How many shows did you do? Just one! No Encore.
WHAT ARE YOU UP TO NOW?
I’m doing a lot of recording. My daughter Alicia and son Alex are working together. Levon Helm’s daughter started up the Ramble again (The Helm Family Midnight Ramble) and asked Alicia to put a family band together to open the Ramble. I’ve played with some of the most brilliant people in the world in my whole career.
This show we did was probably the most amazing spiritual and musical show I’ve ever done. To give you a hint – we got a standing ovation for every song – when my daughter announced “This is going to be our last song” some one said thank God, we’re getting tired of standing!
We started a recording and we’re just getting around to finishing it.
The university have asked me to head up the vocal jazz unit but I’m not doing jazz, we’re going to be doing Stevie Wonder, Joe Cocker and Earth Wind And Fire
ALL THE GUYS YOU KNOW!
Exactly! A couple of weeks ago they asked me to stay on another year. I’m playing with different people, still in touch with Peter Wolfe. I play with the Mohichan Sun All Stars – a bunch of my friends; We get together and do these big shows with no rehearsals. I’m playing and spending more time with my grand daughter.
DO YOU STILL LOVE IT?
I still love it! I love seeing my kids doing it. It’s a family business. Someone gave me a bunch of money to do music and social justice. Boy do we need it in the US right now!
CAREER HIGHLIGHT – JUST ONE….
Career highlight was the show I did with my kids… Well maybe the musical highlight. Career Highlight was probably my time with joe,
WHEN DID YOU LAST SPEAK TO JOE BEFORE HE PASSED?
Just a little before he died. He was the most gracious wonderful loving consistent mentor for all those years.
YOU READ LOTS OF LOVELY THINGS ABOUT JOE COCKER
They’re all true.
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Mitch was speaking to me for my book Stealing Deep Purple, The unbelievable true story of the Fake Deep Purple tour. To read his comments about the venue in Anchorage and the whole WTF! Story of the Fake Deep Purple the please click here to purchase
Stealing Deep Purple 
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