His first album featured a recording of the Beatles' "With a Little Help from My Friends", which brought him to near-instant stardom. The song reached number one in the UK in 1968, became a staple of his many live shows (Woodstock and the Isle of Wight in 1969, the Party at the Palace in 2002) and was also known as the theme song for the late 1980s American TV series The Wonder Years. He continued his success with his second album, which included a second Beatles song: "She Came In Through the Bathroom Window". A hastily thrown together 1970 US tour led to the live double-album Mad Dogs & Englishmen, which featured an all-star band organized by Leon Russell. His 1974 recording of "You Are So Beautiful" reached number five in the US, and became his signature song. Cocker's best selling song was the US number one "Up Where We Belong", a duet with Jennifer Warnes that earned a 1983 Grammy Award. He released a total of 22 studio albums over a 43-year recording career.
In 1993, Cocker was nominated for the Brit Award for Best British Male. He was awarded a bronze Sheffield Legends plaque in his hometown in 2007, and received an OBE the following year for services to music. Cocker was ranked number 97 on Rolling Stone's 100 greatest singers list.
Full Wikipedia article: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joe_Cocker
Studio albums
With a Little Help from My Friends (1969)
Joe Cocker! (1969)
Joe Cocker (1972/EU: 1973)
I Can Stand a Little Rain (1974)
Jamaica Say You Will (1975)
Stingray (1976)
Luxury You Can Afford (1978)
Sheffield Steel (1982)
Civilized Man (1984)
Cocker (1986)
Unchain My Heart (1987)
One Night of Sin (1989)
Night Calls (1991/US: 1992)
Have a Little Faith (1994)
Organic (1996)
Across from Midnight (1997)
No Ordinary World (1999/US: 2000)
Respect Yourself (2002)
Heart & Soul (2004/US: 2005)
Hymn for My Soul (2007/US: 2008)
Hard Knocks (2010/US: 2012)
Fire It Up (2012)
My Strongest Weakness
Joe Cocker Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Please let me in
'Cause I just can't go through
Another heartache again
Pretty lies and alibis
How could I be so blind?
Now all alone and scared to stay
She was my strongest weakness
I surrendered heart and soul
It's gonna be a long, long time
'Til I regain control
I'm still a prisoner
Held captive by her memory
She was my strongest weakness
And I'm afraid she'll always be
I gave my faithful heart to someone
I couldn't understand
How she held my little world
In the palm of her hand
Now she's gone and life goes on
So if this pain will ever end
Will I be afraid to risk it all
Ever fall in love again?
She was my strongest weakness
I surrendered heart and soul
It's gonna be a long, long time
'Til I regain control
I'm still a prisoner
Held captive by her memory
She was my strongest weakness
And I'm afraid she'll always be
She was my strongest weakness
And I'm afraid she'll always be
The lyrics to Joe Cocker's song My Strongest Weakness is about the painful aftermath of a failed relationship. The singer is asking the "keeper of the gates of wisdom" to let him in because he cannot go through another heartache again. He is lamenting about how he was blinded by the pretty lies and alibis of his former lover, who became his strongest weakness. He surrendered his heart and soul to her and now he is a prisoner held captive by her memory, slowly going out of his mind.
The singer is struggling to regain control of his life after his heart was broken by someone he couldn't understand. He was deeply in love with her and she held his little world in the palm of her hand. But now that she's gone, he is left to pick up the pieces and move on. However, he is scared to risk it all and ever fall in love again because he doesn't know if he can handle another heartache.
Overall, the singer is pleading for wisdom and guidance to help him deal with the pain of his failed relationship. He is acknowledging that his former lover was his strongest weakness and although he's afraid she'll always be, he knows he needs to find a way to regain control and move on.
Line by Line Meaning
Keeper of the gates of wisdom
Someone who is wise and knowledgeable about love and relationships
Please let me in
I want to learn from your wisdom
'Cause I just can't go through
Another heartache again
I have experienced heartache before and I cannot endure it again
Pretty lies and alibis
How could I be so blind?
I was deceived by her lies and excuses, and now I regret not seeing the truth earlier
Now all alone and scared to stay
Slowly going out of my mind
I am alone and afraid of being hurt again, which is causing me to lose my sanity
She was my strongest weakness
I surrendered heart and soul
It's gonna be a long, long time
'Til I regain control
She had a powerful hold on my heart and emotions, and it will take a long time for me to regain control of them
I'm still a prisoner
Held captive by her memory
I am still trapped by the memories of her and how she made me feel
I gave my faithful heart to someone
I couldn't understand
How she held my little world
In the palm of her hand
I gave my heart to someone who I couldn't fully comprehend, and she had complete control over my happiness
Now she's gone and life goes on
So if this pain will ever end
Will I be afraid to risk it all
Ever fall in love again?
Now that she is gone, life continues, but I am unsure if I am ready to take the risk of falling in love again and experiencing the pain once more
And I'm afraid she'll always be
I am scared that she will always have a hold on me, even if I try to move on
Writer(s): REID MICHAEL BARRY, JUDD NAOMI ELLEN
Contributed by William V. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@missv5439
Love me some Mr.Cocker
This touches my already tender heart
๐๐งโโ๏ธ๐๐งโโ๏ธ๐๐งโโ๏ธ๐๐งโโ๏ธ๐๐งโโ๏ธ๐๐งโโ๏ธ๐
@alanjamesheidemann3823
Thank You for all your great music ovie1 you are part of the strength that heals the world...
@angelisetyree5530
Thank you for putting it in English!!!!
@julieswiss1
Painfully beautiful song, one of Joe's greatests.
๐ ๐
@antoniocarlosbarbi1563
Cada vez que eu me deparo com mais uma mรบsica que Joe Cocker gravou , e que eu nรฃo conhecia atรฉ entรฃo, e que รฉ mais uma canรงรฃo linda cantada por " ele ", fico feliz e super agradecido pelo Joe fazer parte da minha vida e de todos e todas que o curtem e o amam. Muito obrigado ao canal OEYV1, por postar mais essa joia da melhor mรบsica.
@janicerockwell8417
Unchain My Heart !
@stalkingwolf1954
@oeyv1, thanks for posting im the biigest cocker fan that ever lived,i saw him in the early days, saw him in dark years of booze and smack, now hes still going strong, god saw him thru some rough years im so proud he recovered . Hes aliving legend ,i would love to hear more unreleased stuff, thanks again and again
@bondliden
Thanks!!! I 've been looking for this song since 1995!!
@CharlotteFairchild
Naomi Judd was talking about this song and said he did well on this song. She wrote it about her husband before they got married. Song Suffragettes is the interview search on Youtube.
@julieswiss1
๐