Joe Cocker, You Are So Beautiful | Throwback Vibez 🕶️🎶

In the 7^th edition of Throwback Vibez (2024), we recollect and reflect on “You Are So Beautiful” as covered by the late, great Joe Cocker. 

The vibes, the vibes, those Throwback Vibez 🕶️🎶! Throwback Vibez 🕶️🎶 is a column that celebrates awesome songs from the past.  The records that grace this column are older, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that they’re ancient – no fossils 🦴! All genres of music are welcome. In the 7^th edition of Throwback Vibez 🕶️🎶 (2024), we recollect and reflect on “You Are So Beautiful”, performed by Joe Cocker.

“You are so beautiful / To me / You are so beautiful / To me / Can’t you see.” Sigh, those beloved, iconic lyrics hail from the Joe Cocker classic, “You Are So Beautiful”. That said, it must be noted that Cocker’s version came second.  Yes, that’s right! Billy Preston originally recorded it on his album, The Kids & Me.  While both albums, released on A&M, arrived in 1974, Preston’s was released first while I Can Stand A Little Rain (Cocker) arrived later.  Furthermore, Preston penned this top-five hit for Cocker alongside Bruce Fisher.  We know that Preston is a legend in his own right, with three no. 1 hits to his name, but it is Cocker that owns the definitive take on “You Are So Beautiful.”

How did Joe make this the beloved hit that it is today? Easy, his distinct voice.  The English singer possessed a dynamic, truly powerful instrument – truly one-of-a-kind. A gritty, rough around the edges vocalist, that was part of his appeal and charm.  Here on “You Are So Beautiful,” Cocker is able to show more tenderness, while also exhibiting grit and even a dash of falsetto (at the end).  Listening to him sing, you believe it – he’s incredibly sincere. “You’re everything I hoped for / You’re everything I need,” he sings memorably, continuing, “You are so beautiful to me.” Making “You Are So Beautiful” even more compelling is the backdrop (Jim Price produces).  The core instrumentation is simple but effective – piano (Nicky Hopkins) and bass (Dave McDaniel).  Strings enter the mix, adding incredible lushness and warmth. What more needs to be said? “You Are So Beautiful” is one of the greatest songs of all time by a legendary artist.

🎙 Joe Cocker • 💿 I Can Stand A Little Rain • 🏷 A&M • 🗓 1974

Joe Cocker, You Are So Beautiful: Throwback Vibez 🕶️🎶 No. 7 (2024) [📷: Brent Faulkner / The Musical Hype; A&M; OpenClipart-Vectors, Speedy McVroom via  Pixabay]