''Organic'' is the fifteenth studio album by

Joe Cocker John Robert "Joe" Cocker (20 May 1944 – 22 December 2014) was an English singer known for his gritty, bluesy voice and dynamic stage performances that featured expressive body movements. Most of his best known singles were recordings of son ...

, released on 14 October 1996 in the UK. The album sees Cocker return to his musical roots with a collection of new recordings of some of his own classics, including "You Are So Beautiful", "Delta Lady" and "Many Rivers To Cross", coupled with fresh interpretations of

Van Morrison Sir George Ivan Morrison (born 31 August 1945), known professionally as Van Morrison, is a Northern Irish singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist whose recording career spans seven decades. He has won two Grammy Awards. As a teenager in t ...

's "Into The Mystic",

Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan, born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Often regarded as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture during a career sp ...

's "Dignity" and

Stevie Wonder Stevland Hardaway Morris ( Judkins; May 13, 1950), known professionally as Stevie Wonder, is an American singer-songwriter, who is credited as a pioneer and influence by musicians across a range of genres that include rhythm and blues, pop, s ...

's "You And I". The ''Organic'' sessions were guided by producer Don Was and included performances from such musicians as Jim Keltner,

Billy Preston William Everett Preston (September 2, 1946 – June 6, 2006) was an American keyboardist, singer and songwriter whose work encompassed R&B, rock, soul, funk, and gospel. Preston was a top session keyboardist in the 1960s, during which he ba ...

Chris Stainton Christopher Robert "Chris" Stainton (born 22 March 1944) is an English session musician, keyboard player, bassist and songwriter, who first gained recognition with Joe Cocker in the late 1960s. In addition to his collaboration with Cocker, Stai ...

, Dean Parks and

Randy Newman Randall Stuart Newman (born November 28, 1943) is an American singer-songwriter, arranger, composer, and pianist known for his Southern-accented singing style, early Americana-influenced songs (often with mordant or satirical lyrics), and vari ...

. The album was showcased in Europe throughout October 1996 with a band featuring Jim Keltner, Chris Stainton, Dean Parks, Greg Leisz, James "Hutch" Hutchinson, Stacy Campbell and occasionally Tony Joe White, culminating in three special performances at Shepherd's Bush Empire on 30 and 31 October and 1 November that year.

Track listing

#" Into the Mystic" – 3:31 (

) #"Bye Bye Blackbird" – 3:31 (Morton Dixon, Ray Henderson) #"Delta Lady" – 3:16 (

Leon Russell Leon Russell (born Claude Russell Bridges; April 2, 1942 – November 13, 2016) was an American musician and songwriter who was involved with numerous bestselling records during his 60-year career that spanned multiple genres, including rock and ...

) #"Heart Full of Rain" – 4:48 (Michael Dan Ehmig, Tony Joe White) #" Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood" – 3:52 ( Bennie Benjamin, Gloria Caldwell, Sol Marcus) #"

Many Rivers to Cross "Many Rivers to Cross" is a song written and recorded in 1969 by Jimmy Cliff. It has since been recorded by many musicians, including Harry Nilsson, John Lennon, Joe Cocker, Percy Sledge, Little Milton, Desmond Dekker, UB40, Cher, The Br ...

" – 4:23 (

Jimmy Cliff James Chambers OM (born 30 July 1944), known professionally as Jimmy Cliff, is a Jamaican ska, rocksteady, reggae and soul musician, multi-instrumentalist, singer, and actor. He is the only living reggae musician to hold the Order of Merit, t ...

) #"High Lonesome Blue" – 4:10 (Cocker, Tony Joe White) #" Sail Away" – 3:00 (

) #" You and I" – 4:35 (

) #"Darling Be Home Soon" – 4:11 ( John Sebastian) #"

Dignity Dignity is the right of a person to be valued and respected for their own sake, and to be treated ethically. It is of significance in morality, ethics, law and politics as an extension of the Enlightenment-era concepts of inherent, inaliena ...

" – 3:13 (

) #" You Can Leave Your Hat On" – 3:46 (Newman) #"

You Are So Beautiful "You Are So Beautiful" is a song written by Billy Preston and Bruce Fisher that was first released in 1974 on Preston's ninth studio album, ''The Kids & Me''. It was also the B-side of his single "Struttin'". Later that same year, English singer J ...

" – 2:43 (

Bruce Fisher Bruce Fisher (born January 8, 1954) is an American songwriter, record producer, playwright best known for his collaborations with Billy Preston. Fisher's best-known songs include "You Are So Beautiful", "Will It Go Round In Circles", and " Nothin ...

) #"

Can't Find My Way Home "Can't Find My Way Home" is a song written by Steve Winwood that was first released by Blind Faith on their 1969 album ''Blind Faith''. ''Rolling Stone'', in a review of the album, noted that the song featured "Ginger Baker's highly innovative ...

" – 3:53 (

Steve Winwood Stephen Lawrence Winwood (born 12 May 1948) is an English musician, singer, and songwriter whose genres include blue-eyed soul, rhythm and blues, blues rock, and pop rock. Though primarily a keyboard player and vocalist prominent for his disti ...

) #"Human Touch" – 3:46 (

Bruce Springsteen Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen (born September 23, 1949) is an American singer and songwriter. He has released 21 studio albums, most of which feature his backing band, the E Street Band. Originally from the Jersey Shore, he is an originato ...

) #"Anybody Seen My Girl" – 3:02 ( Kevin Moore) #" Something" – 3:18 (

George Harrison George Harrison (25 February 1943 – 29 November 2001) was an English musician and singer-songwriter who achieved international fame as the lead guitarist of the Beatles. Sometimes called "the quiet Beatle", Harrison embraced Indian c ...

) '' Tracks 15–17 are bonus tracks released only on a single "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood".

Singles

#"Into the Mystic" / "Have a Little Faith in Me" / "Unchain My Heart" (90's vsn) / "Highway Highway" (France, 1996) #"Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood" / "Human Touch" / "Anybody Seen My Girl" / "You Can Leave Your Hat On" (France, 1996) #"Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood" / "Human Touch" / "Anybody Seen My Girl" (UK, 1996) #"Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood" / "Something" / "High Lonesome Blue" (UK, 1996)

Personnel

* Joe Cocker – lead vocals (all tracks) * Jamie Muhoberac – synthesizers (1-6, 8, 9, 10, 12-14),

Hammond B3 organ The Hammond organ is an electric organ invented by Laurens Hammond and John M. Hanert and first manufactured in 1935. Multiple models have been produced, most of which use sliding drawbars to vary sounds. Until 1975, Hammond organs generated ...

(10) *

– Hammond B3 organ (1-5, 8, 9, 11, 12, 14) *

–

Wurlitzer electric piano The Wurlitzer electronic piano is an electric piano manufactured and marketed by Wurlitzer from the mid-1950s to mid-1980s. Sound is generated by striking a metal reed with a hammer, which induces an electric current in a pickup. It is concept ...

(1, 10), acoustic piano (2-6, 11, 14) *

– acoustic piano (8) * Dean Parks – acoustic guitar (1-6, 8-14) * Johnny Lee Schell – electric guitar (1-3, 5, 6, 8, 10-12) * Greg Leisz – dobro guitar (1, 3, 5, 6, 11) * Tony Joe White – electric guitar (4, 7),

harmonica The harmonica, also known as a French harp or mouth organ, is a free reed wind instrument used worldwide in many musical genres, notably in blues, American folk music, classical music, jazz, country, and rock. The many types of harmonica in ...

(4, 7) * James "Hutch" Hutchinson – bass (1-3, 5, 6, 8, 10-13) * Darryl Jones – bass (4, 7, 9, 14) * Kenny Aronoff – drums and percussion (all tracks) * Jim Keltner – drums and percussion (all tracks) *

Joe Porcaro Joseph Thomas Porcaro (April 29, 1930 – July 6, 2020) was an American jazz drummer. Biography Personal life The Porcaro family is, on the paternal side, originally from San Luca, an Aspromonte village in the province of Reggio Calabria. Joe ...

– percussion (12) * David Campbell – string arrangements and conductor (6, 8, 9, 13) * Suzie Katayama – cello (6, 8, 9, 13) * Rudy Stein – cello (6, 8, 9, 13) * Denyse Buffum – viola (6, 8, 9, 13) * Evan Wilson – viola (6, 8, 9, 13) * Peter Kent – violin (6, 8, 9, 13) * Sid Page – violin (6, 8, 9, 13) * Merry Clayton – backing vocals (2, 3, 5, 12) * Portia Griffin – backing vocals (2, 3, 5, 12) * Maxine Sharp – backing vocals (2, 3, 5, 12) *

Myrna Smith Myrna Yvonne Smith (May 28, 1941 – December 24, 2010)
– accessed December 2010 was an American songwriter and singe ...

– backing vocals (2, 3, 5, 12)

Production

* Producer – Don Was * Assistant Producer – Jane Oppenheimer * Recorded and Mixed by Rik Pekkonen at

Ocean Way Recording Ocean Way Recording was a series of recording studios established by recording engineer and producer Allen Sides with locations in Los Angeles, California, Nashville, Tennessee, and Saint Barthélemy. Ocean Way Recording no longer operates re ...

(Los Angeles, CA). * Second Engineer – Greg Burns * Assistant Engineers – Jeff DeMorris and Richard Huredia * Mastered by Stephen Marcussen at Precision Mastering (Los Angeles, CA). * Art Direction and Design – Norman Moore * Photography – Linda Barcojo * Management – Roger Davies * Business Management – Gary Haber and Arlene Katz * Agents and Representatives – Stacy Fass, Carol Kinzel, Barrie Marshall and Ray Neopolitan.

Certifications

!scope="row", Worldwide ( IFPI) , , 1,000,000+ , -

References

{{Authority control 1996 albums Joe Cocker albums Albums arranged by David Campbell (composer) Albums produced by Don Was A&M Records albums Covers albums