''I Can Stand a Little Rain'' is the fourth studio album by Joe Cocker, released in August 1974, and considered to be the singer's finest album in that decade.

Background

In 1973, in the midst of uncertainty career-wise, Joe Cocker teamed up with Jim Price, a trumpet player turned producer, who had previously been member of Cocker's touring band. "Jim rekindled my interest," Cocker said in an interview for "Blank Space" in 1979. "Jim called and played me 'You Are So Beautiful', he just came round the house and said, 'What's wrong?' And he played me 'I Can Stand a Little Rain,' which turned out to be the title of the album. The two things that kind of re-fired me into work again, and consequently drove me insane in the process." ''I Can Stand a Little Rain'' found the singer working with top songwriters and session players, including Chuck Rainey,

Cornell Dupree Cornell Luther Dupree (December 19, 1942 – May 8, 2011) was an American jazz and R&B guitarist. He worked at various times with Aretha Franklin, Bill Withers, Donny Hathaway, King Curtis and Steve Gadd, appeared on David Letterman,

and Bernard Purdie, as well as future Toto founder members David Paich and

Jeff Porcaro Jeffrey Thomas Porcaro (; April 1, 1954 – August 5, 1992) was an American drummer, songwriter, and record producer. He is best known for his work with the rock band Toto but is one of the most recorded session musicians in history, working o ...

. Some of the writers, like Randy Newman and

Jimmy Webb Jimmy Layne Webb (born August 15, 1946) is an American songwriter, composer, and singer. He has written numerous platinum-selling songs, including " Up, Up and Away", " By the Time I Get to Phoenix", " MacArthur Park", " Wichita Lineman", " Wo ...

, ended up performing on Cocker's covers of their songs. The album is, however, particularly noticeable for the song "You Are So Beautiful", originally released on Billy Preston's '' The Kids & Me'' album. Ultimately, it went on to become one of Cocker's bigger hits, reaching No. 5 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, proving this album to eventually become a hit. The original idea was that of a double album but A&M did not approve of it. The rest of the songs recorded during the sessions were released in April 1975 on Cocker's next album '' Jamaica Say You Will'', which was not equally successful. In 2013, "The Moon's a Harsh Mistress" was re-recorded by

in a duet with Joe Cocker. It turned out to be Cocker's final recorded performance.

Track listing

;Side One ;Side Two

Personnel

* Joe Cocker – lead vocals * David Paich – acoustic piano (1, 8) *

Nicky Hopkins Nicholas Christian "Nicky" Hopkins (24 February 1944 – 6 September 1994) was an English pianist and organist. Hopkins performed on many popular and enduring British and American rock music recordings from the 1960s to the 1990s, most notably ...

– acoustic piano (2, 6, 7) *

Richard Tee Richard Edward Tee (born Richard Edward Ten Ryk; November 24, 1943 – July 21, 1993) was an American pianist, studio musician, singer and arranger, who had several hundred studio credits and played on such notable hits as "In Your Eyes", " Sl ...

– acoustic piano (3), organ (3) *

– acoustic piano (5) * Peggy Sandvig – organ (6) * Greg Mathieson – acoustic piano (9) * Randy Newman – acoustic piano (10) * Ralph Hammer – guitar (1) * Ray Parker Jr. – guitar (1, 8, 9) * Jay Graydon – guitar (2, 4, 8, 9) * Henry McCullough – guitar (2, 6) *

– guitar (3) * Dave McDaniel – bass (1, 2, 7-9) * Chuck Rainey – bass (3) * Chris Stewart – bass (4, 6) * Ollie E. Brown – drums (1, 8, 9) *

– drums (2, 6) * Bernard Purdie – drums (3) * Jimmy Karstein – drums (4) *

Jim Horn James Ronald Horn (born November 20, 1940) is an American saxophonist, woodwind player, and session musician. Biography Horn was born in Los Angeles, and after replacing saxophonist Steve Douglas in 1959, he toured with member Duane Eddy for f ...

– alto saxophone (1, 3) * Trevor Lawrence – tenor saxophone (1, 3) * Jim Price – trombone (1, 3), acoustic piano (4), organ (4) * Mayo Tiana – trombone (1, 3) * Stuart Blumberg – trumpet (1, 3) * Steve Madaio – trumpet (1, 3) * Daniel Moore – backing vocals (1) *

Merry Clayton Merry Clayton (born December 25, 1948) is an American soul and gospel singer. She provided a number of backing vocal tracks for major performing artists in the 1960s, most notably in her duet with Mick Jagger on the Rolling Stones song " Gimme S ...

– backing vocals (2) *

Venetta Fields Venetta Lee Fields (born 1941) is an American-born singer, musical theater actress and vocal coach. She was a backing vocalist for American and British rock and pop acts of the 1960s and 1970s, including Ike & Tina Turner, Pink Floyd, Humble Pi ...

– backing vocals (2, 4, 8, 9) *

Clydie King Clydie Mae King (August 21, 1943 – January 7, 2019) was an American singer, best known for her session work as a backing vocalist. King also recorded solo under her name. In the 1970s, she recorded as Brown Sugar, and her single "Loneliness ( ...

– backing vocals (2, 4, 8, 9) * Sherlie Matthews – backing vocals (2, 4, 8, 9)

Production

* Producer and Arrangements – Jim Price * Mostly recorded at The Village Recorder, West Los Angeles, 1973 (Tracks 1 & 7-10) / 1974 (Tracks 2-6). * Engineers – Mario Aglietti, Rob Fraboni, Rick Heenan, J.J. Jansen, Nat Jeffrey, Carlton Lee, Ken Klinger, Joe Tuzen and Zak Zenor. * Mixing – Rob Fraboni * Mastered by Kent Duncan at Kendun Recorders (Burbank, CA). * Art Direction – Roland Young * Design – Chuck Beeson * Photography – Steve Vaughan

Chart performance

References

{{Authority control 1974 albums Joe Cocker albums A&M Records albums