The Joe Cocker Experience was an idea that came together with a passion after Danny Bee sing took to the stage one night a few years ago.
His voice and mannerisms are so much like Joe Cocker’s, it’ll make your head spin, listeners concluded. At that point it was a matter of building a band around him and after a serious vetting process, a nine-piece ensemble was put together.
The Joe Cocker Experience has re-created the band that Joe used on his last tour and more specifically the band he used in Cologne, Germany on April 22, 2013. The music is all Cocker and sung only like Joe could. Songs like With a Little Help From My Friends, Leave Your Hat On, The Letter, to name a few and including songs off his latest album Fire It Up – which shares the name of his last tour.
With a sense of urgency to work out the small details, the Joe Cocker Experience is everything you would expect from a live performance from the great Joe Cocker. In addition to bass, drums, and guitar, the band has a horn section, two keyboard players, and two female vocalists who are lead singers in their own right.
As for their singer Danny Bee, no matter where they play, after each performance, they get asked the same question, “where d’ya find this guy, he sounds just like ‘im?”
The result is an “all-star” band who’ve shared the stage with the likes of TIME – Pink Floyd Tribute, Big River – Johnny Cash Tribute, the Shagadelics, Wunderbread, Paul Laine and Darkhorse, Jerry Doucette, Brian McLeod just to name a few. The band is made up of Danny Bee on lead vocals, Daryl Marklinger on lead guitar, Ron McKee on bass guitar, Chantal Richard on backing and lead vocals, Kristi Kell on backing and lead vocals, Rick McDonough on piano/keyboards, Earle Gibson on Hammond organ, keyboards, and trombone, Steve Jones on sax, percussion, acoustic guitar, and vocals, Gerry Pool on drums.
The Joe Cocker Experience will be at Tidemark Theatre Feb. 23. Find the band on Facebook @joecockerexperience and www.thejoecockerexperience.ca
