Feelin' Alright - Joe Cocker & Steve Winwood

Here are links to the original recorded version of this song, by Steve Winwood and Traffic, on the 1968 album Traffic, and Joe Cocker's version from his 1969 album With a Little Help from My Friends, which was a hit (up to #33 on US charts in 1972):

Steve Winwood's Version



Joe Cocker's Version



Dave Mason of Traffic wrote the song. I have always liked Winwood's singing, going back to when he broke into the scene with the Spencer Davis Group as a teenager. This is a case where the "cover" by Joe Cocker was a hit, much moreso than the original. I like both versions, but they are very different -- Cocker's a rocking up-tempo treatment, and Traffic's a mournful ballad. I especially appreciate the broken sound of his voice that so well fits the meaning of the song lyric.

Lingering for a moment with Steve Winwood, here is a link to one of his greatest and earliest outings, at the age of 16 I think, with the Spencer Davis Group in 1965:

Spencer Davis Group - Gimme Some Lovin'