San Francisco, CA. (Top40 Charts/ Fantasy Records) - On May 13th, Fantasy Records will release Hymn For My Soul, the newest album from legendary singer Joe Cocker. The album unites Cocker, possessor of one of the world's most instantly recognisable and iconic voices (Lennon & McCartney's With A
Little Help From My Friends, anyone?), with Ethan Johns, who has proved both his worth and his Midas touch via albums he's produced for, among others,
Rufus Wainwright, Emmylou Harris, Ryan Adams, Razorlight,
Kings of Leon, and Ray LaMontagne. The union has resulted in one of the most accomplished pieces of work in the Sheffield-born singer's long and illustrious career, and one played by arguably the most stellar band to be assembled in a recording studio anywhere in the world in recent times.
Among them are drummers Jim Keltner (uniformly viewed as the best session drummer in the world, a man who played with John Lennon and Bob Dylan), and James Gadson (as well as producing classic albums for the soul star Bill Withers, he drummed on hit recordings by artists ranging from Gladys Knight to Justin Timberlake). Also present are Tom Petty's pianist Benmont Tench, former Jethro Tull keyboard player Dave Palmer, bassist Bob Babbitt (member of Motown Records' studio band The Funk Brothers in the '60s and '70s, and hence a player on more seminal recordings than can be listed here), and Hammond organist Mike Finnigan (who played with Jimi Hendrix on Electric Ladyland). Completing the all-star line-up on backing vocals are Merry Clayton (once one of Ray Charles's Raelettes, she sang on the Stones' Gimme Shelter), Tata Vega, Julia Walters, her brother Oren Walters, and Jim Gilstrap.
Joe Cocker Tour Dates
May
24 West Palm Beach, FL Cruzan Amphitheater
25 Tampa, FL Ford Amphitheater
26 Atlanta, GA Verizon Wireless Amphitheater
29 Oklahoma City, OK The Zoo Amphitheater
30 Dallas, TX Superpages Center
31 Houston, TX Cynthia Woods Pavilion
June
1 Austin, TX The Backyard
26 Muskegon, MI Summer Celebration
27 Detroit, MI DTE Energy Center
28 Indianapolis, IN Verizon Wireless Center
July
2 Kansas City, MO Starlight Theater
3 Minneapolis, MN Target Center
5 Chicago, IL First Midwest Bank Amphitheater
6 St. Louis, MO Verizon Wireless Amphitheater
10 New York, NY Radio City Music Hall
11 Long Island, NY Jones Beach
12 Pittsburgh, PA Post Gazette Pavilion
13 Bethel, NY Bethel Woods Center
15 Toronto, ON Molson Amphitheater
17 Washington, DC Merriweather Post Pavilion
18 Foxwoods, CT MGM Grand at Foxwoods
19 Boston, MA Tweeter Center
20 Holmdel, NJ PNC Bank Center
30 Salt Lake City, UT USANA Amphitheater
Aug
2 George, WA The Gorge
3 Central Point, OR Lithia Motors Amph
6 Los Angeles, CA Nokia Theatre
7 Santa Barbara, CA County Bowl
8 Phoenix, AZ Dodge Theatre
9 Las Vegas, NV Orleans Arena - STS
