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Friday, Aug. 08, 2008

Enigmatic Miller, Cocker bring tour to Ironstone

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Two of rock's most enigmatic artists come together for a night of song and soul in the foothills.

The Steve Miller Band and Joe Cocker, whose catalogs contain some of the biggest hits from the '60s to the '80s, bring their considerable musical talents together Aug. 17 for a double bill at the Ironstone Summer Concert Series in Murphys.

The veteran rockers have been on the road together since May, playing arenas and amphitheaters across the country. The Ironstone show is the final date on their 37-city tour, which included a stop at New York's Radio City Music Hall.

While their styles diverged throughout their careers, with Miller trademarking an accessible space-rock and Cocker perfecting a gravelly voiced soul, the two men began their recording careers at the same time.

Miller and Cocker recorded their debut releases in 1968. Cocker's cover of The Beatles' "With a Little Help From My Friends" became his signature, while Miller's psychedelic "Children of the Future" signaled a style to come.

A product of the 1960s San Francisco music scene, the Steve Miller Band went on to sell 25 million records. The group scored a string of radio-friendly hits through the '70s and '80s with "The Joker," "Fly Like an Eagle," "Rock'n Me," "Take the Money and Run" and "Abracadabra."

While his songs are instantly recognizable, Miller himself has shunned the spotlight. For most of his slew of Top 40 albums, he chose album artwork without photos of himself or the group, opting instead for the band's Pegasus logo. In 1973, he even wore a mask on the cover of "The Joker."

Earlier this year, Miller received the Golden Note Award for his achievements in music, and in May, he celebrated 40 years of album releases with a triple-disc live DVD.

Joining Miller on the tour is English-born singer Cocker. Known for his rough-hewn vocals and jittery, sometimes spastic performance style, Cocker had hits with a series of cover songs. His version of "With a Little Help From My Friends" was used as the theme song for the TV series "The Wonder Years."

Other hits include "You Are So Beautiful," "You Can Leave Your Hat On" and "Up Where We Belong." The latter, a duet with Jennifer Warnes, was used as the theme for the hit film "An Officer and a Gentleman" and won the Grammy Award for best pop performance by a duo or group with vocal in 1982.

While John Belushi famously spoofed Cocker's erratic onstage movements on TV's "Saturday Night Live," the singer has been notoriously shy throughout his career. In the mid-'90s Cocker and his wife bought a ranch in a small town in western Colorado, where the couple still live.

Cocker's latest release, 2007's "Hymn for My Soul," includes covers of music by Stevie Wonder, George Harrison, Bob Dylan and John Fogerty. The release reached No. 13 on Billboard Top Christian & Gospel Albums this year.