The Letter
Joe Cocker
1970
Annual listening list: initial release cycle, with recent carryovers; not an original-release-date field. Release chronology remains partly unverified.
Release year not established
Release year not establishedDate review open
A first-release date was not established in the available metadata.
The large badge identifies this listening list, not a newly issued recording. Later reissues and renewed chart popularity do not replace an original release date. How years are assigned.
About Joe Cocker
Song-specific inspiration or recording background is not established for this entry. This sourced artist profile provides career context.
Joe Cocker came from Sheffield, England, and developed through skiffle and pub performances of blues material. His rough vocal texture and emotionally forceful delivery became central to his interpretations of songs such as With a Little Help from My Friends, The Letter and Feelin' Alright. Later recordings included Up Where We Belong with Jennifer Warnes for An Officer and a Gentleman. His career connected rock and soul interpretation with the broader repertoire of an international concert singer.
Artist background sources
Joe Cocker - Rock & Roll Hall of Fame
Read career overview, signature-sound paragraph and recording examples. Supports Sheffield, skiffle/pub background, interpretive style, named repertoire and Warnes soundtrack collaboration. Omit award totals, debatable stage-name metadata and inconsistent album-versus-single dates. | Retrieved 2026-10-19
Profile reviewed: 2026-10-19. Artist background does not establish a song's creative origin or release date.
Retained annual-list context
The Letter by Joe Cocker appears at number 80 in the reviewed U.S. year-end table for 1970. No reliable song-specific account of its inspiration was established in this review.
Annual-list context only; songwriting inspiration remains unestablished
Billboard year-end 1970 table (Wikipedia transcription)
Secondary transcription reviewed 2026-10-11: title, artist and annual chart association; not original release date or complete recording metadata.
Other appearances and versions
catalog version unspecified
Original release date and exact pressing/version are not independently established.
An annual chart year and an original release date are different. Similar titles may be covers or different masters; no audio fingerprint has been performed.
Sources and scope
Source-backed annual association (secondary source; not a complete discographic review)
Editorial artist-repertoire classification
Billboard year-end 1970 table (Wikipedia transcription)
Secondary transcription reviewed 2026-10-11: title, artist and annual chart association; not original release date or complete recording metadata.
Browse by year
1960-2025. Each year contains 150 selections.