With a name from Noel Coward’s famed song, “Mad Dogs and Englishmen” the famed concert tour kicked off the 70’s and set a standard in live rock for decades to come. The rag-tag troupe of 40 rock vagabonds featured 21 singers and musicians, a total unheard of at the time.
Joe Cocker’s album “With a Little Help from My Friends” had reached #1 in the UK (11/68) but stirred little excitement in the US. It was his legendary performance at Woodstock that attracted international recognition and shortly thereafter his rendition of Leon Russell’s “Delta Lady” was soaring up the charts. His second album, creatively titled “Joe Cocker” was released in November 1969 and immediately went gold in the US. First album sales soon followed and he enjoyed back-to-back million sellers. Sales were also boosted by another hit single, his cover of the Boxtops’ hit “The Letter”.
Joe had been touring continuously with his Grease Band led by Chris Stainton. He arrived in Los Angeles in March of 1970 for a little rest and relaxation with the intention of forming a new band. Unbeknownst to him his management company had retained Leon Russell as his new Music Director and had instructed Leon to assemble a new line-up. Over the prior two months, coinciding with Cocker’s meteoric rise in popularity, they had conceived and organized a grand plan to add an appendage to Joe’s tour, aptly titled “Mad Dogs and Englishmen”. A personal jet had been chartered for the touring entourage and the plan was to record the following extravaganza for both a live album and a feature film. The tour was scheduled for 48 cities in 56 days, beginning in Detroit in just 8 days. Following only four 10 plus hour rehearsals, the new group was sent off to make rock and roll history.
Leon Russell had assembled a stellar cast of musicians for the project. He first went to his old pals Delaney & Bonnie who had just completed their extensive European tour and gleaned the nucleus of their band. He chose bassist Carl Radle, Bobby Whitlock as a third keyboard player, sax man Bobby Keys, and their original drummer Jim Keltner as well as his replacement for the tour, Jim Gordon. Keys was augmented with the legendary Rolling Stones sideman, Jim Price, providing 2 horns that sounded like a 10-piece section. He hired guitarist Don Preston another D & B vet who had been a legend in the LA studio circuit for decades. He also added another of D & B’s famed “Friends”, Rita Coolidge, to pair with back-up greats Claudia Linnear and Kathi McDonald, and eventually ended up with a total of 10 singers. The ensemble was now capable of recreating the sound of the entire Ray Charles Orchestra (as well as the Raelettes) and went out to set the world on fire.
By the time the scruffy gang arrived for their 4 shows at the famed Fillmore East in New York (March 27-28, 1970) they were really tight on all levels and ready to record what would become Joe Cocker’s 3rd consecutive gold album. It is still recognized as one of the greatest live albums of all time. In addition to the live album, the concerts were filmed for a motion picture which documented this truly historic moment in rock music.
