CHRIS STAINTON
Chris Stainton (born 22 March 1944, Woodseats, Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England) is an English session musician, keyboard player, bassist, and songwriter, who first gained recognition with Joe Cocker in the late 1960s. In addition to his collaboration with Cocker, Stainton is best known for his work with Eric Clapton, The Who, Andy Fairweather Low, and Bryan Ferry. (More from Wikipedia)
Barely one year later, in October 1968, Joe Cocker released a cover of “With a Little Help from My Friends” – a Number One single in the UK – which gets my vote as the most satisfying Beatles cover of all time. His version of the song is very different from how the Beatles performed it, and that is what covers should be as far as I am concerned. Joe Cocker is backed by a stellar band that includes Jimmy Page on guitar (the first Led Zeppelin album came out in the following year), B. J. Wilson of Procol Harum on drums, Chris Stainton on bass, and distinctive organ by Tommy Eyre. Cocker’s frantic performance of the song was a highlight of the Woodstock film of the original Woodstock Music & Art Fair gathering in 1969.
(June 2015)
