In the early 90’s, I spent a summer in France studying with the University of Arizona. It was during that summer that I met one of my besties, and man — we had so much fun hanging together in Paris for those couple of months.
There was one day after our classes that we were looking at a local event paper and learned of a free concert in the park in Bois de Vincennes, which I recall as being somewhere near the Bastille. We figured it would be a lazy afternoon with some good wine and conversation, but when we showed up, there were tens of thousands of people there. We soon learned that the free concert was from Joe Cocker, and needless to say, we were pretty stoked.
It was such a memorable afternoon. The music was amazing, and it is one of my most cherished memories from that time of my life. I know my friend feels the same way, and we’ve often referred back to that concert over the years.
Joe Cocker’s music has such a way of leaving a lasting impression, and learning of his early death yesterday brought me back to Paris to that evening 20 something years ago. I’m so glad I have it to remember as he departed the Earth and his music lives on.
