Biography
Joe Cocker is a British singer who became famous in the genres of blues and rock. Officer of the Order of the British Empire.
Joe Cocker was born in the English city of Sheffield, located in South Yorkshire. Harold Coker, Joe's father, worked as a government employee. Maj Lee, the mother of the future celebrity, was doing housework. Harold and Madge also had an eldest son, Victor.
Joe Cocker in his youth
The family lived in a working-class area of Sheffield, the children went to the local comprehensive school. According to Cocker himself, as a child he was seriously influenced by the singer Ray Charles, imitating whom young Joe developed his own technique for performing songs, which would later become the artist’s calling card.
Joe Cocker made his debut on stage at the age of 12, when his older brother Victor invited him to take part in the concert of his own skiffle group. After 2 years, Joe assembles the first Cavaliers group and performs with the group in city clubs and at parties. The team lasted only a year.
Due to the difficult financial situation in the country, 15-year-old Joe drops out of school and gets a job as an electrician's assistant. At the same time, the musician performs in pubs and clubs with the new group The Avengers, performing songs by Chuck Berry and Ray Charles. In 1963, the group supported the famous Rolling Stones on the stage of the Sheffield City Hall.
Singer Joe Cocker
The following year, Joe Cocker goes to London to the Decca recording studio and uses his own funds to record the song I'll Cry Instead from the repertoire of The Beatles. The single was expected to be a huge failure. The income from the release of the record amounted to 70 pence.
In 1966, the singer assembled a new group, the Grease Band, and chose a different musical direction. The group performed African-American rhythm and blues and soul, touring the north of England. The performer's active creative biography began.
First steps towards music
John's first debut on stage took place at the age of 12, together with his older brother's skiffle group. A few years later he founded his own band, Cavaliers. For some time the guys performed in local clubs, but a year later the group ceased to exist...
The financial situation in the country was difficult, and 15-year-old Joe was forced to quit his studies to get a job. Together with the new group The Avengers, he performed in clubs with compositions by Chuck Berry and Ray Charles. In 1963, the guys played as the opening act for the famous Rolling Stones! This was Cocker's first big break...
Early years…
Joe's first single was "I'll Cry Instead" by The Beatles, which he recorded with his own money at Decca Studios in London. The track was expected to be an absolute failure... The record brought in 70 pence.
But this did not break the spirit of the young and ambitious Cocker. In 1966, he assembled a new group, the Grease Band, and completely changed direction to rhythm and blues and soul. The first serious tours in the north of England began, and with them, active creative activity!
Music
In 1968, Joe Cocker recorded the single Marjorine, which already had some success. A cover version of The Beatles hit With a Little Help from My Friends is immediately recorded, which instantly takes first place in the charts in the UK, Switzerland and the Netherlands, as well as other European countries. In the same year, the singer released the album With a Little Help from My Friends, which entered the charts in the UK, Germany and the USA. In addition to the listed songs, a cover version of Dav Mason's song Feeling Alright also becomes a hit.
On the wave of success, the group goes on a big tour, including not only Europe, but also America. In August 1969, Joe Cocker became the star of the Woodstock festival.
In 1969, a new album called Joe Cocker! repeated the success of the debut album. The best songs on this album are Delta Lady, Something and She Came In Through the Bathroom Window.
Later, Joe Cocker's popularity in his native country declines, but the musician becomes one of the iconic figures of the musical generation of the 70s in the United States. During this period, the bulk of his repertoire consisted of cover versions of songs by other artists. Nevertheless, studio albums were released regularly. Notable hits of the 70s performed by Cocker were High Time We Went, Cry Me a River, Midnight Rider, It's a Sin (When You Love Somebody) and You Are So Beautiful. The last two songs reached number 5 in the American charts. Over time, each concert of the performer began to attract thousands of fans eager to get to the Briton’s performance at any cost.
In 1975, the song You Are So Beautiful returned Joe Cocker to the top of the world charts. The American Top 5 also included one popular Cocker single, It's and Sin When You Love Somebody. Otherwise, life proceeded in gloomy tones. The singer was left without a recording contract. The threat of alcoholism loomed before him. Drinking not only destroyed the British man’s personal life, but also interfered with his work. It happened that the performer came on stage already well warmed up.
The 1980s got off to a rocky start for Joe Cocker. He had a 4-year break from recording due to problems with alcohol and drugs. The 1982 album Sheffield Steel was received lukewarmly by fans. But in November of the same year, Cocker, in a duet with Jennifer Warnes, released the song Up Where We Belong, which returned the Briton to the musical Olympus. The single becomes popular all over the world, and becomes a No. 1 hit in the United States. In addition, the song was featured in the film “An Officer and a Gentleman” and won Oscar and Grammy awards as a soundtrack.
Joe Cocker later recorded the famous songs Have a Little Faith in Me, Unchain My Heart, Summer in the City, Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood, What Becomes of the Broken-Hearted, Never Tear Us Apart, My father's son and Every Kind of People. Videos for these hits have become no less popular.
In the 90s, Joe Cocker went into business. In the city of Crawford (Colorado), the Briton settled with his family; the artist owned a supermarket, cafe, bakery, conference room and a number of shops.
The singer recorded his last album in 2012. The record was called Fire It Up and became Joe Cocker's 22nd full-length studio disc.
Creative breakthrough
The new stage of my career brought new challenges. Although success still overtook Cocker. Together with session keyboardist Chris Stainton, he forms the Grease Band and begins performing. As a result, the musicians attracted the attention of producer Denny Cordell, known for his work with the bands Procol Harum and The Moody Blues. For him, Joe Cocker recorded the single Marjorine, which had some success in England and the USA. As a result, our hero moves to London and reaches a new musical level.
A real breakthrough in the musical space was the release of a cover of the Beatles' song With a Little Help from My Friends, which stayed on the charts for 13 weeks. Many years later, this version of the song became the title track of the TV series The Wonder Years. You're probably thinking now: “Well, here we go again, a cover. Didn’t you have your own songs?” Throughout his career, the issue of repertoire was quite acute for Cocker. In fact, it was his skillful interpretation of other people's tracks that brought him fame. And he did it so well that you can listen to it endlessly.
Paul McCartney once said:
I was especially pleased when he decided to perform With a Little Help from My Friends. I remember him and Cordell coming to my studio on Savile Row and playing back what they had recorded. It was simply mind-blowing! He completely changed the song, made it a soul anthem, and I am very grateful to him for that.
Blues Evenings: Johnny Winter
1969 was a truly triumphant year for Cocker. He released the album With a Little Help from My Friends, which charted at number 35 and went gold. In addition, the US tour was very successful, during which Joe and his concert band performed at several major venues, including the legendary Woodstock festival. The young Briton made a splash there! He performed several covers, including Delta Lady, Something's Comin' On, I Shall Be Released and others. Joe Cocker recalled, “It was like an eclipse... it was a special day.”
Immediately after Woodstock, Joe released his second record, which reached number 11 in the UK charts. He is being filmed on a TV show - the Ed Sullivan program. In the summer of the same 1969, Joe Cocker successfully rocked the Isle of Wight festival in England. In general, a guy who energetically and, at times, nervously waves his arms while singing, is beginning to be recognized.
Movies
Joe Cocker, who had a characteristic hoarse vocal, was willingly invited by feature film directors. The British artist's compositions were featured in the films Harry and the Hendersons, Bull Durham, and An Innocent Man. But the most famous was, of course, the musical theme for the striptease scene in the film “9 1/2 Weeks” - You Can Leave Your Hat On.
Joe Cocker
A large number of films in which Joe took part actually became the autobiography of the musician.
Music career
In 1968, the singer recorded the single Marjorine, and also covered the Beatles' composition With a Little Help From My Friends in a blues style, and with it reached the first position of the charts, first in Britain, then in Switzerland and other European countries.
Joe Cocker in his youth
Soon America learned about him. Cocker's only television appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show (April 27, 1969) delighted the public. Cocker's hoarse singing and expressive stage presence have been called "the voice of all the blind, crippled and beggars" who roam the city streets. Joe Cocker on the Ed Sullivan Show Real success came to Cocker at the legendary Woodstock festival in 1969. He himself recalled this event like this: In the same year, the singer’s debut album With a Little Help From My Friends was released, followed by the second, Joe Cocker!, which included the famous compositions Delta Lady and Something. Joe Cocker – With a Little Help From My Friends (Woodstock, 1969) The artist’s popularity grew. In 1970, Joe's next album was released, a magnificent example of blues and soft rock, Mad Dogs & Englishmen. According to the singer, when he wrote material for the album, his thoughts were “in outer space.”
Joe Cocker in the 70s
Producer Leon Russell organized a fifty-city accompanying tour, which a huge team carried out over two months. Tired and exhausted, Cocker said he was completely disillusioned with the rock business while his first three albums went platinum, and Playboy called Joe the “#1 vocalist.”
Despite his success, Joe Cocker abused alcohol and drugs
In the early seventies, new albums by the singer appeared regularly, although they were not as successful as the first. Only in 1975 Cocker again shone at the top of the musical Olympus with the romantic ballad You Are So Beautiful. The trouble was that Joe drank more and more, plunging into a gloomy mood and depression. Joe Cocker – You Are So Beautiful (live in the 90s) By the beginning of the eighties, the singer began to gradually come to his senses. Although his album Sheffield Stell was received rather coolly by the public, the song Up Where We Belong, which he performed in a duet with Jennifer Warnes in the film An Officer and a Gentleman, won an Oscar and a Grammy. And soon Cocker recorded the famous songs Have a Little Faith in Me, Summer in the City, Never Tear Us Apart and others. Joe Cocker & Jennifer Warnes – Up Where We Belong Since the early eighties, the singer has actively collaborated with feature film directors. His hoarse baritone sounded in such films as “9 1/2 Weeks,” “The Bodyguard,” “Sleepless in Seattle,” “Carlito’s Way” and many others.
Joe Cocker in his youth and adulthood
Cocker, who toured all over the world, repeatedly noted that he liked Russia and its audience, wherever he gave concerts - in Moscow, St. Petersburg, Kazan. The artist recorded his last, twenty-second album, Fire It Up, in 2012. Joe Cocker: last concert in Ledovoy (St. Petersburg)
Personal life
In 1963, while still an unknown musician, Joe Cocker met Ellyn Webster, whom he married the same year. The couple lived together for 13 years, but after the musician became addicted to alcohol, Ellin filed for divorce.
Joe Cocker and Pam Baker
For two years Cocker was lonely. But in 1978, at the house of his friend Jane Fonda, which is located in Santa Barbara, Joe met the director of the children's camp, Pam Baker. The couple dated for 9 years, and got married in October 1987. Pam not only helped her husband get rid of alcohol and drug addictions, but also convinced him to return to creativity again.
Joe Cocker had no children from either his first or second wife. But Pam still has a daughter, Zoe, from her first marriage, for whom the musician became a good stepfather.
More than once in an interview, Joe Cocker explained that he considers himself a strange character. Joe did not listen to the music of young performers. While in the USA, what the singer liked most was being behind the wheel of a vehicle, listening to a blues radio station.
Singer Joe Cocker
Joe himself has repeatedly stated that in his case creativity began in childhood. The musician commented on his childhood like this:
“One of my new songs has the line “I got my education on the streets.” And it’s true - in the English town of Sheffield, where I grew up, I had to sing in pubs for 5 years. No, I wasn’t a member of any street gang or anything like that, but I still picked up some “street wisdom.” I didn’t go to university, unlike my older brother, who later became a big shot in a local company. We grew up in a typical working class home in the North of England. My parents thought that I would have fun singing and then find a normal job. But for me, singing in a group was not just a hobby, but a way of life.”
Personal life of Joe Cocker
Joe was still a little-known performer when he met Ellyn Webster, whom he married in 1963. Together they walked the path to his fame and popularity, but when her husband began having problems with alcohol, Ellin filed for divorce. During their 13 years of marriage, they never had children.
Joe Cocker and Ellyn Webster (1972)
A couple of years later, Joe showed up at a party at his friend Jane Fonda's house in Santa Barbara. There he met Pamela Baker, the director of a scout camp. The Briton liked the woman and they began to meet more and more often. For several years, Pam tried her best to help the famous singer get rid of alcohol and drug addiction.
Joe Cocker and Pam Baker
When the musician began to gradually come to his senses, it was Baker who withstood his outbursts of rage, interspersed with loss of strength and depression. She didn't back down. Joe more than once called her his guardian angel, who helped him not die and return to creativity.
In 1987 they got married. Although the couple did not have their own children in marriage, the singer treated Pam’s daughter Zoe very warmly. She later gave him two grandchildren, Eva and Simon.
Joe Cocker's adopted daughter with her husband and children
In the nineties, Joe and Pam moved to Colorado, where they bought the Mad Dog Ranch in the town of Crawford. They lived there for almost fifteen years, went into business, opened several shops, a supermarket and a cafe, and also started their own bakery. Cocker admitted that he enjoyed growing tomatoes and fishing for trout. And when it was necessary to go on another tour, he “came down from the mountains” and went to give performances.
Mad Dog Ranch
Death
After finishing their musical career, Joe Cocker and Pam Baker settled in the town of Crawford, which is located in Colorado. They opened a family cafe with an adjacent bakery and several shops.
Joe Cocker's grave
The singer has been very ill for the past few years. He developed cirrhosis of the liver and was also diagnosed with lung cancer, which was the cause of death. In the fall of 2014, it became known that his health was consistently unsatisfactory. Joe Cocker died on December 22, 2014 at his ranch in Crawford.
“Although extraordinarily gifted, Joe remained a kind and humble man who loved to perform. Everyone who saw him will never forget. Joe Cocker was unique and it is impossible to fill the place he occupied in our hearts,” Barry Marshall, the British singer’s agent, said in a statement.
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Legend and idol of millions: Joe Cocker
Did you know that Joe Cocker is not only a famous singer, but also an officer of the Order of the British Empire?
John Robert Cocker
John Robert Cocker was born in May 1944 and left this world on the winter solstice on December 22, 2014. He is considered one of the most powerful vocal performers of the second half of the twentieth century. The popular music magazine Rolling Stone included him in its list of the 100 Greatest Singers in History in 2008. If you still don’t recognize him, then watch the video here and listen to his amazing voice - baritone, low, hoarse and enchanting.
Joe Cocker in his youth
Joe Cocker was the youngest son of a minor civil servant in Sheffield. Since the family did not have enough financial resources to live, the future singer had to quit school early and find a job. He began his career as an assistant mechanic. However, he tried to perform in small bars and pubs as a singer.
The first performance took place in 1961. He sang songs by Ray Charles and Chuck Berry and played percussion instruments. Genres: rock, blues, blue-eyed soul, blues-rock.
In 1969, at the hippie festival in Woodstock, he captivated the entire audience. In the 70s, he became interested in alcohol and drugs. He often performed in a state of clouded consciousness. His powerful and strong baritone was given a slight hoarseness, which became the hallmark of Joe Cocker's singing.
His wife Ellyn Webster, whom he married in 1963, could not stop Joe Cocker from his addictions. Ellin could not stand the difficulties of living with an alcoholic and drug addict and, after thirteen years of marriage, filed for divorce. It was rumored that Cocker had a whirlwind affair with the famous French actress Catherine Deneuve, but perhaps these were just rumors.
2 years after the divorce, Joe Cocker met Pam Baker. This woman had a very mediocre relationship with art: she worked as the head of a children's camp. But her teaching abilities helped Joe get on the right path: he quit drugs and alcohol. After nine years of marriage, they formalized their marriage. The singer began writing songs again.
Joe Cocker did not have any children of his own, but he became a very good and caring stepfather to Zoe, the daughter of his beloved wife Pam from her first marriage. Joe Cocker had a friendly and sympathetic character: he loved animals and spoke out in defense of stray dogs, demanding that their shooting be prohibited.
Joe Cocker and Pam founded the Cocker Family Foundation. This fund helps low-income families with small children: they bought clothes, toys and food.
Some believe that he had clairvoyance: Joe once heard Bill Clinton, while still a very green youth, playing the saxophone. The singer really liked the young man’s performance, and suddenly Joe Cocker said: “He plays well, one day he will become President of the United States.”
Perhaps it was an accidental slip of the tongue or a joke, but Clinton did become president.
Joe Cocker's musical career lasted 54 years. Winner of Grammy, Oscar and other awards. A repeat performance at Woodstock in 1994 created the expected sensation. By invitation, the singer performed at Queen Elizabeth II's Golden Jubilee celebrations in 2002.
After finishing his singing career, Cocker decided to settle with his family in Colorado in the city of Crawford, where he bought a ranch. After consulting with his wife, he invested his capital in business: he opened a bakery, a small cafe and several shops.
In the last years of his life, Joe Cocker's health deteriorated sharply. The singer died of cancer in his home on the ranch on December 22, 2014. Soon it will be 5 years since our idol, the legend of rock and blues, is no longer with us, but his voice and his songs remain. source
Joe's childhood and youth: “I got my education on the street”
Joe Cocker was born in South Yorkshire, in the city of Sheffield. His father Harold was a civil servant, his mother Marge Lee was a housewife. The family had another son, Victor. Joe himself recalled this period in one of his songs: “I received my education on the street.” For five years he worked in the pubs of his hometown - singing in pubs. The elder Victor made a successful career in a local company. Although, it was he who invited his younger brother to take part in the concert of his own skiffle group. A couple of years later, Joe assembled his own band, the Cavaliers, with whom he performed for a year at parties and in clubs in his northern city.
The parents were sure that the passion for singing was temporary, that their son would have fun and find a decent job. But for the young guy it was already clear that music is not just a hobby, it is a way of life. During his school years, the singer Ray Charles became the teenager's idol. At first, Joe even imitated him. But over time, he developed his own “handwriting”, a performance style, his signature and unique, which became the calling card of the singer, who was destined to become loved in all corners of the world.
England was experiencing a financial crisis and therefore, at the age of 15, Cocker was forced to leave school and go to work as an electrician's assistant. But music was still constantly present in his life. After a hard day at work, he plunged into an atmosphere of sounds and harmony - his new band Avengers performs the repertoire of Chuck Berry and his beloved Ray Charles. In 1963, this group, unfamiliar to a wide circle of music lovers, even performed as an opening act for the stellar Rolling Stones. In 1964, Joe went to London to Decca recording studios. Here he recorded the song I'll Cry Instead from The Beatles' repertoire with his own money. The single failed miserably - the record brought in just 70p.
In 1966, the musician assembled a new band, calling it Grease Band and changing its musical direction. The group began performing soul and African-American rhythm and blues. They tour extensively throughout the northern part of England.
Cocker, Joe
early years
Joe Cocker in 1970
The singer was the youngest son of civil servant Harold Cocker, who lived in a working-class area of Sheffield. Due to financial difficulties, Joe left school early and went to work as an assistant gas welder[7]. However, in 1961 he began a singing career in small pubs in Sheffield, performing under the name Vance Arnold as part of the band The Avengers. The repertoire included mainly covers of famous jazz, blues and soul hits, for example, Chuck Berry and Ray Charles[13][14].
In 1963, Cocker and his team performed on stage at Sheffield City Hall before a concert by The Rolling Stones. In 1966, Joe Cocker and Chris Stainton formed the Grease Band[14] and performed frequently in Sheffield and toured the north of England playing African-American rhythm and blues and soul. The musicians are noticed by producer Denny Cordell and record the single “Majorine” with them, and the group moves to London and begins performing regularly in one of the pubs[14].
First success
Performance in Dublin, 1980 Florida, USA, 2003
In 1968, he recorded his own version of the Beatles' “With a Little Help from My Friends,” which reached the top of the national sales chart in November[15][14].
In the spring of 1969, the Grease Band embarked on their first US tour. Album With a Little Help from My Friends
was released shortly after arriving in America and peaked at number 35 on the American charts.
In August 1969, his performance became one of the highlights of the Woodstock festival; after him he received the nickname “white master of black blues”[7]. The following year, the singer's management assembled the Mad Dogs & Englishmen group for Cocker's tour of America[16][17]. In 56 days, together with his retinue of more than forty people, Cocker traveled to 48 cities and gave 52 concerts. The tour resulted in the release of a double live album, Mad Dogs & Englishmen.
[18].
In the 1970s, Cocker experienced problems with his repertoire, which was dominated by covers of songs by other performers. In addition, he became addicted to drugs and alcohol, regularly appearing on stage in a state of light drinking. Due to alcohol abuse, his once powerful voice turned into an extremely hoarse baritone[15]. This did not stop him from conquering the American charts in 1982, in a duet with Jennifer Warnes, with the slow ballad “Up Where We Belong,” followed by other songs in a similar style. The song "Up Where We Belong" was featured in the film An Officer and a Gentleman and won an Academy Award and a Grammy Award for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals.[19] Throughout the 80s, Cocker found his own sound at the intersection of blues rock and soft rock and released a number of successful albums.
In 1992, Joe Cocker performed at the Grammy Awards[7] and, together with Sass Jordan, recorded the song "Trust in Me", which was included in the soundtrack to the film "Bodyguard". In 1993, he received a nomination for "Best Male Vocal Performance" at the Brit Awards.[20] Cocker was also one of the few Woodstock “veterans” to perform (with success) at Woodstock '94. Cocker's little-known song "Woman to Woman" was reworked by rap producer Dr. Dre for Tupac Shakur in the hit "California Love", which topped the Billboard Hot 100[21] in 1996 and was included in Rolling Stone magazine's "500 Greatest Songs of All Time".
Later years
Concert as part of the X International Investment Forum in Sochi (2011)
In 2002, Cocker (together with Phil Collins and Brian May) performs at the ceremony celebrating the Golden Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II, performing “With a Little Help from My Friends”[22].
The singer actively performed in the countries of Eastern and Western Europe[7]. In 2008, Joe Cocker performed at the State Kremlin Palace, and a few years earlier - at Vasilyevsky Spusk[23].
I have been sick a lot in recent years. In September 2014, Billy Joel announced from the stage that Cocker's health was unsatisfactory. He died on December 22, 2014 from lung cancer[6] in the city of Crawford (Colorado), where he lived on a secluded ranch with his wife[24][7].
On September 11, 2015, as part of the Lockn' Festival, the Tedeschi Trucks Band held a tribute concert in honor of Joe Cocker and his Mad Dogs & Englishmen concert tour, featuring a large number of his original members.[25]
