| Joe Cocker |
| Background information |
| Birth name |
John Robert Cocker |
| Born |
May 20, 1944 (1944-05-20) (age 63)
 Sheffield, England |
| Genre(s) |
Blues, rock,
folk,
pop
ballads |
| Occupation(s) |
Singer, session
musician,
composer, |
| Instrument(s) |
Piano |
| Years active |
1960s-present |
Joe Cocker OBE (born John Robert Cocker, 20 May 1944, Sheffield)
is an English
rock/blues singer who came to
popularity in the 1960s,
and is most known for his gritty voice and his cover
versions of popular songs.
|
Contents
- 1 Biography
- 2 Australian
controversy in 1972
- 3 Discography
- 4 References
- 5 External
links
|
Biography
Joe Cocker was born in Sheffield, England, on May 20, 1944,
the youngest son of a civil servant. He left school early and became an
apprentice gas fitter. In 1961, he started his musical career in the
pubs of Sheffield. Under the stage name Vance Arnold, Cocker sang with
his band Vance Arnold and the Avengers . In 1963 the band supported The
Rolling Stones at Sheffield City Hall. In 1964 Cocker brought out his
first single, a cover of the Beatles' "I'll Cry Instead" with a new
band, Joe Cocker Big Blues. This band ventured as far as France, where
they played on American air bases. After a lull, Cocker teamed up with
Chris Stainton, to form The Grease Band, in 1966. They were
noticed by Denny Cordell, producer of Procul
Harum, the Moody Blues and Georgie Fame. Cordell set Cocker up with a
residency at The Marquee in London.
After minor success in the USA
with the single "Marjorine", he entered the big time with a
groundbreaking rearrangement of "With a Little
Help from My Friends," another Beatles cover, this time from the Sgt. Pepper's
Lonely Hearts Club Band album, featuring lead
guitar from Jimmy Page.
In 1969 he appeared at the Woodstock
Music Festival. His performance included the following tracks —
- "Delta Lady"
- "Some Things Goin' On"
- "Let's Go Get Stoned"
- "I Shall Be Released"
- "With a Little Help from My Friends"
Cocker then had a second UK hit
with the Leon Russell song, "Delta Lady". He had
further success covering Beatles tunes in 1970 with his version of "She Came in
Through the Bathroom Window" off their Abbey
Road album. Though his British success proved
difficult to sustain, he enjoyed several chart entries in the U.S.
with "Cry Me a River" and "Feelin' Alright"
by Dave
Mason. In 1970, his cover of the Box Tops' hit "The
Letter", which appeared on the live album, Mad Dogs &
Englishmen, became his first U.S. Top Ten hit.
In 1969 he was featured on The Ed
Sullivan Show. Onstage, he exhibited a physical
intensity, flailing his arms around and playing an air
guitar, occasionally giving superfluous cues to his band. In 1976,
Cocker performed "Feelin' Alright" on Saturday
Night Live. John Belushi joined him on stage doing
his famous impersonation of Cocker's stage movements.
In the beginning of 1970s the "Sheffield Soul Shouter" had
problems with drug abuse including alcohol.
He managed to make a comeback in the 1980s and 1990s with several hits, including:
- "Up Where We Belong", (Grammy
Award winning song written by Buffy Sainte-Marie and sung with Jennifer
Warnes for the motion
picture, An Officer and a Gentleman)
- "You Are So Beautiful"
- "You Can Leave Your Hat On"
- "When The Night Comes"
- "N'oubliez Jamais"
- "Unchain My Heart"
- "Feels Like Forever" from the movie, The
Cutting Edge
Cocker performed the opening set at Woodstock
'94 as one of the few alumni who played at the original Woodstock
Festival in 1969, and was very well received. He continues to tour
sporadically, and currently lives on the Mad Dog Ranch in Crawford,
Colorado,
with his wife,
Pam. Cocker was awarded an OBE in the Queen's 2007
Birthday Honours list for services to music.
Australian controversy in 1972
In October 1972, Joe Cocker toured Australia on his Mad Dogs &
Englishmen tour. Cocker and six of his entourage were arrested in
Adelaide by police for possession of marijuana. The next day In
Melbourne, assault charges were laid after a brawl at the Commodore
Chateau, and Cocker was given 48 hours to leave the country by the
Australian Federal Police. This caused huge public outcry in Australia,
as Cocker was a high-profile overseas artist and had a strong support
base, especially amongst the baby boomers who were coming of age and
able to vote for the first time. It sparked hefty debate about the use
and legalisation of marijuana in Australia. This event took place just
before the 1972 Australian
Federal election, where progressive left-wing Prime Minister Gough
Whitlam came to power and Australia saw the end of 23 years rule of
conservative governments in Australia.
Discography
Albums
- With a
Little Help from My Friends (1969)
- Joe Cocker!
(1969)
- Mad Dogs &
Englishmen (1970)
- Cocker Happy (1971) (Australian
compilation release, 1971)
- Double Cocker Power (Australian
release, 1972)
- Joe Cocker: Something to say (1972)
- I Can Stand a Little Rain
(1974)
- Jamaica Say You Will
(1975)
- Stingray
(1976)
- Greatest Hits (1977)
- Luxury You Can Afford (1978)
- Sheffield Steel
(1982)
- The Best of Joe
Cocker (1983 - Australia / NZ only)
- Civilized Man
(1984)
- Cocker (1986)
- Unchain My Heart
(1987)
- One Night of Sin (1989)
- Joe Cocker Live (1990)
- Night Calls (1992)
- The Best of Joe Cocker (1993)
- Have a Little Faith
(1994)
- The Long Voyage Home (1995)
- Organic (1996)
- Across from Midnight (1997)
- Greatest Hits (1998)
- The Anthology (1999)
- No Ordinary World (2000)
- Respect Yourself (2002)
- Ultimate Collection (2004)
- Heart & Soul
(2004)
- Hymn for My Soul (2007)
References
-
Rushdie and Eavis lead honours, BBC News, 15
June, 2007
- Joe Cocker: The Authorised Biography by
J. P. Bean (2003) ISBN
1-85227-043-8
- Guinness Book
of British Hit Singles - 16th Edition - ISBN 0-85112-190-X
- The Guinness Book of 500 Number One Hits
- ISBN
0-85112-250-7
- Guinness Book of British Hit Albums - 7th Edition
- ISBN
0-85112-619-7
- Guinness Rockopedia - ISBN 0-85112-072-5
- The Great Rock Discography - 5th Edition
- ISBN
1-84195-017-3
External links
