Joe Cocker
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Joe Cocker | ||
|---|---|---|
| Background information | ||
| Birth name | John Robert Cocker | |
| Born | May 20, 1944 (age 62) Sheffield, England |
|
| Genre(s) | Blues, Rock, Folk, Pop Ballads |
|
| Occupation(s) | Singer, session musician, composer |
|
| Instrument(s) | Piano | |
| Years active | 1960s-present | |
Joe Cocker (born 20 May 1944) 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 other performers' songs.
Contents |
[edit] Biography
Born John Robert Cocker in Sheffield, England, Joe was a friend of the family of Jarvis Cocker of Pulp fame, and babysat for him, although the two are not related. He dropped out of high school and never obtained the equivalent of a high school diploma. Joe Cocker partially owes his fame for his ability to produce successful covers of other band's songs. He covered several songs from the Beatles, including "With a little Help from my friends," and also the hit "She came in through the bathroom window."
He started his musical career in the city of his birth Sheffield, England in some minor bands at the age of 15: the first band was the Avengers (under the stage name Vance Arnold), then Big Blues (1963), and then The Grease Band (1966). His first single was the first of several Beatles covers, "I'll Cry Instead".
After minor success in the UK 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, which topped the UK Singles Chart in November 1968 for one week.
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", (Academy 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.
Currently lives on the Mad Dog Ranch in Crawford, southwestern Colorado, with his wife Pam.
[edit] Discography
[edit] Albums
- With a Little Help from My Friends (1969)
- Joe Cocker! (1969)
- Mad Dogs & Englishmen (1970)
- 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)
- 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 (1999)
- Respect Yourself (2002)
- Ultimate Collection (2004)
- Heart & Soul (2004)
- Hymn For My Soul (2007)
[edit] References
- 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
[edit] External links
- The Official Website of Joe Cocker
- Joe Cocker in ORKUT
- Joe Cocker (Fansite)
- Joe Cocker's career on A&M Records with gallery, international discography
- Joe Cocker at the Notable Names Database
- Photos taken by photographer Linda Wolf, one of the two official photographers of the Joe Cocker, Mad Dogs and Englishmen Tour, 1970
