Singer John Robert ‘Joe’ Cocker was born in Sheffield, England on 20th May 1944 and died on 22nd December 2014 with lung cancer at the age of 70. He was best known for his ‘abrasive’ voice and demonstrative body gestures during his performances.
At the age of 12, he sang in public for the first time and 4 years after, formed a group ‘The Cavaliers’, but after a year the band split and Joe joined a new group ‘Vance Arnold and the Avengers’. They mostly sang cover versions of songs by Ray Charles and Chuck Berry in his hometown Sheffield’s pubs.
Joe tried his luck as a solo artist in 1962 and released ‘I’ll Cry Instead’, originally issued by the Beatles, but was a total flop. So, he decided to form a new group which, however, lasted only a year and once again, created a new band ‘Grease’. Success finally arrived in 1968 with the release of another Beatles’ song ‘With a little help from my Friends’, which was a UK number one hit.
Following this success, the band toured the US and performed in various festivals including Woodstock where they played several songs. Joe then released his second album and also appeared in a couple of TV shows.
During his 43-year long career, Joe recorded 22 studio, 9 live and 14 compilation albums plus 68 singles. The soundtrack of the movie ‘An Officer and a Gentleman’ ‘Up where we Belong’, sung in duet with Jennifer Warnes, was a number one hit in some countries and his best-selling song. It also won him a Grammy Award. Other famous hits include his signature song ‘You are so Beautiful’, ‘Unchain my Heart’ and ‘You can leave your Hat on’.