John Robert "Joe"CockerOBE (20 May 1944 – 22 December 2014) was an English singer known for his gritty, bluesy voice and dynamic stage performances that featured expressive body movements. Most of his best known singles, such as "Feelin' Alright?" and "Unchain My Heart", were recordings of songs written by other song writers, though he composed a number of songs for most of his albums as well, often in conjunction with songwriting partnerChris Stainton.[1]
In 1993, Cocker was nominated for theBrit Award for Best British Male Solo Artist. He was awarded a bronzeSheffield Legends plaque in his hometown in 2007, and received anOBE the following year for services to music.[2][3] Cocker was ranked number 97 onRolling Stone's 100 greatest singers list.[4] Cocker was posthumously inducted into theRock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2025.[5]
Cocker was born on 20 May 1944 at 38 Tasker Road,Crookes,Sheffield. He was the youngest son of a civil servant, Harold Norman Cocker (1907–2001), at the time of his son's birth serving as anaircraftman in theRoyal Air Force, and Madge (née Lee).[6] According to differing family stories, Cocker received his nickname of Joe either from playing a childhood game called "Cowboy Joe", or from a local window cleaner named Joe.[7]
Cocker's main musical influences growing up wereRay Charles andLonnie Donegan. Cocker's first experience singing in public was at age 12 when his elder brother Victor invited him on stage to sing during a gig of hisskiffle group. In 1960, along with three friends, Cocker formed his first group, the Cavaliers. For the group's first performance at a youth club, they were required to pay the price of admission before entering. The Cavaliers eventually broke up after a year and Cocker left school to become an apprenticegasfitter working for theEast Midlands Gas Board, laterBritish Gas Corporation, while simultaneously pursuing a career in music.[8]
Cocker is not related to fellow Sheffield-born musicianJarvis Cocker, despite a rumour to this effect (particularly in Australia, where Jarvis Cocker's father, radio presenterMac Cocker, allowed listeners to believe that he was Joe's brother),[9][10] although Joe was a friend of the family and even did some babysitting for Jarvis when the latter was an infant.[11]
In 1964, Cocker signed a recording contract as a solo act withDecca and released his first single, a recording ofthe Beatles' "I'll Cry Instead" (withBig Jim Sullivan andJimmy Page playing guitars). Despite extensive promotion from Decca lauding his youth and working-class roots, the record was a flop and his recording contract with Decca lapsed at the end of 1964.[16] After Cocker recorded the single, he dropped his stage name and formed a new group, Joe Cocker's Blues Band. There is only one known recording of Joe Cocker's Blues Band on an EP given out byThe Sheffield College during Rag Week and calledRag Goes Mad at the Mojo.[17]
In 1966, after a year-long hiatus from music, Cocker teamed up withChris Stainton, whom he had met several years before, to formthe Grease Band.[12] The Grease Band was named after Cocker read an interview with jazz keyboardistJimmy Smith, where Smith positively described another musician as "having a lot of grease". Like the Avengers, Cocker's group mostly played in pubs in and around Sheffield. The Grease Band came to the attention ofDenny Cordell, the producer ofProcol Harum,the Moody Blues andGeorgie Fame. Cocker recorded the single "Marjorine" without the Grease Band for Cordell in a London studio. He then moved to London with Chris Stainton, and the Grease Band was dissolved. Cordell set Cocker up with a residency at theMarquee Club in London, and a "new" Grease Band was formed with Stainton and keyboardistTommy Eyre.[18]
In 1968, Cocker found commercial success with a rearrangement of "With a Little Help from My Friends", another Beatles song, which, many years later, was used as the opening theme forThe Wonder Years. The recording features lead guitar fromJimmy Page, drumming byB. J. Wilson, backing vocals fromSue and Sunny, and Tommy Eyre on organ. The single remained in the top ten of theUK Singles Chart for thirteen weeks before eventually reaching number one, on 9 November 1968.[19] It also reached number 68 on the US charts.[20]
The new touring line-up of Cocker's Grease Band featuredHenry McCullough on lead guitar, who would go on to briefly play with McCartney'sWings. After touring the UK withthe Who in autumn 1968[21] andGene Pitney andMarmalade in early winter 1969, the Grease Band embarked on their first tour of the US in spring 1969. Cocker's albumWith a Little Help from My Friends was released soon after their arrival and made number 35 on the American charts, eventually going gold.[22]
During his US tour, Cocker played at several large festivals, including theNewport Rock Festival and theDenver Pop Festival. In August, Denny Cordell heard about the planned concert inWoodstock, New York and convinced organiserArtie Kornfeld to book Cocker and the Grease Band for theWoodstock Festival. The group had to be flown into the festival by helicopter due to the large crowds. They performed several songs, including "Feelin' Alright?", "Something's Comin' On", "Let's Go Get Stoned", "I Shall Be Released" and "With a Little Help from My Friends". Cocker would later say that the experience was "like an eclipse ... it was a very special day."[23]
In August 1969, Cocker performed at theIsle of Wight Festival atWootton Bridge, Isle of Wight, England.[25] Throughout 1969 he was featured on variety TV shows likeThe Ed Sullivan Show andThis Is Tom Jones. Onstage, he exhibited an idiosyncratic physical intensity, flailing his arms and playingair guitar. At the end of the year Cocker was unwilling to embark on another US tour, so he dissolved the Grease Band.[citation needed]
Despite Cocker's reluctance to venture out on the road again, an American tour had already been booked so he had to quickly form a new band in order to fulfill his contractual obligations. It proved to be a large group of more than 20 musicians, including pianist and bandleaderLeon Russell, three drummers –Jim Gordon,Jim Keltner, and Chuck Blackwell, and backing vocalistsRita Coolidge andClaudia Lennear. Denny Cordell christened the new band "Mad Dogs & Englishmen", after theNoël Coward song of the same name (with its refrain, "Mad dogs and Englishmen go out in the midday sun"). Cocker's music evolved into a more bluesy type of rock, comparable to that ofthe Rolling Stones.[26]
During the ensuing Mad Dogs & Englishmen tour (later described by drummer Jim Keltner as "a big, wild party"),[27] Cocker toured 48 cities, recorded a live album, and received positive reviews fromTime andLife for his performances. However, the pace of the tour was exhausting. Russell and Cocker had personal problems; Cocker became depressed and began drinking excessively as the tour wound down in May 1970. Meanwhile, he enjoyed several chart entries in the United States with cover versions of "Feelin' Alright" (originally recorded byTraffic) and "Cry Me a River".[citation needed]
His version ofthe Box Tops' hit "The Letter", which appeared on the live album and film,Mad Dogs & Englishmen, became his first US Top Tenhit. After spending several months in Los Angeles, Cocker returned home to Sheffield, where his family became increasingly concerned with his deteriorating physical andmental health. In the summer of 1971,A&M Records released the single "High Time We Went". This became a hit, reaching number 22 on the USBillboard Hot 100 chart, but was not issued on an album until November 1972 on theJoe Cocker album.[citation needed]
In early 1972, after nearly two years away from music, Cocker went on tour with a group that Chris Stainton had formed. He opened with a performance inMadison Square Garden which was attended by about 20,000 people. After touring the United States, he embarked on a European tour where he played to large audiences inMilan and Germany. He then returned to the United States for another tour in autumn 1972. During these tours the group cut the songs that would be part of his newest album,Joe Cocker. A mixture of live songs and studio recordings, the album peaked at number 30 on the US charts.[28]
Cocker performing on 16 October 1980 at theNational Stadium, Dublin
In October 1972, when Cocker toured Australia, he and six members of his entourage were arrested inAdelaide for possession ofmarijuana.[29] The next day, inMelbourne, assault charges were laid after a brawl at the Commodore Chateau Hotel,[30] and theAustralian Federal Police gave Cocker 48 hours to leave the country. This caused huge public outcry in Australia, as Cocker was a high-profile overseas artist and had a strong support base, especially among thebaby 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, and gained Cocker the nickname "the Mad Dog".[31]
Shortly after the Australian tour, Stainton retired from his music career to establish his own recording studio. After his friend's departure and his estrangement from his longtime producer Denny Cordell, Cocker sank into depression and began using heroin. In June 1973, he kicked the habit but continued to drink heavily.[32]
At the end of 1973, Cocker returned to the studio to record a new album,I Can Stand a Little Rain. The album, released in August 1974, was number 11 on the US charts and one single, a recording ofBilly Preston's "You Are So Beautiful", reached the number 5 slot.[33] Despite positive reviews for the album, Cocker struggled with live performances, largely due to his problems with alcohol. One such instance was reported in a 1974 issue ofRolling Stone, which said that during twoWest Coast performances in October of that year he threw up onstage.[34]
In January 1975, he released a second album that had been recorded at the same time asI Can Stand a Little Rain,Jamaica Say You Will. To promote his new album, Cocker embarked on another tour of Australia, made possible by the country's newLabor government. In late 1975, he contributed vocals on a number of the tracks onBo Diddley'sThe 20th Anniversary of Rock 'n' Roll all-star album. He also recorded a new album in aKingston, Jamaica studio,Stingray. However, record sales were disappointing; the album reached only number 70 on the US charts.[35]
In May 1976, Cocker headlined an 11-date tour of Canada, and on 2 October, Cocker performed "Feelin' Alright" onSaturday Night Live.John Belushi joined him onstage doing his famous impersonation of Cocker's stage movements. At the time, Cocker was $800,000 in debt toA&M Records and struggling with alcoholism. Several months later, he met producerMichael Lang, who agreed to manage him on the condition that he stay sober. With a new band, Cocker embarked on a tour of New Zealand, Australia and South America. He then recorded a new album withsession work bySteve Gadd andChuck Rainey. In the autumn of 1978, Cocker toured North America promoting his album,Luxury You Can Afford. Despite this effort, it received mixed reviews, selling around 300,000 copies.[36]
In 1979, Cocker joined the "Woodstock in Europe" tour, which featured musicians likeArlo Guthrie andRichie Havens who had played at the 1969 Woodstock Festival. He also performed in New York'sCentral Park to an audience of 20,000 people. The concert was recorded and released as the live album,Live in New York.[37]
In 1982, Cocker recorded two songs with the jazz groupthe Crusaders on their albumStanding Tall. One song, "I'm So Glad I'm Standing Here Today", was nominated for aGrammy Award and Cocker performed it with the Crusaders at the awards ceremony. The Crusaders wrote this song with Cocker in mind to sing it. Cocker then released a new reggae-influenced album,Sheffield Steel, recorded with theCompass Point All Stars, produced byChris Blackwell andAlex Sadkin.[citation needed]
While on another tour that year, Cocker was arrested by Austrian police after refusing to perform because of inadequate sound equipment. The charges were eventually dropped and Cocker was released.[40] Shortly after the incident, he released his ninth studio album,Civilized Man. His next albumCocker was dedicated to his mother, Madge, who died when he was recording in the studio with producerTerry Manning. A track from the album, "You Can Leave Your Hat On" was featured in the 1986 film9½ Weeks. The album eventually went Platinum on the European charts.[41] His song "Love Lives On" was featured in the 1987 filmHarry and the Hendersons.[42] His 1987 albumUnchain My Heart was nominated for a Grammy Award, although it did not win.One Night of Sin was also a commercial success, surpassingUnchain My Heart in sales and yielding his final Top 20 hit in the United States, "When The Night Comes", written byBryan Adams,Jim Vallance andDiane Warren that peaked at number 11 in January 1990.[citation needed]
In 1984, Cocker released the song "Edge of a Dream", which was included on the soundtrack of the filmTeachers. In Brazil, the song became popular as part of the soundtrack of the soap operaCorpo a Corpo, broadcast onRede Globo in 1985.
Throughout the 1980s, Cocker continued to tour around the world, playing to large audiences in Europe, Australia and the United States. In 1986, he met the Italian singerZucchero Fornaciari, who dedicated a song (Nuovo, meraviglioso amico, inRispetto) to the English bluesman. After that Cocker took part in some concerts of the promotional tours for the albumsBlue's (1987) andOro Incenso & Birra (1989). In 1988, he performed at London'sRoyal Albert Hall and appeared onThe Tonight Show.[43] AfterBarclay James Harvest andBob Dylan, Cocker was the first to give rock concerts in theGerman Democratic Republic, inEast Berlin andDresden. The venue, theBlüherwiese, next to theRudolf–Harbig–Stadion, bears the vernacular nameCockerwiese ('Cocker meadow') today.[44] He also performed for US PresidentGeorge H. W. Bush at an inauguration concert in 1989.[45]
In 1992, Cocker's version ofBryan Adams' "Feels Like Forever" made theUK Top 40.[46] Also in 1992, Cocker teamed with Canadian rockerSass Jordan to sing "Trust in Me", which was featured onThe Bodyguard soundtrack. At the 1993Brit Awards, Cocker was nominated for British Male Solo Artist.[2] Cocker performed the Saturday opening set atWoodstock '94 as one of the few alumni who played at the original Woodstock Festival in 1969 and was well received.[47]
On 3 June 2002, Cocker performed "With A Little Help From My Friends" accompanied byPhil Collins on drums andQueen guitaristBrian May at theParty at the Palace concert in the grounds ofBuckingham Palace, an event in commemoration of theGolden Jubilee of Elizabeth II.[48] In 2007, Cocker appeared playing minor characters in the filmAcross the Universe, as the lead singer on another Beatles' hit, "Come Together",[49] Cocker was awarded anOBE in the Queen's 2007 Birthday Honours list for services to music.[3] To celebrate receiving his award in mid December 2007, Cocker played two concerts in London and in his home town of Sheffield where he was awarded a bronzeSheffield Legends plaque outsideSheffield Town Hall.[50]
In 2000, Cocker was the opening act in select cities in the United States and Europe forTina Turner'sTwenty Four Seven Tour.He returned to Australia in 2008 and again in 2011, the latter of which featuredGeorge Thorogood and the Destroyers as an opening act.[51]
On 20 March 2011, Cocker took part in a benefit concert forCornell Dupree atB.B. King's Blues Club in New York City. Dupree played on four Cocker albums:I Can Stand A Little Rain (1974),Jamaica Say You Will (1975),Stingray (1976) andLuxury You Can Afford (1978). Dupree's band Stuff was also Cocker's backing band on a tour promotingStingray in 1976.[citation needed]
Cocker kept recording and touring throughout his later years. 2012'sFire it up, which would turn out to be Cocker's last studio album, was followed by an extensive tour, consisting of a US leg in 2012 and a European run in 2013. He played 25 shows in Germany alone on the European leg of the tour, which reflects the popularity Cocker enjoyed there.[52] The full show of 22 April atCologne'sLanxess Arena was recorded and released on CD and DVD under the titleFire it up Live later in 2013. The last concert on the tour, which was to be Cocker's final live performance, was at theLoreley Open Air Theatre inSankt Goarshausen on 7 September 2013.[citation needed]
The two remaining living ex-Beatles,Paul McCartney andRingo Starr, were among those who paid tribute to the singer following his death, while Cocker's agent, Barrie Marshall, said that Cocker was "without doubt the greatest rock/soul singer ever to come out of Britain".[54] McCartney commented:
He was a lovely northern lad who I loved a lot and, like many people, I loved his singing. I was especially pleased when he decided to cover 'With a Little Help from My Friends' and I remember him and (producer) Denny Cordell coming round to the studio inSavile Row (central London) and playing me what they'd recorded and it was just mind-blowing, totally turned the song into a soul anthem and I was forever grateful to him for doing that.[54]
In 1963, Cocker began dating Eileen Webster, also a resident of Sheffield. The couple dated intermittently for the next 13 years.[60][61]
In 1978, Cocker moved onto a ranch owned byJane Fonda inSanta Barbara, California. Pam Baker, a local summer camp director and fan of Cocker's music, had persuaded the actress to lend the house to Cocker. Baker began dating Cocker, and they married on 11 October 1987.[62]
While performing a concert atMadison Square Garden on 17 September 2014, fellow pop musicianBilly Joel stated that Cocker was "not very well right now" and endorsed Cocker for induction into theRock and Roll Hall of Fame before his tribute performance of "With a Little Help from My Friends".[63]
Cocker died fromlung cancer on 22 December 2014 in Crawford, Colorado, at the age of 70.[1][64][65] He had smoked two packs of cigarettes a day until he quit in 1991.[66]
In November 2025, Cocker was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame byBryan Adams.[67]
^Williams, Nadine (10 October 2002)."Joe's back – and not looking for trouble".The Advertiser (Adelaide) (State ed.). Adelaide, South Australia: News Ltd. p. 22. EBSCO Host Accession Number: 200210101022405517. Retrieved13 January 2016.
^Wiley, Mason; Damien Bona (1996).Inside Oscar: The Unofficial History of the Academy Awards (5 ed.). New York: Ballantine Books. p. 623.ISBN0-345-40053-4.
