Biography of Joe Cocker
December 22, 2014
John Robert Cocker was born on 20 May 1944 in Sheffield, the son of Harold and Madge. Her first experience singing in public goes back to adolescence: a twelve year old sings with Victor, his older brother and his skiffle group. In 1960 Joe Cocker formed his first band, the Cavaliers, along with three friends. After a year, however, the group split up: he left school to become an apprentice gas while simultaneously chasing the dream of music. In 1961 takes the stage name Vance Arnold and plays with Vance Arnold and the Avengers (the name is a fusion of Vince Everett, Elvis Presley's character in "Jailhouse Rock", and country singer Eddy Arnold). The group performs especially in the pubs of Sheffield, playing covers of Ray Charles and Chuck Berry. In 1963, however, has an opportunity to go on stage to open at Sheffield City Hall, a Rolling Stones concert.
The following year Cocker signed as a soloist with the Decca label, and released his first single, "I'll cry instead", a cover of the Beatles that relies on the presence of Big Jim Sullivan and Jimmy Page on guitar. The single, however, turns out to be a flop, and the contract with Decca, in late 1964, is not renewed. At that point, Joe formed Joe Cocker's Big Blues, a band who nevertheless gets little luck. Abandoned for a year on the music world back to perform with Chris Stainton, creating the Grease Band. The concerts held in the premises of Sheffield draw attention of Denny Cordell, manufacturer of Georgie Fame: Joe Cocker with he records the single "Majorine".
Having moved to London together with Stainton after dissolving the Grease Band, the singer won success with the rearrangement of "With a little help from my friends", the Beatles ' piece which gets the Top Ten singles charts in the uk, going as far as to number one in November 1968. After a tour in the United Kingdom following the Who's Pete Townshend, Cocker and his companions crossing the ocean to perform in the United States in the spring of 1969. During the American journey, the artist takes part in various festivals, including the Newport Rock Festival and, above all, Woodstock. Shortly after Joe Cocker released the album "Joe Cocker", which contains the Beatles songs "Something" and "She came in through the bathroom window". The disc reaches the eleventh u.s. charts, while Joe participates, inter alia, to "The Ed Sullivan Show."
In late 1969, intending not to embark on a new u.s. tour, decides to dissolve the Grease Band. However, it is forced to return to America for contractual obligations, and so have reconstitute in haste a new band. Hire, then, over thirty musicians, including the pianist Leon Russell and backing vocalist Rita Coolidge, giving rise to Mad dogs and Englishmen, from the homonymous song by Noel Coward. Although the tour is a success (almost 50 cities, appreciations in "Life" and "Time"), it is quite tiring: Cocker begins to drink alcohol in excessive quantities, and so in May 1970 the tour stops. After spending a few months in Los Angeles, back home in Sheffield, where he is greeted by his family, worried about his physical deterioration and even for his mental health. In 1972, after having been away from music for nearly two years, embarks on a new tour with a band formed by Chris Stainton. He performs, among other things, in front of 10,000 people at Madison Square Garden in New York, but also in Milan and in Germany.
In October 1972 was arrested in Australia, along with six members of his entourage, after being caught in possession of marijuana: the Federal Police gave him 48 hours to leave the country, amid protests from fans. Shortly after, Cocker falls into depression, and start using heroin; in 1973 he manages to stop but continues to drink alcohol heavily. At the end of the year back in the recording studio for "I can stand a little rain", the new album that will be released in August of the following year. The disc gets good reviews, but are canceled and penalized by the live performance of Joe, increasingly poor due to his problems with alcohol. In January 1975 he publishes "Jamaica say you will", an album that does not conquer finds particularly positive. In 1976, when he performs at "Saturday Night Live" along with John Belushi, Cocker has a debt of 800,000 dollars in respect of the A & M Records, and is always committed to defeating alcoholism: can he do it with the help of producer Michael Lang. In the 1980s, Cocker continues to cross the world, achieving success in Europe, the United States and in Australia.
In 1982 Duet with Jennifer Warnes "Up where we belong", which enters into the soundtrack of the movie "an officer and a gentleman": this song conquer even an Academy Award for best original song. Shortly after Cocker shuts down again, this time in Austria, after refusing to go on stage because of a return inappropriate audio before a concert. Returned immediately in freedom, gives published albums "Civilized man" and "Cocker" (the latter dedicated to mother Madge). One of the songs on the album, "You can leave your hat on", is part of the soundtrack of the movie "Nine 1/2 weeks" (1986, with Kim Basinger and Mickey Rourke) and becomes a super hit worldwide, meant to be associated with numerous times in movies of Strip.
In 1987 his album "Unchain my heart" was nominated for a Grammy Award. In 1988 the grease band performing at the Royal Albert Hall, and appears in "The Tonigth Show"; sounds even for President George Bush the following year. At the Brit Awards of 1993 the artist is nominated for Best British Male, while the following year opens the Woodstock ' 94. In 2002 has a chance to sing at Buckingham Palace, accompanied by Brian May and Phil Collins, on the occasion of the commemoration of the Golden Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II, while five years later she starred in the film "Across the universe". Also in 2007, he was granted the honour Obe (order of the British Empire). Joe Cocker dies at Crawford (Colorado, USA) on December 22, 2014 at the age of 70 years, due to a lung cancer.
Article contributed by the team of collaborators.