Joe Cocker

Joe Cocker is the blues-rock singer who came to prominence in the 60s with his passionate cover of The Beatles' "With a Little Help from My Friends" and his performance at Woodstock. In the early 80s he made a brief comeback with a hit duet with Jennifer Warnes on “Up Where We Belong”.

After a brief spell performing as Vance Arnold, and in the Joe Cocker Big Blues band, Cocker came to prominence with The Grease Band, formed with Chris Stainton. They were the backing group for his bluesy cover of The Beatles' “With a Little Help from My Friends”, which topped the UK singles chart and lead to an invite to play at Woodstock, where its performance was recorded for the film and soundtrack album.

He had a couple more hits in the UK with more covers, “Delta Lady” and “She Came in Through the Bathroom Window”, but found more success in the States where his first three albums went platinum. He charted with the singles “Cry Me a River” and “Feelin’ Alright”, while the critically acclaimed live album, Mad Dogs and Englishmen, provided a Top 10 hit with “The Letter”. But the tour of 48 cities in 56 days left Cocker exhausted, which may have been a contributory factory in Cocker turning to drink and drugs. The 70s started as a troubled decade for him, lightened by a No.5 hit with “You Are So Beautiful” from the I Can Stand a Little Rain album.

The 80s got off to a good start for Cocker, when he recorded a duet with Jennifer Warnes for a film starring Richard Gere. The film An Officer and a Gentleman took over $100 million, while the song, “Up Where We Belong”, gave Cocker his first US No.1 and won the Academy, the Golden Globe and the UK BAFTA awards for Best Original Song. Cocker and Warnes also won the Grammy for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal.

This boost to his career carried over to a run of platinum-selling albums, commencing with 1984’s Civilized Man and including Cocker, Unchain My Heart and One Night Of Sin.

In 1994, Cocker made a triumphant return to Woodstock, where he was one of the few acts to make a reappearance after the 1969 event. He can also be heard on the films 9½ Weeks and Bull Durham.

In 2007 Joe Cocker was given the Order of the British Empire award, in recognition of his services to music.