Joe Cocker- one of the truly great rock voices of all time- was born in Sheffield, England
on May 20, 1944, the youngest son of a civil servant In 1961 Joe became Vance Arnold, by day working as an
apprentice gas fitter and by night-in dark suit and bow tie-singing with The Avengers in rough Sheffield pubs. The set
included songs by mentor Ray Charles What'd I Say and Georgia On My Mind - and Vance Arnold and the Avengers
biggest moment came in 1963 when they supported The Rolling Stones at Sheffield City Hall, and brought the house
down.
The following year Joe left the Gas Board and released his first single, a cover of The Beatles' I'll Cry Instead. His band
was now Joe Cocker's Big Blues built up a large following in the north of England and ventured to France for a two
month stint, playing on American airbases. The servicemen, many from the Deep South, loved Joe, while the French
called him'Le Petit Ray Charles. But when he returned home the bottom had fallen out of the local scene and Joe
Cocker Big Blues folded.
For a year he never did a gig and then along came the man whom Joe has called the greatest musician in the world -
Chris Stainton - and The Grease Band was formed.
Songs were written-and a demo soon found its way to Denny Cordell, the producer of The Moody Blues, Georgie
Fame, and Procul Harum. Cordell liked what he heard and Joe moved to London and a residency at The Marquee. His
first single with Cordell-Marjorine- showed promise and only a few months later, With A Little Help From My Friends
went to number one in the British charts and was a hit all over Europe. America loved Joe Cocker from his first
television appearance on the Ed Sullivan show in 1969. The Press seized upon him-The voice of all those blind criers
and crazy beggars and maimed men who summon up a strength we'll never know to bawl out their souls in the streets
said Life magazine.
But Joe wasn't singing in the streets-he was singing at all the major rock festivals of that summer, culminating in the
filmed triumph of Woodstock before half a million people-a phenomenal rip-roaring testimony to Joe Cocker in his
absolute prime. Of the ensuing mad Dogs and Englishmen, Joe has said: My thoughts were off to Venus, heading for
Outer Space. Along with Leon Russell and a menagerie of musicians, managers, roadies, wives, girlfriends, hangers
on, children and a spotted dog- plus a film crew -Joe played forty-eight cities in fifty-six days, to rapturous receptions
everywhere.
But the tour left him battered and exhausted and, far from Venus, he ended up, in his own words, in heap in Los
Angeles, very disillusioned with the rock business. That year- 1970 - Joe sold $3 million worth of records in America
alone. His first three albums went Platinum and Playboy voted him number one vocalist in their annual jazz and rock
poll. Yet he kept on making albums and songs like Guilty, The Moons A Harsh Mistress and You Are So Beautiful-
songs that have become Cocker classics- all date from the darkest days, back in the mid 1970's. As the 80's dawned
Joe was invited by The Crusaders to join them on a song they had written specially for him- I'm So Glad I'm Standing
Here Today. The lyrics said it all and Joe received a standing ovation when he sang the song at the Grammy Awards.
His duet with Jennifer Warnes on Up Where We Belong - theme from An Officer And A Gentleman- brought an
appearance at the Oscars ceremony and a hit world-wide, including Joe first ever American number one.
From that point on, Joe has gone from strength to strength, aided undoubtedly by the love and support of his wife,
Pam,whom he married I 1987. His Capitol albums from Civilized Man onwards have been tremendously successful.
Cocker, Unchain My Heart, and One Night Of Sin all turned Platinum, the latter also delivering Joe most recent US Top
Ten song When The Night Comes, written by Bryan Adams. Joe's album Night Calls, the title single penned by Jeff
Lynne- turned Gold and headed towards Platinum all across Europe within weeks of its release in Autumn'91. As the
80's dawned Joe was invited by The Crusaders to join them on a song they had written specially for him- I'm So Glad
I'm Standing Here Today. The lyrics said it all and Joe received a standing ovation when he sang the song at the
Grammy Awards. His duet with Jennifer Warnes on Up Where We Belong - theme from An Officer And A Gentleman-
brought an appearance at the Oscars ceremony and a hit world-wide, including Joe first ever American number one.
From that point on, Joe has gone from strength to strength, aided undoubtedly by the love and support of his wife,
Pam,whom he married I 1987. His Capitol albums from Civilized Man onwards have been tremendously successful.
Cocker, Unchain My Heart, and One Night Of Sin all turned Platinum, the latter also delivering Joe most recent US Top
Ten song When The Night Comes, written by Bryan Adams. Joe's album Night Calls, the title single penned by Jeff
Lynne- turned Gold and headed towards Platinum all across Europe within weeks of its release in Autumn'91.
He has sung theme songs for movies 9 1/2 Weeks, Harry and The Hendersons, Bull Durham, and An Innocent Man
and in 1991 recorded Sorry Seems To Be The Hardest Word on the Elton John/Bernie Taupin tribute Two Rooms
which has sold over 3 Million world wide.
Joe has toured extensively and to great acclaim, not least in Europe where he enjoys a massive following. There have
been awards and accolades galore and among many prestigious shows, he has played for British royalty at a Princes
Trust Gala, Nelson Mandela's Birthday Concert, the Konzert for Berlin that celebrated the breaching of the Wall and, in
his adopted homeland of America, the inauguration ceremony for President George Bush.
Joe Cocker is a survivor- a star -a rock legend. He has had hit records in the 1960's, 70s, 80, and 90s. Success has
brought with it a gruelling schedule of recording and touring but, after more than twenty-five years on the road he has
no plans to ease up. And the future? "As long as being on stage is fun," says Joe, "as long as I enjoy that part and still
get a buzz out of performing- then I'll keep going out there."
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