Singer Joe Cocker
The singer song-writer from Sheffield had a career lasting more than 40 years with hits including You Are So Beautiful and Up Where We Belong.
His agent Barrie Marshall confirmed that he had died of an undisclosed illness.
He said he was “simply unique” and “it will be impossible to fill the space he leaves in our hearts.”
Known for his gritty voice, Cocker began his singing career in the pubs and clubs of Sheffield in the 1960s before hitting the big time.
He was propelled to pop stardom when his version of The Beatles’ With A Little Help from My Friends reached number one.
His duet with Jennifer Warnes, Up Where We Belong – from An Officer And A Gentleman – hit number one and went on to win both a Grammy and an Academy Award.
He was honoured with an OBE in 2007.
Last year he broke all his own records in arenas across Europe, with a number one album in Germany and what was to be his final concert in Hammersmith, London, in June.
Marshall said “he was without the doubt the greatest rock/soul voice ever to come out of Britain- and remained the same man throughout his life.
“Hugely talented, a true star, but a kind and humble man who loved to perform. Anyone who ever saw him live will never forget him.”
Source BBC News
Joe Cocker – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
John Robert “Joe” Cocker OBE (20 May 1944 – 22 December 2014) was an English rock and blues singer, who came to popularity in the 1960s, and was known …
English musician Joe Cocker, one of the heroes of British pop music in the 1960s, has died after a long battle with lung cancer.
Cocker, famous for his raspy voice and wild hip gyrations on stage, rose to fame with his covers of popular songs, including the Beatles’ song With a Little Help From My Friends, which went to number one in 1968, and Leon Russell’s Delta Lady.
He received a Grammy in 1983 for Up Where We Belong, a duet with Jennifer Warnes and was awarded an OBE for his contribution to music in 2007.
A longtime US resident, Cocker lived on a ranch in Colorado with his second wife Pam. His death, age 70, was confirmed by his agent Barrie Marshall, who said that he had died of an undisclosed illness.
Marshall said Cocker was “simply unique” and “it will be impossible to fill the space he leaves in our hearts.”
Born John Robert Cocker in 1944, he was raised in Sheffield, the son of a civil servant. His first foray into music was under the stage name Vance Arnold with his band Vance Arnold and the Avengers, mainly covering Chuck Berry and Ray Charles, but the band landed their big break in 1963 when they supported the Rolling Stones at Sheffield City Hall.
Cocker signed a solo record deal a year later and went on to create 40 albums over his colourful, four-decade career.
A statement from his label Sony Music said: “John Robert Cocker, known to family, friends, his community and fans around the world as Joe Cocker, passed away on December 22, 2014 after a hard fought battle with small cell lung cancer. Mr Cocker was 70 years old. His international success as a blues/rock singer began in 1964 and continues till this day. Joe created nearly 40 albums and toured extensively around the globe.”
The singer is survived by wife Pam, his step-daughter, Zoey Schroeder and two grandchildren, Eva and Simon Schroeder.