Leonard Bernstein
American conductor and composer (1918-1990)
Joe Cocker was an English singer known for his soulful, bluesy voice and energetic stage performances. He had many hit songs, including “Feelin’ Alright?” and “Unchain My Heart,” and is best known for his cover of the Beatles’ “With a Little Help from My Friends.” Cocker enjoyed a successful 43-year recording career, releasing 22 studio albums and winning a Grammy Award.
Table of Contents
About the Joe Cocker
John Robert “Joe” Cocker 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 partner Chris Stainton.
His first album featured a recording of the Beatles’ “With a Little Help from My Friends”, which brought him to near-instant stardom. The song reached number one in the UK in 1968, became a staple of his many live showsand was also known as the theme song for the late 1980s American TV series The Wonder Years. He continued his success with his second album, which included a second Beatles song: “She Came In Through the Bathroom Window”. A hastily thrown together 1970 US tour led to the live double-album Mad Dogs & Englishmen, which featured an all-star band organized by Leon Russell. His 1974 recording of “You Are So Beautiful” reached number five in the US, and became his signature song. Cocker’s best selling song was the US number one “Up Where We Belong”, a duet with Jennifer Warnes that earned a 1983 Grammy Award. He released a total of 22 studio albums over a 43-year recording career.
In 1993, Cocker was nominated for the Brit Award for Best British Male Solo Artist. He was awarded a bronze Sheffield Legends plaque in his hometown in 2007, and received an OBE the following year for services to music. Cocker was ranked number 97 on Rolling Stone’s 100 greatest singers list.
Frequently Asked Questions
Joe Cocker’s best selling song was the US number one hit ‘Up Where We Belong’, a duet with Jennifer Warnes that earned a 1983 Grammy Award.
Joe Cocker’s cover of the Beatles’ ‘With a Little Help from My Friends’ brought him to near-instant stardom, as the song reached number one in the UK in 1968 and became a staple of his many live shows.
Joe Cocker was known for his gritty, bluesy voice and dynamic stage performances that featured expressive body movements.
Joe Cocker released a total of 22 studio albums over a 43-year recording career.
Joe Cocker covered a second Beatles song on his second album, ‘She Came In Through the Bathroom Window’.
Joe Cocker was nominated for the Brit Award for Best British Male Solo Artist in 1993, was awarded a bronze Sheffield Legends plaque in his hometown in 2007, and received an OBE in 2008 for services to music. He was also ranked number 97 on Rolling Stone’s 100 greatest singers list.
Joe Cocker often composed songs for most of his albums in conjunction with songwriting partner Chris Stainton.
23 Quotes by Joe Cocker
- 1.
It’s all a matter of hearing what I like and seeing if I can make it fit into my style.
Joe CockerEnglish musician (1944-2014)
- 2.
I have sung to large crowds since then, and there is a feeling that once you get over 100,000 people, you kind of lose the control element, you don’t know if you are really getting through or not.
Joe CockerEnglish musician (1944-2014)
- 3.
Some of the songs I do once in a while that I kinda… my set list is basically like my hits, there is a good reason why they are there; people really like them.
Joe CockerEnglish musician (1944-2014)
- 4.
Well, we have this place in Telluride, Colorado. It’s somewhere I can just get away and relax and think.
Joe CockerEnglish musician (1944-2014)
- 5.
The world is a tougher place to live in than it was back then, as we come into the computer age.
Joe CockerEnglish musician (1944-2014)
- 6.
Over the years, I’ve worked with just about everybody.
Joe CockerEnglish musician (1944-2014)
- 7.
It’s interesting, as I said on the last tour in America, the audience actually came out, they had to have been the kind of fans who listened to my music via their parents, you know what I mean?
Joe CockerEnglish musician (1944-2014)
- 8.
Well, over the years, I’ve developed a stable of songs of which I’m known for and never get tired of singing.
Joe CockerEnglish musician (1944-2014)
- 9.
I was in Germany when the wall came down.
Joe CockerEnglish musician (1944-2014)
- 10.
It’s nice to get a response from the artists that I cover.
Joe CockerEnglish musician (1944-2014)
- 11.
I’ve been touring now since about ’68.
Joe CockerEnglish musician (1944-2014)
- 12.
Don’t go on American Idol, I think you’ll spend the rest of your life living it down and I think it’s getting kinda scary, isn’t it?
Joe CockerEnglish musician (1944-2014)
- 13.
God, I’m just a fat bald guy, 60 years old, singing the blues, you know?
Joe CockerEnglish musician (1944-2014)
- 14.
I would like to be able to do a song with Ray Charles, before we both get too old.
Joe CockerEnglish musician (1944-2014)
- 15.
I had a job when I was 16 at a gas fitter, which was a bit like a pipe fitter.
Joe CockerEnglish musician (1944-2014)
- 16.
Unfortunately I was in New York when 9/11 happened.
Joe CockerEnglish musician (1944-2014)
- 17.
Yeah, one of the main ways is for songs that make me want to move.
Joe CockerEnglish musician (1944-2014)
- 18.
Once you get into entertaining a quarter of a million people, it’s a very weird place to be.
Joe CockerEnglish musician (1944-2014)
- 19.
I have always been a sucker for ballads, but you have to be careful these days, you can’t overload people.
Joe CockerEnglish musician (1944-2014)
- 20.
Europe is usually where I am usually galloping around.
Joe CockerEnglish musician (1944-2014)
- 21.
For me, the focus are songs, which really get the audience moving.
Joe CockerEnglish musician (1944-2014)
- 22.
I love songs that have a rocking and grooving feeling.
Joe CockerEnglish musician (1944-2014)
- 23.
Back then, I, most rockers loved Chuck Berry, Little Richard, Jerry Lee Lewis… you know in the ’60s.
Joe CockerEnglish musician (1944-2014)