Joe Cocker is a living legend. He’s best known for his 1969 cover of “With A Little Help From My Friends” by The Beatles, but that one hit can not sum up the entire scope of his career. To date, he has released 29 albums, and it doesn’t look like he’ll be slowing down anytime soon. His latest album, “Fire It Up,” was released in 2012 and features the hit singles “You Can Leave Your Hat On” and “It’s A Little Bit Of Everything.”
Cocker took the stage name Joe Cocker after seeing an album by a jazz drummer named Joe Cockers. His career began in small clubs throughout England, where he spent time developing his own style before getting noticed. His first single was released in 1964, and by 1966 he had his first album out. It wasn’t until 1969 when he became an international sensation with “With A Little Help From My Friends.”
The song remained number 1 on the charts for 4 weeks straight and reached more than a million copies sold that year alone. Since then, Cocker has continued to release album after album while attending numerous performances, shows, and tours.
Vance Arnold and the Avengers
In the 60s, Cocker was a part of a group called Vance Arnold and the Avengers. During this time, he was able to establish himself as a great musician, but unfortunately, no recordings of his work from this era exist today. He had often said that he believes it would be nice for people to hear what he sounded like at such an early part of his career before he had such a unique style, but it is unlikely that any recordings will ever surface.
Cocker has honed his skills over the years, and his evolution as an artist can be seen through the many albums he has released since 1969. There have been two distinct phases to his music career. His first phase began with his first album, “With A Little Help From My Friends,” and lasted until 1973. During this time, Cocker was known for his high-energy performances, which often included spontaneous jumps off of speaker cabinets. His second phase began with the recording of “Joe Cocker!” in 1974 and is still going strong today. He has taken on a more subtle style of performing, which has allowed him to continue creating new albums and going on tours.
Mad Dogs & Englishmen Tour
Joe Cocker is best known for his 1970 tour of the United States with Leon Russell. The performance was captured on film and released in theaters later that year as “Mad Dogs & Englishmen.” This marked the peak of Joe Cocker’s career because it showed him at his most energetic. It also gave viewers a glimpse into how talented of a player he is with his cover of The Beatles’ “With A Little Help From My Friends.”
Cocker has had an extensive career with over 29 albums under his belt and continues to perform shows around the world today. He released his 30th album entitled “Fire It Up,” which features the singles “You Can Leave Your Hat On” and “It’s A Little Bit Of Everything.” He will also be releasing the live album “Fire It Up – Live” on June 3rd.
A Little Help From My Friends in 1968
Joe Cocker’s “With A Little Help From My Friends” charted back in 1968. The song was originally performed by The Beatles on their 1967 album Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, but Joe Cocker brought the song to new audiences with his cover. It was also successful enough to become his signature song and has been included on numerous albums since its release.
The song hit number one on the charts for 4 weeks straight and also became the theme song for his Mad Dogs & Englishmen tour. The live version of the original that is included in this album went on to become Cocker’s highest-charting single ever.
Joe Cocker became an international sensation in 1969 with his performance at Woodstock. This marked the beginning of Joe Cocker’s second phase, where he started to become known for his more subtle style. Since then, Cocker has released over 29 albums and continues to perform today.
His music career is also being documented through a recent film called “The Life & Times Of Joe Cocker.” This film will be released later this year and promises to give a more in-depth look at his life.
Joe Cocker has had an extensive career with over 29 albums and continues to perform shows around the world today. He will soon be releasing his 30th album entitled “Fire It Up,” which features the singles “You Can Leave Your Hat On” and “It’s A Little Bit Of Everything.”
Pam Helped Me Get Myself Back Together
“I had a problem with drugs and alcohol for many years. It was mainly marijuana, but it started to become much harder drugs like cocaine and heroin. I probably spent more time in jails than out of them because of my drug problems.”
-Joe Cocker
During his career, Joe Cocker has overcome several tough issues, including heavy drug and alcohol addiction. On December 22nd, 1997, Joe Cocker’s wife found him passed out in his kitchen. He later stated that he had collapsed because the cocaine in his body was too much for his system to handle after years of abuse.
Since then, Joe has begun a support group called “Phoenix – A Recovery Group.” This group is based on the twelve-step program and has helped many others overcome their addictions.
