Florentino fernandez joe cocker biography

Despite Cocker's reluctance to venture out on the road again, an American tour had already been booked so he had to quickly form a new band in order to fulfill his contractual obligations. It proved to be a large group of more than 20 musicians, including pianist and bandleader Leon Russell , three drummers — Jim Gordon , Jim Keltner , and Chuck Blackwell, and backing vocalists Rita Coolidge and Claudia Lennear.

Cocker's music evolved into a more bluesy type of rock, comparable to that of the Rolling Stones. However, the pace of the tour was exhausting. Russell and Cocker had personal problems; Cocker became depressed and began drinking excessively as the tour wound down in May Meanwhile, he enjoyed several chart entries in the United States with cover versions of " Feelin' Alright " originally recorded by Traffic and " Cry Me a River ".

After spending several months in Los Angeles, Cocker returned home to Sheffield, where his family became increasingly concerned with his deteriorating physical and mental health. This became a hit, reaching number 22 on the US Billboard Hot chart, but was not issued on an album until November on the Joe Cocker album. In early , after nearly two years away from music, Cocker went on tour with a group that Chris Stainton had formed.

He opened with a performance in Madison Square Garden which was attended by about 20, people. After touring the United States, he embarked on a European tour where he played to large audiences in Milan and Germany. He then returned to the United States for another tour in autumn During these tours the group cut the songs that would be part of his newest album, Joe Cocker.

A mixture of live songs and studio recordings, the album peaked at number 30 on the US charts. In October , when Cocker toured Australia, he and six members of his entourage were arrested in Adelaide for possession of marijuana. This caused huge public outcry in Australia, as Cocker was a high-profile overseas artist and had a strong support base, especially among the baby boomers who were coming of age and able to vote for the first time.

It sparked hefty debate about the use and legalisation of marijuana in Australia, and gained Cocker the nickname "the Mad Dog". Shortly after the Australian tour, Stainton retired from his music career to establish his own recording studio. After his friend's departure and his estrangement from his longtime producer Denny Cordell, Cocker sank into depression and began using heroin.

In June , he kicked the habit but continued to drink heavily. One such instance was reported in a issue of Rolling Stone , which said that during two West Coast performances in October of that year he threw up onstage. To promote his new album, Cocker embarked on another tour of Australia, made possible by the country's new Labor government.

In late , he contributed vocals on a number of the tracks on Bo Diddley 's The 20th Anniversary of Rock 'n' Roll all-star album. He also recorded a new album in a Kingston, Jamaica studio, Stingray. However, record sales were disappointing; the album reached only number 70 on the US charts. John Belushi joined him onstage doing his famous impersonation of Cocker's stage movements.

Several months later, he met producer Michael Lang , who agreed to manage him on the condition that he stay sober. Hartley also toured briefly with Cocker's friends in Despite this effort, it received mixed reviews, selling around , copies. He also performed in New York's Central Park to an audience of 20, people. The concert was recorded and released as the live album, Live in New York.

In , Cocker recorded two songs with the jazz group the Crusaders on their album Standing Tall. The Crusaders wrote this song with Cocker in mind to sing it. In , Cocker joined a star-studded line-up of British musicians, including Jimmy Page , Eric Clapton , Jeff Beck , Steve Winwood and Bill Wyman for singer Ronnie Lane 's tour to raise money for the London-based organisation Action for Research into Multiple Sclerosis , in particular because Lane was beginning to suffer from the degenerative disease.

While on another tour that year, Cocker was arrested by Austrian police after refusing to perform because of inadequate sound equipment. The charges were eventually dropped and Cocker was released. His next album Cocker was dedicated to his mother, Madge, who died when he was recording in the studio with producer Terry Manning. The album eventually went Platinum on the European charts.

Throughout the s, Cocker continued to tour around the world, playing to large audiences in Europe, Australia and the United States.

Florentino fernandez joe cocker biography

In , he met the Italian singer Zucchero Fornaciari , who dedicated a song Nuovo, meraviglioso amico , in Rispetto to the English bluesman. Bush at an inauguration concert in In the autumn of , Cocker toured Europe promoting his studio album Hard Knocks. He returned to Australia in and again in , the latter of which featured George Thorogood and the Destroyers as an opening act.

Dupree's band Stuff was also Cocker's backing band on a tour promoting Stingray in Cocker kept recording and touring throughout his later years. He played 25 shows in Germany alone on the European leg of the tour, which reflects the popularity Cocker enjoyed there. The last concert on the tour, which was to be Cocker's final live performance, was at the Loreley Open Air Theatre in Sankt Goarshausen on 7 September In , fellow Yorkshire musician Philip Oakey , on behalf of his group, the Human League , said that Cocker was their "hero".

He was a lovely northern lad who I loved a lot and, like many people, I loved his singing. I was especially pleased when he decided to cover 'With a Little Help from My Friends' and I remember him and producer Denny Cordell coming round to the studio in Savile Row central London and playing me what they'd recorded and it was just mind-blowing, totally turned the song into a soul anthem and I was forever grateful to him for doing that.

In , Cocker began dating Eileen Webster, also a resident of Sheffield. The couple dated intermittently for the next 13 years. Pam Baker, a local summer camp director and fan of Cocker's music, had persuaded the actress to lend the house to Cocker. Baker began dating Cocker, and they married on 11 October Contents move to sidebar hide. Article Talk.

Read Edit View history. Tools Tools. Download as PDF Printable version. Posted in Musician. No Comments. Date of Birth: May 20, Zodiac Sign: Taurus Date of Death: December 22, Biography Joe Cocker was an English rock and blues singer renowned for his gritty voice, spasmodic body movement in performance, and distinctive renditions of popular songs.

Children Joe Cocker had no biological children. Relevant Links 1. Born into a working-class family, Cocker studied plumbing at a trade school and worked at that profession for several years before his musical efforts began to pay off. As a teen, he was heavily influenced by the music of Ray Charles , which led him to begin playing harmonica in a local group, The Cavaliers.

The Grease Band played the United States in , winding up their tour with an appearance at Woodstock. Cocker met musician and songwriter Leon Russell at the festival, where the two became fast friends. Over twenty musicians were involved, including the Delanie and Bonnie Band. Began musical career playing harmonica with The Cavaliers; band reorganized in the early s as Vance Arnold and the Avengers, with Cocker as lead singer.

Leader of The Grease Band, ; tours and records as solo artist, —. Addresses: Record company — Capitol Records, Inc. By , Cocker was attempting a comeback, but legal disputes, drinking, health problems, and a noticeable deterioration in his vocal prowess all plagued his efforts. He toured the United States and then Australia , where repeated arrests finally caused him to be deported.

He jumped from one record company to another and put himself in the hands of many different producers and writers, resulting in a catalog of recordings that is now considered wildly uneven. Despite all his difficulties, he persisted in recording and touring, and by he had climbed back into the U. Few singers are as readily identifiable; fewer interpreters are as adept at making outside material sound like their own creation.

Cite this article Pick a style below, and copy the text for your bibliography. Goldsworthy, Joan " Cocker, Joe. Goldsworthy, Joan "Cocker, Joe. January 8, Retrieved January 08, from Encyclopedia. Then, copy and paste the text into your bibliography or works cited list. Because each style has its own formatting nuances that evolve over time and not all information is available for every reference entry or article, Encyclopedia.

Powerful, raw, and full of anguish, Joe Cocker 's voice is perfectly suited to sing the blues, and it was by doing so that he became well known in the late s and early s. Personal and professional problems rivalling those described in any blues song have plagued him over the years, and at times it seemed that his career was finished. In recent years, however, Cocker has not only returned to music, he has expanded his range and established a presence as a romantic balladeer, as a definitive interpreter of several generations of rock music 's best songwriters, and as a blues and rhythm-and-blues shouter.

Their first single, "Marjorine," was a moderate success in the United Kingdom and gave Cocker's powerful voice its first notable exposure. The Grease Band played the United States in , winding up their tour with an appearance at the now-famous Woodstock music festival. Cocker met musician and songwriter Leon Russell at the festival, and the two became fast friends.

Russell penned Cocker's next hit, "Delta Lady," and supervised the recording of the album Joe Cocker!. More than 20 musicians were involved, including the Delanie and Bonnie Band, Rita Coolidge, and various members of Derek and the Dominoes. The "Mad Dogs and Englishmen" tour was a huge success, leading to a live album that went gold, and a film that made Cocker's strange, spastic stage presence as familiar as his rasping voice.

Russell was propelled to major star status as a result of "Mad Dogs and Englishmen. Physically, mentally, and emotionally drained, he recorded one more song, "High Time We Went," before returning to England and retiring from performing. By Cocker was attempting a comeback, but legal disputes, drinking, health problems, and a noticeable deterioration in his vocal prowess all plagued his efforts.

He toured the United States and then Australia, where repeated arrests finally caused him to be deported. He jumped from one record company to another, and put himself in the hands of many different producers and writers, resulting in a catalog of recordings that is now considered wildly uneven. Despite all his difficulties, he persisted, and by he had climbed back into the top ten charts in the United States with the arresting ballad "You Are So Beautiful," written by Billy Preston.