JOE COCKER
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Этот музыкант получил мировую известность благодаря своему
мощному хриплому голосу, именуемому многими критиками "иерихонской
трубой". Джон Роберт Кокер родился 20 мая 1944 года в английском городе
Шеффилд. Свою музыкальную карьеру он начал в 15 лет, выступая с
различными местными командами. С 1961 года Джо начал работать
слесарем-газовиком. Это было его дневное занятие, а по вечерам, надев
темный костюм и галстук-бабочку, он устремлялся на сцены пабов, где
превращался в Вэнса Арнольда. Его группа, "The Avengers" исполняла в
основном чужой материал, в том числе и песни Рэя Чарльза, которого
Кокер очень уважал. 
Главным моментом в карьере "Avengers" стало их выступление на
разогреве у "Rolling stones", но на этом успех кончился и ансамбль
распался. В 1964 году Джо решил завязать с профессией газовщика и
сосредоточиться на музыке. Его первой студийной работой стал сингл
"I'll cry instead" с кавер-версией "Beatles". Со своей группой "Joe
Cocker Big Blues" Кокер объездил всю Северную Англию, после чего
отправился во Францию, где заработал "титул" "Le Petit Ray Charles". Вернувшись домой, Джо распустил "Big Blues", а через год
вместе с Крисом Стэйнтоном организовал другой проект, "The Grease
Band". Записав несколько песен, музыканты отправили пленку продюсеру
"Moody blues" и "Procol harum" Денни Корделлу. Тому очень понравился
незаурядный вокал Джо и вскоре Корделл обеспечил Кокеру сотоварищи
прописку в лондонском клубе "Marquee". Взлет карьеры артиста пришелся
на тот момент, когда вышел его кавер на битловскую "With a little help
from my friends". С этой песней, занявшей верхнюю строчку британских
чартов, Кокер появился на шоу Эда Салливана и на фестивале в Вудстоке. Другими хитами стали композиция Box Tops "The Letter" и вещица
Леона Расселла "Delta Lady". Оба первых альбома быстро перешагнули
золотую отметку, а в 1970 году Расселл, являвшийся музыкальным
директором Кокера организовал для своего подопечного солидный тур под
названием "Mad dogs & Englishmen". Эти гастроли были настолько
напряженными, что после них Джо долго не мог прийти в форму. Дело
осложнилось резко усилившимся влечением к алкоголю, который музыкант
мог употреблять прямо на сцене. 
Вслед за виски в действие пошли наркотики, и звезда Кокера стала
закатываться. Выйти из кризиса Джо помогла Пэм Бэйкер, его будущая
жена, с которой он познакомился в 1978 году. Начало 80-х было отмечено
для певца двумя удачными кооперациями: с "Crusaders" он исполнил "I'm
so glad I'm standing here today", а с Дженнифер Уорнс - "Up where we
belong", прозвучавшую в фильме "An officer and a gentleman". С
пластинкой "Civilized man" к Кокеру вернулась былая слава и его
последующие альбомы "Cocker", "Unchain my heart", "One night of sin"
стали платиновыми. Особо удались музыканту такие номера как "Unchain my
heart" Рэя Чарльза, "When the night comes" Брайана Адамса и "Night
calls" Джеффа Линна. Также голос Джо прозвучал в фильме "Девять с половиной
недель", где он исполнил несколько песен. В 90-х годах и начале нового
тысячелетия Кокер продолжал плодотворно работать. И хотя его концерты
стали проходить относительно нечасто, музыкант присутствовал на таких
глобальных мероприятиях как концерт в честь падения берлинской стены,
"Nelson Mandela's Birthday Concert", "Princes Trust Gala" и инаугурация
американского президента Джорджа Буша. 
Joe Cocker OBE (born 20 May 1944) is an English rock/blues singer
who came to popularity in the 1960s, and is most known for his gritty
voice and his cover versions of popular songs, particularly those of
The Beatles.
Early life
Cocker was born John Robert Cocker at 20 Tasker Road, Crookes,
Sheffield, the youngest son of a civil servant. He left school early
and became an apprentice gas fitter. In 1961, he started his musical
career in the pubs of Sheffield.
Career
Under the stage name Vance Arnold, Cocker began his career with
Vance Arnold and the Avengers. In 1963 the band supported The Rolling
Stones at Sheffield City Hall. In 1964 Cocker released his first
single, a cover of The Beatles' "I'll Cry Instead" with a new band, Joe
Cocker Big Blues. This band ventured as far as France, where they
played on American air bases. After a lull, Cocker teamed up with Chris
Stainton, to form The Grease Band, in 1966. They were noticed by Denny
Cordell, the producer of Procol Harum, The Moody Blues and Georgie
Fame. Cordell set Cocker up with a residency at The Marquee Club in
London.
After minor success in the U.S. with the single "Marjorine", he
entered the big time with a groundbreaking rearrangement of "With a
Little Help from My Friends," another Beatles cover, this time from the
Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band album, featuring lead guitar from
Jimmy Page. The eventual original touring line up of Cocker's Grease
band featured Henry McCullough on lead guitar who would go on to
briefly play with McCartney's Wings.
In 1969 he appeared at the Woodstock Music Festival. His performance included the following songs:
1. "Delta Lady"
2. "Something's Comin' On"
3. "Let's Go Get Stoned"
4. "I Shall Be Released"
5. "With a Little Help from My Friends"
Cocker then had a second UK hit with the Leon Russell song,
"Delta Lady". He had further success covering Beatles tunes in 1970
with his version of "She Came in Through the Bathroom Window" off their
Abbey Road album. Though his British success proved difficult to
sustain, he enjoyed several chart entries in the U.S. with "Cry Me a
River" and "Feelin' Alright" by Dave Mason. In 1970, his cover of the
Box Tops' hit "The Letter", which appeared on the live album and film,
Mad Dogs & Englishmen, became his first U.S. Top Ten hit. Cocker
was backed in the film, soundtrack album and subsequent tour by a then
unheard of band of more than 30 players (including three drummers,
backing vocalist Rita Coolidge and pianist/bandleader Leon Russell).
Throughout 1969 he was featured on variety TV shows like The Ed
Sullivan Show and "This Is Tom Jones." Onstage, he exhibited an
idiosyncratic physical intensity, flailing his arms and playing air
guitar, occasionally giving superfluous cues to his band. In 1976,
Cocker performed "Feelin' Alright" on Saturday Night Live. John Belushi
joined him on stage doing his famous impersonation of Cocker's stage
movements.
In late 1975, he contributed vocals on a number of the tracks
on Bo Diddley's The 20th Anniversary of Rock 'n' Roll all-star album.
In the beginning of the 1970s the "Sheffield Soul Shouter"
dealt with drug abuse including alcohol. He managed to make a comeback
in the 1980s and 1990s with several hits, including:
- "Up Where We Belong", (Grammy Award winning song written
by Buffy Sainte-Marie and sung with Jennifer Warnes for the motion
picture, An Officer and a Gentleman). This song hit #1 in October 1982
- "You Are So Beautiful"
- "You Can Leave Your Hat On," written by Randy Newman and featured on the 9 1/2 Weeks soundtrack
- "When The Night Comes" (1989, written by Bryan Adams)
- "Different Roads" written by Steve DuBerry
- "N'oubliez Jamais"
- "Unchain My Heart"
- "Feels Like Forever" from the movie, The Cutting Edge
Cocker performed the opening set at Woodstock '94 as one of
the few alumni who played at the original Woodstock Festival in 1969,
and was very well received. He continues to tour sporadically, and
currently lives on the Mad Dog Ranch in Crawford, Colorado, with his
wife, Pam. Cocker was awarded an OBE in the Queen's 2007 Birthday
Honours list for services to music.To celebrate receiving his award in
mid December 2007, Cocker played two concerts in London and in his home
town of Sheffield.
In 2007, Cocker appeared playing minor characters in the film,
Across the Universe, as the lead singer on another Beatles hit, "Come
Together".
Australian controversy in 1972
In October 1972, Cocker toured Australia on his Mad Dogs &
Englishmen tour. Cocker and six of his entourage were arrested in
Adelaide by police for possession of marijuana. The next day in
Melbourne, assault charges were laid after a brawl at the Commodore
Chateau, and Cocker was given 48 hours to leave the country by the
Australian Federal Police. This caused huge public outcry in Australia,
as Cocker was a high-profile overseas artist and had a strong support
base, especially amongst 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. This event took place just
before the 1972 Australian Federal election, where progressive
left-wing Prime Minister Gough Whitlam came to power and Australia saw
the end of 23 years of rule by conservative governments in Australia.//more
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