John Robert ‘Joe’ Cocker OBE was an English singer. His recording of the Beatles’ \”With a Little Help from My Friends\” reached number one in the UK in 1968. His version also became the theme song for the TV series The Wonder Years. In 2007 he was awarded a bronze Sheffield Legends plaque in his hometown. In 2008 he received an OBE at Buckingham Palace for services to music. He was ranked number 97 on Rolling Stone’s 100 greatest singers list.
About Joe Cocker in brief
John Robert ‘Joe’ Cocker OBE was an English singer. His recording of the Beatles’ \”With a Little Help from My Friends\” reached number one in the UK in 1968. His version also became the theme song for the TV series The Wonder Years. Cocker was the recipient of several awards, including a 1983 Grammy Award for his US number one \”Up Where We Belong\”, a duet with Jennifer Warnes. In 2007 he was awarded a bronze Sheffield Legends plaque in his hometown. In 2008 he received an OBE at Buckingham Palace for services to music. He was ranked number 97 on Rolling Stone’s 100 greatest singers list. He is not related to fellow Sheffield-born musician Jarvis Cocker, despite a rumour to this effect, although Joe was a friend of the family and even did some babysitting for Jarvis when he was an infant. His main musical influences growing up were Ray Charles and Lonnie Donegan. His first experience singing in public was at age 12 when his elder brother Victor invited him on stage to sing during a gig of his skiffle group. He left school to become an apprentice gasfitter working for the East Midlands Gas Board, later British Gas, while simultaneously pursuing a career in music. In 1966, after a year-long hiatus from music, Cocker teamed up with Chris Stainton, whom he had met several years before, to form the Grease Band. In 1968, he found commercial success with a rearrangement of \”With Little Help From My Friends, which was used as the opening theme for The Wonder years.
He then formed a new group, Joe Cocker’s Blues Band, with keyboardist Tommy Eyre and drummer Jimmy Page. He recorded the single Marorine in a London studio for the producer Denny Cordell, the producer of Procol Harum. The Moody Blues came to the attention of the producer Georgie Harum and The Georgie Fame came to London with Cocker in the late 1980s. He died in a car crash in 2009 in his home town of Sheffield. His funeral was held at St Mary’s Church, Sheffield, where he was a member of the St Andrew’s Day service. He also had a son, John Robert Cocker Jr, who was born on 20 May 1944 in Sheffield, and a daughter, Cheryl Cocker. He had three children with his first wife, Joanne, and two sons with his second wife, Michael. He has a daughter with his third wife, Laura, and one son with whom he has two children, Michael Cocker III, who is also a singer-songwriter. He retired from music in 2010 and now lives in Los Angeles with his wife and two children. His son, Michael, is a professional golfer and has played for the LA Galaxy, the LA Kings and the Los Angeles Galaxy, and the San Francisco 49ers, among many other sports teams, including the NFL, the MLS and the NFL.
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