He was born John Robert Cocker on may 20, 1044 in Sheffield, Yorkshire, England.He satrted out in the typical British way in the late 1950s, with his own skiffle band, later becoming Vance Arnold and The Avengers. In the mid-60s he formed a new group, The Grease Band and was "launched" in the North American market as a result of his performance at Woodstock in 1969.
The following year he, along with Leon Russell, put together 43-piece revue they called Mad Dogs and Englishmen. The tour was successful, a live recording was made, a movie was filmed of the tour, and the rest is history. Joe Cocker became very popular. Interestingly, he seemed to always record songs that were either hits for others or written by others. For example, Billy Preston wrote You Are So Beautiful.
Treasure Island Oldies is pleased to present Joe Cocker on Voice Your Choice with two outstanding songs. Cast your vote at the Voice Your Choice page for either With A Little Help From My Friends or The Letter. I'll play the winner in the 3rd hour. I wonder if it will end up in a tie vote; both songs are great.