The rock and blues singer, who is best known for his cover of The Beatles' song 'With a Little Help from My Friends', died on Monday, December 22 at the age 70.
- Dec 23, 2014
AceShowbiz - Joe Cocker, the British rock and blues singer who is best known for his cover of The Beatles' song "With a Little Help from My Friends" and his own song "Up Where We Belong", passed away at his home in Crawford, Colorado on Monday, December 22 after battling lung cancer. He was 70.
The Beatles surviving members Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr paid tribute to Joe. Paul said, "It's really sad to hear about Joe's passing. 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'."
"I remember him and (producer) Denny Cordell coming round to the studio in Savile Row 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 for him for doing that," he recalled.
"I knew him through the years as a good mate and I was so sad to hear that he had been ill and really sad to hear today that he had passed away," he added, "He was a great guy, a lovely guy who brought so much to the world and we'll all miss him."
Ringo, meanwhile, tweeted, "Goodbye and God bless to Joe Cocker from one of his friends peace and love."
Other celebrities who also paid tribute to Joe on Twitter included Steven Tyler, Josh Groban and Lenny Kravitz. Steven wrote, "WE LOVED YOU FOREVER, WE WILL MISS YOU ALWAYS...RIP JOE COCKER." Josh tweeted, "RIP Joe Cocker....one of my favorite voices ever." Lenny posted, "#JoeCocker. Thank you for sharing your soul. RIP."
Bryan Adams and Peter Frampton also expressed their condolences on Twitter. Bryan posted, "Joe Cocker has died. RIP my good friend, you were one of the best rock singers EVER. #respect #verysad #hugeinfluence #whenthenightcomes." Peter wrote, "So sad to hear of Joe Cocker's passing. 'You are so beautiful' is both Joe and Nicky Hopkins piano at their very best. Gonna play it now RIP."
Joe's cover for The Beatles' song "With a Little Help from My Friends" reached number one in the U.K. in 1968. The cover song became the theme song of TV series "The Wonder Years". He earned a Grammy Award in 1983 for his duet song with Jennifer Warnes "Up Where We Belong" which was the soundtrack of 1982's movie "An Officer and a Gentleman". The song also won an Academy Award for Best Original Song.
Joe is survived by his wife of 27 years Pam, his brother Victor, his step-daughter Zoey Schroeder and two grandchildren, Eva and Simon Schroeder.