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Joe Cocker
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Miami Vice Performer
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Born
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May 20, 1944, Sheffield, England
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Died
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December 22, 2014, Crawford, Colorado (age 70, lung cancer)
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Active
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1961-2014
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Spouse
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Pam Baker (1987-2014, his death)
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John Robert "Joe" Cocker (May 20, 1944 - December 22, 2014) was an English rock singer whose songs "Many Rivers to Cross" (in "The Prodigal Son") and "The One" (in "Heart of Night" appeared in the show Miami Vice.
Career[]
Cocker began his career in 1960 as a member of a local group in England, The Cavaliers, but left them to form Vance Arnold and the Avengers (with Cocker as Arnold), where they once shared the stage with The Rolling Stones. In 1964 Cocker left The Avengers for a solo career, but his first album flopped and he formed another group in 1966, The Grease Band, but it was Cocker who covered The Beatles' "With A Little Help From My Friends" (later used as the theme to the 1990s series The Wonder Years), and his album of the same name was his first American Top 40 album in 1969, he later played the Woodstock concert that same year. Later in the year, after releasing his second solo album, Joe Cocker!, he broke up the Grease Band and went pure solo. In 1970 he went on an extended US tour and released two singles, "Cry Me A River" and "The Letter" (a cover of the Box Tops hit) which became Cocker's first Top 10 single. Cocker then took time off to recover from the touring and released another album in 1973, I Can Stand A Little Rain, featuring his hit "You Are So Beautiful". He performed in the first season of Saturday Night Live, later recorded the album Sheffield Steel in 1982 (featuring "Many Rivers to Cross"). Later that year Cocker teamed up with Jennifer Warnes to record the theme to the Richard Gere movie An Officer and A Gentleman, which reached #1, won a Grammy and an Oscar, and revitalized Cocker's career. He released three more albums in the 1980s, reaching the Top 10 in 1989 with "When The Night Comes". In 1994 Cocker performed at Woodstock '94, one of the few alumni from the original concert to perform 25 years later. Cocker continued to tour and make occasional TV appearances, most recently on American Idol, until his death. Cocker was inducted posthumously into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2025.
Personal life/Death[]
Cocker dated Eileen Webster from his hometown of Sheffield for 13 years on and off from 1963-1976. In 1978 he met Pam Baker when the singer moved onto a ranch owned by Jane Fonda. They later married in 1987, and have no children. Cocker died on December 22, 2014, at his home in Crawford, Colorado from a battle with lung cancer at the age of 70.