Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/439085
XVI maltatoday, Sunday, 28 december 2014 Irrepressible blues-rock crooner Joe Cocker passes away at 70 Though most famous for playing other people's songs, Joe cocker's raspy voice and energetic stage presence made him a hard-to-ignore, and enduring presence in the music world Becoming a household name in the late 60s – in large part due to his 1968 rendition of the Beatles' hit With a Little Help from my Friends – veteran British crooner Joe Cocker passed away on December 22 after a battle with lung cancer. Born in Sheffield in 1944 and absorb- ing the musical influences of Ray Charles and Lonnie Donegan from an early age, Cocker began to hone his musical talents at age 12, when he began playing in a skiffle group with his brother. He would form his own group The Cavaliers in the 60s, only to abandon the project after he decided to pursue work as a gasfitter while practising music solo. His first big break came in 1968, when he recorded an arrangement of the Beatles hit 'With a Little Help from my Friends'. In an experience he would go on to describe as being "like an eclipse… it was a very special day" he performed the song – among others in his repertoire – in Woodstock in 1969 to raucous crowds. Cocker soon became dis- tinguished for his unique stage presence: he was often seen flailing his arms and playing air guitar. Though this tic was lovingly and memo- rably parodied by American comedian John Beluschi on the sketch show Saturday Night Live, rock music historian Glenn Gass singles out the earnestness of his on-stage physical presence as being both brave and unique. "He does what a lot of us do at four in the morning when there's a song we love: these spasms of emotion, playing air guitar. He took that age-old problem of "What do you do if you're a frontman and you don't have a guitar?" Elvis and Mick Jagger solved it their way, and Cocker just became the music, like Neil Young does, in the throes of a guitar solo. He was just transported somewhere else. Anyone else doing a Beatles song at Woodstock would've been laughed offstage. It took real guts to do that. But it was a revelation, it was one of the sensations of the festival for a guy that was barely known be- fore," Gass said in an interview with Think Progress. Becoming known for his raspy singing voice, Cocker would subsequently consoli- date his newfound fame with the Mad Dogs and Englishmen tour in 1970, where he took on America in a big way, performing in 48 states. Bona-fide mainstream recognition came in the early 80s, when Cocker recorded the song 'Up Where we Belong' with Jennifer Warnes for the film An Officer and a Gen- tleman – which won the duo both a Grammy and an Academy Award in 1983. He would then notably be invited to play the song 'You Are So Beautiful' with Ray Charles in a television tribute to his musical idol, in what was to become another landmark moment for Cocker. Cocker's cover of the salacious tune 'You Can Leave Your Hat On' (original by Randy Newman) became another trademark track for Cocker after it was used on the sound- track for the erotic thriller 9 ½ Weeks. Serving as a soundtrack to a striptease by then white-hot starlet Kim Basinger, the song remains a mainstay for both male and female strippers worldwide. His album Unchain my Heart was nomi- nated for a Grammy in 1987, though it did not win. Cocker was awarded the Order of the Brit- ish Merit medal in 2007, and was honoured in his home town with Sheffield Legends plaque outside Sheffield Town Hall soon after. Tributes to Cocker came pouring in soon after his death – a testament to his talent and infectious presence throughout a 50- year career. The Beatles' own Sir Paul McCartney was particularly expansive, noting the cultural impact of Cocker's cover of With a Little Help From My Friends: "It's really sad to hear about Joe's pass- ing. 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 de- cided to cover With A Little Help From My Friends and 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. 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 was a great guy, a lovely guy who brought so much to the world and we'll all miss him," McCartney said. Younger performers also paid their respects to Cocker, with Bryan Adams – whose song 'Feels Like Forever' Cocker covered in 1992 – tweeting, 'Joe Cocker has died. RIP my good friend, you were one of the best rock singers ever'. Irish pop star and former Boyzone crooner Ronan Keating also took to Twitter upon hearing news: 'So sad to hear of Joe Cocker passing. What a brilliant and unique voice. Peace'. Even former shock-rocker Gene Simmons of Kiss chimed in, tweeting, 'Sad to hear Joe Cocker has passed away. Our prayers go out to his family.' Known for his raspy voice and animated stage presence, Joe Cocker passed away after a battle with lung cancer on December 22 Cocker's fate as a musical legend was sealed with a 1968 performace at Woodstock, in which he performed his beloved rendition of the Beatles' With a Little Help from my Friends to raucous crowds Cocker's rendition of You Can Leave Your Hat On became a striptease anthem after it was used in the Kim Basinger- starring erotic thriller 9 ½ Weeks