Died British singer Joe Cocker – El Pais – Cali Colombia

Joe Cocker died at 70 years, according to his record label due to lung cancer, having made history in the blues through the rough voice that gave songs like ‘With a little help from my friends’, a song by the Beatles.

Elpais.com.co | AFP

The renowned Joe Cocker died at age 70 after having made history in the blues thanks to the harsh voice that gave songs like ‘With a Little Help From My Friends’, a song by the Beatles that exalted in Woodstock.

Originally from Sheffield, an industrial city in northern England, Joe Cocker died Sunday night in the US after a career spanning more than four decades, said Monday his agent, Barrie Marshall. Was “definitely the best singer of rock / soul that has produced Britain,” Marshall wrote in a statement.

Cocker, who began his career playing small bars in England, gained notoriety in the late ’60s thanks to its remembered version of “With a Little Help From My Friends’, a song Beatles played the British in her hoarse voice feature at the Woodstock Festival in August 1969.

At the time, critics considered this ‘cover’ as one of the best versions of the rock era. Among his biggest hits include ‘Night calls’ and ‘Up Where We Belong “, a duet with Jennifer Warnes who was part of the soundtrack of the film’ An Officer and a Gentleman” (1982).

He was also celebrated his rendition of ‘You Can Leave Your Hat On’, the main theme of the movie ‘Nine and a half weeks’ (1986). Was “enormously talented and a true star, but also a kind and humble man who loved acting,” said his agent. “His iconic rendition of ‘With a Little Help From My Friends’ followed it thrilling audiences for decades. It was simply unique,” he added.

Cocker’s record label, Sony Music, said Cocker suffered from lung cancer. According to the Yorkshire Post, the local newspaper in the hometown of the singer, the singer died in Colorado, the heart of the Rocky Mountains in the United States where he lived for a long time.

Ringo Starr, the exbaterista of the ‘Fab Four’, paid tribute to his compatriot in a tweet: “Goodbye and God bless Joe Cocker, is the desire of one of his friends Peace and Love.”.

The image Cocker as the “voice of a generation” increased thanks to ‘The wonder years’, a popular American television program that premiered in 1988 with a nostalgic look at the 60 and incorporating their version of ‘With a little help from my friends “as its main theme. The song was also included in the Hall of Fame Grammy Awards.

But despite being acclaimed by the public and criticism, Cocker never saw his name in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Roll, an omission that their fans considered a serious rebuff.

Billy Joel, who played the theme that characterized Cocker at Madison Square Garden in New York in September this year, said he was disappointed the illness of his colleague and said he was “shocked” that his legend has not been immortalized in the Hall of Fame Rock and Roll. But the Rolling Stone magazine itself included it in its list of the 100 best singers of all time, developed in 2008 by 179 experts.

Despite his fame, Joe Cocker did not have the “glamor” that usually surrounds rock stars: often disheveled and prematurely bald, never starred holders of the heart with mischief to Mick Jagger. However, it did have a dark side. In an interview he gave in 2012 at the American radio NPR, Cocker recalled the follies of the 70s, when he dove headfirst into the world of drugs and alcohol.

“In the early 70s, the drug and alcohol victims were charged. The way back was long. Often when you’re young and irresponsible, do not realize which is carrying things to extremes and how difficult it is climbing back. ” Cocker said.