Joe Cocker Dead At 70

Joe Cocker R.I.P.

JOE COCKER, best known for his cover of THE BEATLES'; "With A Little Help From My Friends," performed most memorably at the WOODSTOCK festival in 1969, has died at the age of 70 after a reported bout with lung cancer.

The SHEFFIELD, U.K. singer/songwriter's career spanned more than 40 years with hits including "You Are So Beautiful" and "Up Where We Belong," his OSCAR- and GRAMMY-winning duet with JENNIFER WARNES from "An Officer And A Gentleman."

Both ROLLING STONE (#97) and MOJO (#58) magazines named him to their list of the "100 Greatest Singers Of All Time. His last album was 2012's "Fire It Up" on COLUMBIA EUROPE, which was produced by MATT SERLETIC.

His agent BARRIE MARSHALL confirmed to the BBC that COCKER had died on his MAD DOG RANCH in CRAWFORD, COLORADO where he lived with his wife, actress PAM BAKER.

MARSHALL said he was "simply unique" and "it will be impossible to fill the space he leaves in our hearts."

Known for his gritty voice, Cocker began his singing career in the pubs and clubs of SHEFFIELD in the 1960s before hitting the big time, touring with LEON RUSSELL on the very successful "MAD DOGS AND ENGLISHMEN" tour, which produced an acclaimed live album and film of the same name.  His cover of THE BOX TOPS' "The Letter" earned him his first U.S. Top 10 single. Perhaps his biggest claim to fame was JOHN BELUSHI's impersonation of him on SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE, where the two hooked up on a version of "Feelin' Alright," as the singer proved a good sport about the spoof.

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