The death of soul and blues legend Joe Cocker has been met with a deluge of tributes from Guardian music readers. From those who had seen him perform in Sheffield back in the sixties to more recent converts, the heartfelt comments make it clear that here was a singer whose music had touched many lives.
Below are a selection of these comments - and you can add your own tributes below the line.
“Thank you Joe”
“When I was at college Joe played at one of our end of term balls”
When I was at college Joe played at one of our end of term balls. As I knew Robert Plant (then unknown) the ents committee decided I should meet him and talk to him (go figure).
He was very ordinary and pleasant enough but at 19 I did not have the social skills to deal with the situation, neither did he for that matter.. He was terrific on stage and as many have said unique.
“You gave happiness to millions”
Saw Joe at Robert Altmans Dance Studio ( Run by Pete Stringfellow) in Leeds not long after Woodstock. We were maybe a hundred in the audience but he gave his all. His rendition of " Let's All Get Stoned" will rest in my memory for ever.
Oddly many years later I found out that my mother in law was the half sister of the drummer in the Grease Band.
God rest Joe . You gave happiness to millions.
“Absolutely unique voice”
I used to travel around Sheffield pubs and clubs in the 60's with my mates just to see Joe and his band. Favourite venues were the Olive Grove and Frechville Arms. His rendition of the Four Tops "Same old Song" was brilliant. Have remained a fan eversince. Absolutely unique voice. Will be sadly missed by his fans. RIP Joe.
“Fell in love with that voice in 1969”
Fell n love with that voice in 1969; last saw him live opening for the Guess Who reunion tour. Every time I saw him, he gave 110%, emptied the tank! He was amazing; there will never be another like him. Sing for the Angels, Joe- many thanks.
“Great performer and a real nice guy.”
Damn.
Great performer and a real nice guy.
He was a neighbor of mine here in Western Colorado for many years. Did his grocery shopping just like anyone else and was always friendly and unassuming.
He and his wife set up a foundation to help local kids which was highly regarded and deservedly so.
“Great blues singer and totally real”
Yes, I used to see him in Chesterfield and various miners' clubs around Derbyshire. My mate was a mate of one of his band members so we sometimes had a drink with him before gigs. Great blues singer and totally real- absolutely nothing bigheaded about him at all. I'll always remember him singing James Brown's "I'll go crazy".
“The ability to musically perform right into people never went”
When I was a student in Sheffield around 1967 I went one night to Shades, a West Indian club. As a band was packing up, a plumpish lad of about my age went over to a keyboard set up as a piano and stood over it. He played and sang "Yesterday" in a clear tenor voice with no affectations and a tone as smooth as Nat King Cole. It was as if the large room was freeze-framed - no-one moved and there was absolute silence. We were entranced. When he finished there was a smattering of applause, but mostly expressions of awe and astonishment - big bloke behind me: "Bloody 'ell". MD: Joe Cocker.
I don't know if it was smoking or the adoption of the American gutteral shouty rock style that changed his voice to raspy in a couple of years. But the ability to musically perform right into people never went.
Everyone has one artist they love beyond measure and for me that was Joe: from obsessively tracked down rare US-print albums (got a few - and the ultra rare Sheffield Uni E.P.), to making my own t-shirts as you couldn't buy any. Joe has just given decades of joy for which I am eternally grateful. Genuinely shaped my life and tastes in so many brilliant ways. RIP but more importantly thank you Joe x