Editing Joe Cocker (section)

=== Early career and the Grease Band (1961–1969) ===
In 1961, under the stage name "Vance Arnold", Cocker started a new group, Vance Arnold and the Avengers.<ref name="Story" /> The name was a combination of Vince Everett ([[Elvis Presley]]'s character in ''[[Jailhouse Rock (film)|Jailhouse Rock]]'', which Cocker misheard as Vance) and country singer [[Eddy Arnold]].{{sfn|Bean|2003|p=16}} The group mostly played in the [[pub]]s of Sheffield,<ref name="Story">{{cite web |url=http://www.cocker.com/Story1.html |title=The Story-Part One:On the runway to fame |publisher=cocker.com |access-date=10 December 2008 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080730171247/http://www.cocker.com/Story1.html <!-- Bot retrieved archive --> |archive-date = 30 July 2008}}</ref> performing [[Chuck Berry]] and [[Ray Charles]] songs. Cocker developed an interest in [[blues]] music and sought out recordings by [[John Lee Hooker]], [[Muddy Waters]], [[Lightnin' Hopkins]] and [[Howlin' Wolf]].<ref name="Hale">{{cite book |first=Don |last=Hale |title=Sounds of the 60s |year=2010 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Rj5pYWRzoe8C&pg=PA33 |publisher=Don Hale |isbn=978-1-907163-22-7 |pages=33–}}</ref> In 1963, they booked their first significant gig when they supported [[the Rolling Stones]] at [[Sheffield City Hall]].<ref>[https://www.theguardian.com/music/2014/dec/22/joe-cocker-dies-grammy-winning-sheffield-singer theguardian.com]; "Joe Cocker, Grammy Award-winning singer dies at age of 70". Retrieved 23 December 2014</ref>

In 1964, Cocker signed a recording contract as a solo act with [[Decca Records|Decca]] and released his first single, a recording of [[the Beatles]]' "[[I'll Cry Instead]]" (with [[Big Jim Sullivan]] and [[Jimmy Page]] playing guitars). Despite extensive promotion from Decca lauding his youth and working-class roots, the record was a flop and his recording contract with Decca lapsed at the end of 1964.{{sfn|Bean|2003|p=28}} After Cocker recorded the single, he dropped his stage name and formed a new group, Joe Cocker's Blues Band. There is only one known recording of Joe Cocker's Blues Band on an EP given out by [[The Sheffield College]] during Rag Week and called ''Rag Goes Mad at the Mojo''.<ref>[http://www.newsguardian.co.uk/news/local/back-in-the-summer-of-love-with-a-little-help-from-my-friends-1-1588188 "Back in the Summer of Love, with a little help from my friends ..."] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141228022619/http://www.newsguardian.co.uk/news/local/back-in-the-summer-of-love-with-a-little-help-from-my-friends-1-1588188 |date=28 December 2014 }}. ''The Guardian''. Retrieved 22 December 2014</ref>

In 1966, after a year-long hiatus from music, Cocker teamed up with [[Chris Stainton]], whom he had met several years before, to form [[the Grease Band]].<ref name="Story" /> The Grease Band was named after Cocker read an interview with jazz keyboardist [[Jimmy Smith (musician)|Jimmy Smith]], where Smith positively described another musician as "having a lot of grease". Like the Avengers, Cocker's group mostly played in pubs in and around Sheffield. The Grease Band came to the attention of [[Denny Cordell]], the producer of [[Procol Harum]], [[the Moody Blues]] and [[Georgie Fame]]. Cocker recorded the single "Marjorine" without the Grease Band for Cordell in a London studio. He then moved to London with Chris Stainton, and the Grease Band was dissolved. Cordell set Cocker up with a residency at the [[Marquee Club]] in London, and a "new" Grease Band was formed with Stainton and keyboardist [[Tommy Eyre]].{{sfn|Bean|2003|pp=43–45}}

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In 1968, Cocker found commercial success with a rearrangement of "[[With a Little Help from My Friends]]", another Beatles song, which, many years later, was used as the opening theme for ''[[The Wonder Years]]''. The recording features lead guitar from [[Jimmy Page]], drumming by [[B. J. Wilson]], backing vocals from [[Sue and Sunny]], and Tommy Eyre on organ. The single remained in the top ten of the [[UK Singles Chart]] for thirteen weeks before eventually reaching number one, on 9 November 1968.{{sfn|Bean|2003|pp=48–49}} It also reached number 68 on the US charts.{{sfn|Bean|2003|p=54}}

The new touring line-up of Cocker's Grease Band featured [[Henry McCullough]] on lead guitar, who would go on to briefly play with McCartney's [[Wings (band)|Wings]]. After touring the UK with [[the Who]] in autumn 1968<ref>{{Cite book|title= Anyway Anyhow Anywhere |last1= Neill |first1= Andrew |last2= Kent|first2= Matt |year= 2005|publisher=Sterling Publishing Company, Inc. |isbn= 1-4027-2838-7 |page= 146 |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=e1a1C_somjIC}}</ref> and [[Gene Pitney]] and [[Marmalade (band)|Marmalade]] in early winter 1969, the Grease Band embarked on their first tour of the US in spring 1969. Cocker's album ''[[With a Little Help from My Friends (Joe Cocker album)|With a Little Help from My Friends]]'' was released soon after their arrival and made number 35 on the American charts, eventually going gold.{{sfn|Bean|2003|pp=54–55}}

[[File:Woodstock redmond cocker01.jpg|thumb|Cocker at [[Woodstock]] (1969)]]
During his US tour, Cocker played at several large festivals, including the [[Newport Pop Festival|Newport Rock Festival]] and the [[Denver Pop Festival]]. In August, Denny Cordell heard about the planned concert in [[Woodstock, New York]] and convinced organiser [[Artie Kornfeld]] to book Cocker and the Grease Band for the [[Woodstock]] Festival. The group had to be flown into the festival by helicopter due to the large crowds. They performed several songs, including "[[Feelin' Alright?]]", "Something's Comin' On", "[[Let's Go Get Stoned]]", "[[I Shall Be Released]]" and "With a Little Help from My Friends". Cocker would later say that the experience was "like an eclipse&nbsp;... it was a very special day."{{sfn|Bean|2003|pp=58–60}}

Directly after Woodstock, Cocker released his second album, ''[[Joe Cocker!]]'' Impressed by his version of "With a Little Help from My Friends", [[Paul McCartney]] and [[George Harrison]] allowed Cocker to use their songs "[[She Came In Through the Bathroom Window]]" and "[[Something (Beatles song)|Something]]" for the album.{{sfn|Bean|2003|p=61}} Recorded during a break in touring in the spring and summer, the album reached number 11 on the US charts and garnered a second UK [[Chart hit|hit]] with the [[Leon Russell]] song, "Delta Lady".{{citation needed|date=October 2024}}

In August 1969, Cocker performed at the [[Isle of Wight Festival 1969|Isle of Wight Festival]] at [[Wootton Bridge]], Isle of Wight, England.<ref>[https://www.bbc.co.uk/hampshire/content/articles/2005/04/08/iowfestival_history_feature.shtml "Isle of Wight Festival.- History"]. BBC. Retrieved 22 December 2014</ref> Throughout 1969 he was featured on variety TV shows like ''[[The Ed Sullivan Show]]'' and ''[[This Is Tom Jones]]''. Onstage, he exhibited an idiosyncratic physical intensity, flailing his arms and playing [[air guitar]]. At the end of the year Cocker was unwilling to embark on another US tour, so he dissolved the Grease Band.{{citation needed|date=October 2024}}