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The
Dark Years |
Although Joe sold millions of dollars worth of albums
during 1970, the 70's were his darkest years and Joe
spent much of that decade fighting his own demons, drink
& drugs. This part of his life has been well documented
elsewhere and I do not propose to go over old ground.
1975 produced one of his best known songs "You Are
So Beautiful", which demonstrated just how much
his voice had changed.
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| During this time, Joe would spend Christmas
at home with his father in Tasker Road, Crookes
whenever he could. The telephone number was still listed
and I 'phoned him several times: he would always come
to the 'phone. I suppose I was not the only fan to 'phone
him but he would always spend a few minutes to let you
know what he had been doing and what he was doing next. |
| Joe emerged in the 80's not exactly unscathed
but much wiser and with a new voice; a legacy of his excesses.
A song he recorded with The Crusaders in the early
80's could easily have been the title of his autobiography
- "I'm So Glad I'm Standing here Today" |
| In 1982, Joe recorded "Up
Where We Belong", a duet with Jennifer Warnes
which was the theme to the film "An Officer and A Gentleman"
and gave him his first UK hit of the decade, reaching
number 7 in January 1983 and stayed in the charts for
13 weeks. This song also gave him his first US number
1. 1987 also saw him back in the UK charts with the old
Ray Charles (one of Joe's heroes) classic "Unchain
My Heart", which peaked at number 46. |
Rising
From The Ashes |
A
New Generation of Fans
 |
Joe toured extensively in the
80's and continued to win new fans, especially in Europe.
He was nominated for Grammy awards, sang theme songs for
at least 4 movies and played prestigious concerts for
The Princes Trust, Nelson Mandela's Birthday Concert
and the "Konzert For Berlin" to celebrate the dismantling
of the Berlin Wall. Back in the USA, he sang at the inauguration
ceremony for President George Bush. |
| In the autumn of 1986 Joe married Pam, whom
he met in California in 1978. In the 80's and early 90's,
Joe released 4 albums which all turned platinum and he
enjoyed greater success than at any other point in his
career to date. |
| "In a small town on Colorado's western slope stands
an English manor house for for a nobleman and his lady.
Gothic arches define doors and windows of the imposing
brick and stone structure, and majestic chimneys reach
for the sky." What has this got to do with Joe Cocker,
I hear you ask? Well, this is the introduction to the
article written about Joe and Pam's new home in the February
1997 edition of "Colorado Homes & Lifestyles",
a little bit like being featured in Hello! magazine.
Is this really the same Joe Cocker from Sheffield who
was one of rock's wild men? |
Joe The Country
Gent
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Mad
Dog Ranch |
After a long search for a place
to settle, Joe and Pam were introduced to Crawford,
Colorado by a friend. They immediately fell in love
with the place and in the mid-90's, bought over 150 acres
of land there. |
| It took two years to design and build "Mad Dog Ranch",
named after his early tour. The ranch is a working ranch
where Ankole Watusi cattle and championship quarter horses
are bred. Pam runs the ranch and the cafe whilst Joe is
on tour but when he is home, he enjoys such riotous pastimes
as fishing, walking with his dogs and spending time in
his garden. The boy from Crookes done good! |
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In the Beginning
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