Joe Cocker

Born in Sheffield, England on May 20, 1944.

His father, a civil servant, gave the guy the opportunity to get a secondary education, and left him to choose the further path. John chose: he moonlighted as a gas plumber apprentice during the day, and performed in pubs at night. Changing his work uniform for a dark suit and bow tie, the aspiring musician took the stage under the name of Vance Arnold and performed famous pop, soul and blues songs.
His favorite numbers were things from the "Ray Charles" repertoire "What'd I Say" and "Georgia on My Mind". The backing musicians who accompanied John called themselves The Avengers. The X-Hour for Arnold-Cocker and his team came in 1963 when they played a section on the Sheffield City Hall stage ahead of the Rolling Stones concert. According to eyewitnesses, Vance Arnold and company looked very convincing.