Joe Cocker, famed singer and Colorado resident, dead at 70

Joe Cocker, the Grammy-winning British singer and longtime Colorado resident, died on Monday in the Centennial State after a long battle with small-cell lung cancer.

By most accounts, Cocker, 70, had totally immersed himself in the Rocky Mountain lifestyle, fly-fishing in the Gunnison River and riding horses on his expansive, secluded Delta County ranch.

While to the outside world he was known for his wild stage presence, raspy voice, air guitar and intense facial contortions, those who knew him in southwest Colorado remember him as the quiet outdoorsman and philanthropist down the road who had a knack for growing tomatoes.

In the North Fork Valley, Cocker found everything he’d hoped for and everything he’d need.

“He just wanted to be able to get into his trucks, load up his dogs and go down to the market to buy a pint of Haagen-Dazs. He got that here,” said Bob Pennetta, a longtime friend of Cocker’s and a DJ at western Colorado public radio station KVNF. “To everybody, it was just Joe. Like my wife says, he was our Joe. Just Joe. Not the international celebrity or the rock star.”

Cocker, a blues and rock singer, was arguably best known for his cover of “With A Little Help From My Friends,” which he performed in a famously erratic fashion at Woodstock. His rendition was hysterically portrayed on “Saturday Night Live” in 1976 by John Belushi.

Though better recognized for his covers and interpretations than his original work, Cocker won a Grammy in 1983 for “Up Where We Belong.” His hits “You Are So Beautiful” and “Feelin’ Alright” also reached widespread acclaim.

“He was without a doubt the best rock/soul singer to ever come out of Britain,” said his agent, Barrie Marshall.

“Forever grateful”

Cocker was born in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, and was singing with local bands by the time he was a teenager. His early groups included Vance Arnold and the Avengers and the Grease Band, which backed him on “With A Little Help From My Friends.”

Paul McCartney remembered hearing Cocker’s cover of the song that he and John Lennon co-wrote, saying he found it “just mind blowing,” a “soul anthem.”

“I was forever grateful for him for doing that,” McCartney told The Associated Press. “I knew him through the years as a good mate, and I was so sad to hear that he had been ill and really sad to hear today that he had passed away.”

Rolling Stone ranked Cocker 97th on its list of the 100 greatest singers. In 2001, he received an Order of the British Empire for his musical contributions, which included 40 albums and many widely circulated hits.

Cocker’s death elicited an outpouring of love from fans and the musical elite, including McCartney’s fellow Beatle, Ringo Starr.

Cocker lived with his wife, Pam, on a 240-acre plot he called “Mad Dog Ranch,” named after his 1970 “Mad Dogs and Englishmen” tour. They moved there from California in 1995. The 17,000-square-foot home the couple built was host to personal concerts and a garden, where, in a juxtaposition to the hard-partying, drug-using reputation he held in the 1970s, the rocker tended to his tomatoes.

Well-known, liked

In Crawford, a town of less than 400 residents about 50 miles southeast of Grand Junction, Cocker became a well-known and well-liked member of the community, separated from his days connected to the rock and roll greats of which he belonged.

“He and his wife, Pam, have been very wonderful stewards to the communities in Delta County,” said Marley Hodgson, whose family owned a ranch neighboring the Cockers and who spent time enjoying the outdoors with the late singer.

“Those communities are not exactly well-to-do in a lot of cases, and (the Cockers) have been huge supporters. They didn’t like to talk about it too much, but they did a ton for the community. He was very generous with his time with anybody, it didn’t matter who it was.”

Hodgson said Cocker was in his element, whether it was walking his dogs, taking a hike or obsessing, “in a good way,” over his tasty tomatoes.

“He was always at peace and very happy in those moments,” Hodgson said.

Cocker held benefits at his ranch that contributed to the $1 million-plus that his charity, the Cocker Kids’ Foundation, gave to local children.

“He was contemplative,” said Eugenia Bone, who spent time with Cocker and his wife socially. “And his old-time friends, many of whom live in the valley, too, loved him. I mean really loved him. I am so sorry for Pam, but really for everyone in the North Fork Valley. He seemed to me a gentle man with unburdened vitality.”

Cocker was a major supporter of KVNF, a public radio station in nearby Paonia, where friends gathered on Monday to broadcast his songs in memory.

“I wouldn’t say that because he lived in Crawford he made more or less of an impact on Colorado music, but he had a tremendous impact on almost every musician I’ve ever known,” said AEG Live Rocky Mountain president and CEO Chuck Morris, who promoted a number of Cocker’s performances in Colorado throughout the years. “He had an impact on every generation of musicians in terms of songwriting style, which was so unique.”

Zillow reported in April that the Cockers were selling their ranch, listing the home at $7.85 million.

Cocker is survived by his wife, Pam; his brother, Victor Cocker; his stepdaughter, Zoey Schroeder; and two grandchildren.

Sony Music Entertainment announced a private memorial has been planned and that Cocker’s family is asking that in lieu of flowers, memorial donations be sent to the Cocker Kids’ Foundation, P.O. Box 404, Crawford, Colo., 81415.

In a 2008 interview with The Denver Post, Cocker spoke of his love for his adopted Colorado home.

“I’d like to live here forever,” he said wistfully, as he looked out over his manor. “I’ve never felt like I’ve had the freedom that I have here.”

Jesse Paul: 303-954-1733, jpaul@denverpost.com or twitter.com/JesseAPaul

The Associated Press and staff writer Matt Miller contributed to this report.

Joe Cocker’s hits

• Feelin’ Alright (1969)

• You Are So Beautiful (1974)

• With a Little Help From My Friends (1969)

• Up Where We Belong (1982)

• The Letter (1970)

• Cry Me A River (1970)

• She Came In Through The Bathroom Window (1970)

• You Can Leave Your Hat On (1986)