Joe Cocker: The Authorised Biography

Joe Cocker is undeniably a rock legend. A former gas fitter who rose from playing Sheffield pubs to headlining stadiums across the globe, he was a man no one – not even himself – expected to survive past thirty. Now, approaching his sixties and having triumphantly recovered his life and career, he has collaborated on this full and frank biography, recounting all the highs and lows of his remarkable journey. Even by the wild standards of rock 'n' roll, his is an astonishing story.

Since his mind-blowing interpretation of The Beatles' "With a Little Help From My Friends" topped the British charts in 1968, Joe Cocker has scored hits in every subsequent decade and in more countries than he can recall. His electrifying appearance in the Woodstock movie in 1969 catapulted him to worldwide fame, whilst his Mad Dogs and Englishmen tour of America very nearly killed him. Here, he speaks candidly with biographer J.P. Bean about his heroin addiction, alcoholism, the arrests that landed him in jail, and the personal demons that haunted him for years. Yet, above all, this is an uplifting story of an ordinary man who lit up America like a beacon in the night, was written off as a shambolic wreck, and then – against all odds – clawed his way back to become an even bigger star than he was the first time around.