British singer Joe Cocker, whose had hits that included ‘‘You Are So Beautiful’’ and ‘‘Up Where We Belong,’’ and a contortionist style of performance memorably parodied by John Belushi on ‘‘Saturday Night Live,’’ has died. He was 70.
His London-based agent, Barrie Marshall, said Cocker died Monday of lung cancer in Colorado, where he has lived for the past two decades.
Cocker, a song interpreter more than a songwriter, first became known through his hit cover of the Beatles’ ‘‘With a Little Help From My Friends,’’ and a characteristically manic performance at the first Woodstock festival in 1969. His raucous ‘‘Mad Dogs & Englishmen’’ tour of 1970 produced a film and a recording that went gold.
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He had a top 10 hit in 1975 on the aching ballad ‘‘You Are So Beautiful,’’ with his voice cracking on the final emotional note and won his first Grammy Award in 1983 for his ‘‘Up Where We Belong’’ duet with Jennifer Warnes, which was the theme of the movie ‘‘An Officer and a Gentleman.’’
A spokesman for Cocker’s agent released a statement to the Globe regarding the singer’s death:
“John Robert Cocker, known to family, friends, his community and fans around the world as Joe Cocker, passed away on Dec. 22 after a hard fought battle with small cell lung cancer. He was 70 years old.
“’Joe Cocker is a legendary artist of rock and blues history and yet he was one of the most humble men I’ve ever met. His iconic voice will forever be etched in our memories and our thoughts go out to Joe’s wife Pam and his family at this difficult time. Joe will live on in the hearts of millions of fans around the world.’ Edgar Berger, Chairman and CEO, Sony Music Entertainment, International, who had signed Joe Cocker to Sony Music Entertainment.”
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Singer Paul McCartney also released a statement:
“It’s really sad to hear about Joe’s passing. He was a lovely northern lad who I loved a lot and like many people I loved his singing. I was especially pleased when he decided to cover ‘With A Little Help From My Friends’ and I remember him and Denny Cordell coming round to the studio in Saville Row and playing me what they’d recorded and it was just mind blowing, totally turned the song into a soul anthem and I was forever grateful for him for doing that. 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. He was a great guy, a lovely guy who brought so much to the world and we’ll all miss him.”
Cocker, who received an Order of the British Empire in 2011 for his contribution to music, released 40 albums and continued to tour after the hits dried up.
He was known for an intense, twitchy stage presence where his arms would flail and face contort as he wrung notes from his raspy voice. When he performed on ‘‘Saturday Night Live’’ in 1976, Belushi parodied him onstage, exaggerating his movements by flipping to the ground. It was a clip seen as widely as Cocker’s own performances.
Years later, Cocker told The Associated Press’ Mary Campbell that he was playing an imaginary piano and air guitar while singing — the elements that contributed to this unique style.
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‘‘That was the frustration of not being able to play, really,’’ he said.
Cocker moved to Crawford, Colorado, a town of fewer than 500 people, in the early 1990s. He and his wife, Pam, ran a children’s educational foundation — the Cocker Kids Foundation — that raised funds for the town and schools, and ran the Mad Dog Cafe for several years in town, said Tom Wills, publisher of The North Fork Merchant Herald, a local community newspaper.
Wills said Cocker bought about 40 acres of property and built a hillside mansion — which he called Mad Dog Ranch — when he moved to Colorado.
A group of Cocker’s friends gathered Monday at community radio station KVNF to play Cocker’s songs.
‘‘He had a long battle with cancer. We’re trying to do a little tribute for him,’’ said Bob Pennetta, a real estate agent and board member of the Cocker Kids Foundation.
Watch YouTube clips of Cocker performing:
“With A Little Help From My Friends”:
“You Are So Beautiful”:
“Everybody Hurts”:
“With a Little Help From My Friends,” 1969, Woodstock:
Colleen Slevin and Jim Anderson in Denver contributed to this story.