Joe Cocker’s Widow on His Rock Hall Nomination & Paul McCartney’s Open Letter of Support

With a little help from his friends, and fans, Joe Cocker may finally get into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame this year.

He’d be pleased, according to his widow.

“Joe was never anxious for it,” says Pam Cocker, who married the British singer in 1987 and was with him until his death from lung cancer in 2014 at the age of 70. “The awards and accomplishments and all of that kind of stuff were not his thing — not to say that he wouldn’t be very pleased, as I am, just thrilled. But you just didn’t think about it.”

Cocker has been eligible since 1989 but was nominated for the first time this year; he’s currently sitting in the top seven selections of the online fan vote that’s being conducted by the Rock Hall. The campaign, such as it is, got a significant boost this week when Paul McCartney issued a public letter endorsing Cocker as “a great man and a fine singer whose unique style made for some fantastic performances.”

Praising Cocker’s legendary 1968 rendition of the Beatles’ “With a Little Help From My Friends,” McCartney continued that “whilst he may not have ever lobbied to be in the Hall of Fame, I know he would be extremely happy and grateful to find himself where he deserves to be amongst such illustrious company.”

“What a sweet, sweet letter,” says Pam Cocker, who met McCartney once, briefly. “I know he’s always been a big supporter. I was very proud.”

McCartney, a two-time inductee, has a winning record for supporting Rock Hall nominees. He successfully lobbied for Beatle-mate Ringo Starr’s 2015 award for musical excellence and was part of last year’s campaign for the induction of another longtime snub, Foreigner. Over the years Cocker has also been publicly championed by Billy Joel.

Pam Cocker, who met Joe when he moved to Santa Barbara, Calif., during the late ‘70s (they married Oct. 11, 1987), says she was “really surprised” by Cocker’s inclusion among this year’s nominees. “It’s just one of those things that every year it comes up and every year you just go, ‘Oh, well, not again….’ Joe always applauded the people who were getting in; he’d be the first to say, ‘I can’t believe they’re not in there already’ or hadn’t been nominated before. So it was very much a part of our life, knowing about it. But it’s never something that he campaigned for or asked his management, ‘Why aren’t I in it?’ or ‘Can’t you do more?’ There was never anything like that, ever. But he’s been eligible for a long, long time, so it’s about time.”

The elevator pitch for Cocker’s inclusion is certainly long. Born in Sheffield, England and influenced by R&B (Ray Charles in particular), Cocker first sang with his older brother Victor’s skiffle group when he was 12 years old, then played in bands while working as a gasfitter in England. He began recording in 1964 but his career accelerated after he formed the Grease Band in 1966 and then signed with producer Denny Cordell, who helmed “With a Little Help From My Friends” in 1968 — and famously became the theme song for TV’s The Wonder Years 20 years later.

Cocker’s soulful delivery and spasmodic performing style made him a live favorite as well, and his appearance at the first Woodstock Music and Arts Festival in 1969 and in the subsequent movie elevated him to star status. His Leon Russell-led Mad Dogs & Englishmen band was legendary in 1970, and Cocker maintained a steady career that included 22 studio albums and hit renditions of the Box Tops’ “The Letter,” Julie London’s “Cry Me a River” and Billy Preston’s “You Are So Beautiful.” Cocker won a Grammy Award in 1983 for “Up Where We Belong,” his Billboard Hot 100-topping duet with Jennifer Warnes for the film An Officer and a Gentleman, and received an Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 2007.

“Music was paramount to him,” says Pam Cocker, who says she’s been voting for him every day and adds that Victor Cocker, who still resides in England, is equally excited about the nomination. “He had a lot of interests…but he was really just about making music and thinking about the next song, listening to songs all the time. It was just everything to him. He deserves this; he certainly was a legend. We just have to see what happens and hope it’s his time.”

Fan voting is being conducted via vote.rockhall.com until April 21. Voters can vote once per day and choose up to seven of the 14 nominated acts.

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