English rock and blues singer Joe Cocker has died today at the age of 70, after a battle with lung cancer.
The Sheffield native, known for his distinctive gritty voice, had worked as a gasfitter as he pursued a career in music in the 1960s.
His cover of The Beatles' "With a Little Help from My Friends" reached number one in the UK in 1968, and he was subsequently invited to perform at the Woodstock Festival the following year.
In 1975, his version of the song "You Are So Beautiful" reached number five in the US, but he bettered this feat in 1982, when his duet with Jennifer Warnes "Up Where We Belong," recorded for the film An Officer and a Gentlemen, hit number one. The two singers also won a Grammy Award for their rendition of the song.
Cocker had performed in Malta in 1991, attracting thousands to an open-air concert at the Marsa Sports Ground.
The English musician, a long-time US resident, married Pam Baker in 1987, and he died in his ranch in Colorado.