Joe Cockerwas born in Sheffield, England on May 20, 1944, the youngest son of a civil servant. In 1961 Joe by day, worked as an apprentice gas fitter and by night, in dark suit and bow tie, became singing with Avengersin rough Sheffield pubs. The set included songs by mentor Ray Charles"What'd I Say" and "Georgia On My Mind." Vance Arnold and the Avengers biggest moment came in 1963 when they supported The Rolling Stones at Sheffield City Hall, and brought the house down. The following year Joe left the Gas Board and released his first single, a cover of The Beatles "I'll Cry Instead." His band, Joe Cocker Big Blues, built up a large following in the north of England and ventured to France for a two month stint, playing on American airbases. The servicemen, many from America's deep south, loved Joe.
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Let The Healing Begin Lyrics

Joe Cocker

I've kept it inside much too long
There's no relief
Carry it around just like a stone
Too heavy for me

I had paid the price
Of standing on the outside looking in

It's time to let the healing begin

A boy is strung out he's going through hell
His mother weeps
His spirit is broken and there's nothing left
Just a terrible need

And the days are marked by the heaviness of the heart
It never mends until the healing begin

And the tension prowls the streets like an animal
The people stay behind their locks and chains
It's a shame
When so many are trying their best to live as one
And the smoke from the fires covers the sun

A young girl is lying in the dirt
Her dreams ended there
Caught in the crossfire on somebody's turf
Hatred in the air

It's a voice that never sings
A winter without the spring
It never ends
It's time to let the healing begin
It's time to let the healing begin