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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Living In The Promiseland Lyrics

Joe Cocker

Give us your tired and weak and we will make them strong bring us your foreign songs and we will sing along leave us your broken dreams we'll give them time to mend there's still a lot of love living in the promiseland

Living in the promiseland our dreams are made of steel the prayer of every man is to know how freedom feels there is a winding road across the shifting sand and room for everyone living in the promiseland

So they came from a distant isle nameless woman, faitheless child like a bad dream until there was no room at all no place to run, and no place to fall give us our daily bread we have no shoes to wear no place to call our home only this cross to bear we are the multitudes lend us a helping hand is there no love anymore living in the promiseland