The rock star, best known for his cover of the Beatles' With A Little Help From My Friends, passed away at his Colorado home
Joe Cocker has died aged 70 after a battle with lung cancer.
The singer-songwriter rose to fame in the Sixties and had hits with The Beatles’ song With A Little Help From My Friends and won a Grammy in 1983 for Up Where We Belong, a duet with Jennifer Warnes.
Cocker, a long-time US resident, died at his home in Colorado after a "hard fought battle with small cell lung cancer", Sony said in a statement. He is survived by his wife Pam.
As news of his death spread floods of musicians and actors paid tribute.
Sir Paul McCartney said: "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
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"I was especially pleased when he decided to cover With A Little Help From My Friends and I remember him and (producer) Denny Cordell coming round to the studio in Savile 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."
Kiss rocker Gene Simmons tweeted: "Sad to hear Joe Cocker has passed away. Our prayers go out to his family."
Bette Midler said: "Goodbye to Joe Cocker. There was never anyone like him, and there never will be again. The one of the Sounds of an Era passes."
Hugh Laurie, the House and Blackadder actor, tweeted: "Oh god. Joe Cocker. The world now feels like a two-legged table."
Seventies funk legend Bootsy Collins tweeted: "Another legend has made his mark & left us with the gifts of funky soul in his music. "Mr. Joe Cocker" gone at 70..."
Edgar Berger, chairman and chief executive of Sony Music Entertainment International, who signed Cocker, said: "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."
Beatles drummer Ringo Starr also paid tribute, saying: "Goodbye and God bless to Joe Cocker from one of his friends, peace and love."
His agent Barrie Marshall told the BBC he was "simply unique" and "it will be impossible to fill the space he leaves in our hearts".
Cocker, who spent most of his life living in the US, is survived by wife Pam, his step-daughter, Zoey Schroeder and two grandchildren, Eva and Simon Schroeder.
The son of a civil servant, he was born in May 1944, living in Sheffield until his early twenties.
He worked as a gas fitter while gigging in local pubs and clubs and came to prominence in the early 1960s, famous for his distinctive gravelly voice.
Joe Cocker at Woodstock in 1970
Joe Cocker at Woodstock in 1970
A close friend of George Harrison and Paul McCartney, he shared a stage with other musical legends the Rolling Stones, Jimi Hendrix and Janis Joplin, his flailing arms and physical idiosyncrasies on stage winning him fans as much as his voice did.
His cover of A Little Help From My Friends reached number one in the UK in 1968, and a year later he performed the song at the famous Woodstock Festival, which helped launch his career and became the theme song for the TV series The Wonder Years.
In 1970 Cocker embarked on a major tour of the US, performing in 48 cities with a band of over 40 musicians christened Mad Dogs And Englishmen and recording a third gold album and a concert film.
He survived problems with alcohol and drugs to relaunch his career in the 1980s, and won a Grammy and an Oscar for his duet with Jennifer Warnes, Up Where We Belong, which appeared in the 1982 Richard Gere film An Officer And A Gentleman.
A prolific artist, he recorded 23 studio albums and 40 albums and was awarded an OBE in 2007 for services to music.
Away from music Cocker enjoyed long walks in the mountains with his dogs, fly fishing, playing snooker with friends, and growing tomatoes in his greenhouse, his record label said.
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