Joe Cocker’s Mad Dog Ranch!

Now, more than fifty years since his first recording, British-born rock and blues icon, Joe Cocker, is now off the tour schedule for 2014. And why not? Cocker’s unique renditions of “When A Man Loves A Woman,” “With A Little Help From My Friends,” from his Woodstock days and the outstanding stripper song, “You Can Leave Your Hat On” that Kim Basinger stripped to in “9 ½ Weeks,” are indelible in our minds. And though he didn’t love it, the song that was his only number one hit, “Up Where We Belong,” the theme song from “An Officer And A Gentleman,” is another we’ll never forget. There are few singers who impact us so deeply and is one of the reasons “Rolling Stone” listed him as one of the 100 greatest singers of all time.

In 1992 Cocker and his wife, Pam, bought a 240-acre tract of land in Crawford, Colorado. They proceeded to build, not the usual ranch house, but instead an English country manor that would remind the ex-pat of his roots in Sheffield, England. He also missed the gardens of the English countryside and remembered his father raising tomatoes from seed, which had always fascinated him. Here on this acreage he would be able to return to the joy of gardening between singing tours. All his dreams came to fruition on their “Mad Dog Ranch,” a name drawn from his 1970s “Mad Dogs and Englishmen” tour. For the twenty years they have lived at the ranch, Joe has grown prizewinning tomatoes with seeds collected from around the world and has developed five acres of vegetable gardens as well as the English flower gardens he so loved.

Joe and Pam Cocker have now decided to sell Mad Dog Ranch and build a smaller home on land they own across the road. They have also purchased a condo in Denver at the Four Seasons Residences to divide their time between country and city life and to generally downsize.

The home at 15,873 square feet definitely has the appeal of a grand European manor estate and includes seven bedrooms, ten bathrooms, chefs kitchen, library, sun room, music room (of course), and large terrace overlooking the gardens and West Elk Mountains. Serious or hobby gardeners will be thrilled with the five acres of productive gardens that include raised beds and two greenhouses and perennial flower gardens that will provide armloads of bouquets for the house. Grounds also offer multiple water features, natural wildlife habitat and for equine sports, a barn, seven stalls and outdoor riding arena and corral. Horseback riding, hiking and trout fishing opportunities are easy. There is also a large shed for land management equipment.

Singing icon Joe Cocker’s Colorado Mad Dog Ranch is priced at $7 million or with furnishings and equipment, at $7.85 million.

More info: joshuaco.com 

Photography by David O. Marlow.