Livin' Joy

Livin' Joy
Origin Italy
Genres Eurodance
dance
house
Years active 1994-1999
Past members
Paolo Visnadi
Gianni Visnadi
Tameka Starr (1996-1999)
Janice Robinson (1994-1996)

Livin' Joy was a house music group from Italy who released two successful dance hits in the 1990s, "Dreamer" and "Don't Stop Movin'". The group consisted of Italian brothers Paolo and Gianni Visnadi (previously members of Alex Party) and singer Tameka Starr.

Contents

"Dreamer"

Main article: Dreamer (Livin' Joy song)

In 1994, Livin' Joy were fronted by the American lead singer Janice Robinson and reached number one on the U.S. Hot Dance Club Play chart with "Dreamer". The song turned out to be a mild sleeper hit on pop radio, finally entering the Billboard Hot 100 in early 1995. It peaked at number 72 and spent seventeen weeks on the chart. The song had a more successful run on the UK Singles Chart, hitting the number one spot after being re-issued (its original run in late 1994 had taken it to #18).[1]

In mid 1996, "Dreamer" re-entered the Hot 100, this time climbing to number 95.

"Don't Stop Movin'"

By 1996, Robinson had left the group and been replaced by American vocalist Tameka Starr. With Starr on lead vocals, the follow-up single "Don't Stop Movin'" peaked at number five in the UK and was number one in Italy in 1996. It hit number three on the U.S. dance chart in early 1997 and became another modest, although long-lived, hit in the mainstream - climbing to number 67 on the Hot 100, spending twenty weeks on the chart. In Australia, "Don't Stop Movin'" peaked at number 6 on the national ARIA singles chart.

The album and other singles

"Don't Stop Movin'" was followed by another Top 10 single in the UK in 1996 ("Follow the Rules") and two Top 20 hits in 1997, "Where Can I Find Love" and "Deep In You". The parent album, also called Don't Stop Movin', grouped together the hits, including "Dreamer" with new vocals by Starr (although the original version with Robinson was a hidden bonus track). Robinson subsequently re-released 2005 remixes of "Dreamer", credited as a solo release, which charted in the American dance charts.

Plans for a widescale commercial release of a single entitled "Just for the Sex of It" in 1999 were scrapped, due to lack of interest. It only received a limited club run, but was released as a single in Australia and proved popular in the nightclubs. In 2008, recordings for the ill-fated follow-up were leaked online: "Love Yourself", "Lookin' Fine", "I Only Wanna Dance", "U R My Livin' Joy", "You Don't Love Me", and "Bump This".

Discography

Studio albums

Title Details Peak chart positions
UK
Don't Stop Movin'
  • Release date: 1996
  • Label: MCA Records
  • Formats: CD
 41
"—" denotes releases that did not chart

Singles

Year Single Peak chart positions Album
AUS
[2]		 BEL
[2]		 FIN
[2]		 NED
[2]		 SWE
[2]		 UK
[1]		 U.S.
[3]
1994 "Dreamer" 90 — — 23 — 1 72 Don't Stop Movin'
1996 "Don't Stop Movin'" 6 36 7 19 8 5 67
"Follow the Rules" 73 — 12 — 29 9 —
1997 "Where Can I Find Love" — — — — — 12 —
"Deep in Love" — — — — — 17 —
1999 "Just for the Sex of It" 76 — — — — — —
"—" denotes releases that did not chart

See also

References

  1. ^ a b Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 325. ISBN 1-904994-10-5. 
  2. ^ a b c d e Intl. peaks Lescharts.com (Retrieved February 10, 2008)
  3. ^ "allmusic ((( Livin' Joy > Charts & Awards > Billboard Singles )))". Allmusic. http://www.allmusic.com/artist/p168508/charts-awards/billboard-singles. Retrieved 27 July 2009.