Joe Dowell
Joe Dowell (born January 23, 1940, Bloomington, Indiana) is an American pop singer.
Career
He was born in Bloomington, Indiana, but moved to Bloomington, Illinois, as a child. He first performed at a ninth-grade talent show, and later attended the University of Illinois. At his first recording session (backed by organist Ray Stevens), he sang the tune "Wooden Heart", which had been a hit for Elvis Presley in Europe, but which was never released as a single stateside. "Wooden Heart", the first single released on Smash Records, shot to #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1961. It sold over one million copies, and was awarded a gold disc.[1] In the wake of his success, Dowell wanted to become a songwriter in his own right, but due to contractual obligations, he was required to sing music owned by Smash's parent company, Mercury Records.[2] He had two further hits, "The Bridge of Love" (US #50) and "Little Red Rented Rowboat" (US #23),[3] but after struggles with his management he was dropped from the label. Dowell went on to work in radio advertising, and became a spokesman for banks.
Bear Family Records released a CD on Joe Dowell's music, including unreleased recordings.
Discography
Singles
| Year | Title | US Hot 100 |
US Easy Listening |
Label |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1961 | "Wooden Heart"/"Little Bo Peep" | 1 | 1 | Smash 1708 |
| 1961 | "The Bridge Of Love"/"Just Love Me" | 50 | 10 | Smash 1717 |
| 1962 | "Little Red Rented Rowboat"/"The One I Left For You" | 23 | -- | Smash 1759 |
| 1962 | "Poor Little Cupid"/"No Secrets" | -- | -- | Smash 1786 |
References
- ↑ Murrells, Joseph (1978). The Book of Golden Discs (2nd ed.). London: Barrie and Jenkins Ltd. p. 134. ISBN 0-214-20512-6.
- ↑ Joe Dowell at Allmusic.com
- ↑ Billboard Singles, Allmusic.com
External links
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