Joanie Sommers

Joanie Sommers

Sommers circa 1960s.
Background information
Birth name Joan Drost
Born (1941-02-24) February 24, 1941
Buffalo, New York, United States
Genres Popular music
Years active 1960s–1970s, 1980s

Joanie Sommers (born Joan Drost, Buffalo, New York, February 24, 1941) is an American singer and actress with a career concentrating on jazz, standards and popular material and show-business credits. Once billed as "The Voice of the Sixties", and associated with top-notch arrangers, song-writers and producers, Sommers' popular reputation became closely tied to her biggest, yet most uncharacteristic, hit song "Johnny Get Angry."[1]

Career

Sommers began singing in church choirs as a way to deal with "a difficult childhood", and in 1951 at age 10, appeared on a Buffalo television program singing Hank Williams' Your Cheating Heart, winning the amateur talent contest. In 1955 the family relocated to Venice, California. Sommers went on to win honors to become vocalist with her high school band at Venice High, and did so again at Santa Monica City College. Her break came after a friend took her to the Deauville Country Club (now Braemar Country Club) where she sang with arranger-composer Tommy Oliver whose band was resident at the time. Oliver arranged for a demo record to be cut and presented to Warner Brothers, whereupon Sommers was signed to the label.[2][3][4]

Warner initially enlisted her vocal talents singing Am I Blue on a 1959 Warner specialty record Behind Closed Doors at a Recording Session[5] and on one side of a spoken-word single Kookie's Love Song with Edd Byrnes.[6] The pairing with Byrnes also put her into a small role in 77 Sunset Strip, the television series that featured Byrnes in the role of Kookie. In addition, she sang on Byrnes' I Don't Dig You and Hot Rod Rock which appeared on one of his albums.[7]

Concurrently, Tommy Oliver supported Sommers by starring her in his orchestra engagements at California venues Hollywood Palladium and The Chalet at Lake Arrowhead.[8]

Her 1960 debut single "One Boy" (from the musical Bye Bye Birdie) stayed on the charts for 3 months peaking at #54 on the Billboard Top 100. This and the flip side "I'll Never Be Free" were both Billboard Spotlight Winners. The release caused her to begin a touring schedule at venues including New York's Left Bank Club, Hollywood's Crescendo, Freddie's in Minneapolis, and The Cloister in Chicago and appearances on the Jack Paar Show and Bobby Darin Special.[9][10]

In early 1960, Warner released Sommers' first LP, Positively the Most[11] which did not include the One Boy hit single. Late 1960 also saw Warner release another single Ruby-Duby-Du featuring a vocal version of the Tobin Mathews & Co. instrumental from the movie Key Witness;[12] The record did not chart.

In 1962, she reached #7 on the Billboard Hot 100 with the single "Johnny Get Angry", released on Warner Bros. Records. (In 2004 the Japan-only release "Johnny Got Angry" consisted of all original tunes written by Joanie's friend and fellow cartoon voice actor, Will Ryan).[13] She also charted with When the Boys Get Together, a #94 single in 1962.[14] She appeared on television shows as a singer and as an actress, and in films such as Everything's Ducky (1961) and in Jack Arnold's The Lively Set (1964), where she sang "If You Love Him".[15][16]

Sommers was a game show contestant during the 1960s on such shows as Everybody's Talking, Hollywood Squares, You Don't Say, and The Match Game, as well as a performer on Dick Clark's Where the Action Is, Hullabaloo, and other variety shows of the period.[17] In 1963 she appeared on the January 22 segment of The Jack Benny Show where she sang "I'll Never Stop Loving You"; another guest was actor Peter Lorre.

In the early 1960s, she sang It's Pepsi, For Those Who Think Young (to the tune of "Makin' Whoopee") and, later, Come Alive! You're in the Pepsi Generation in commercials, and she came to be referred to as "The Pepsi Girl".[18][19] Years later, uncredited, she sang the jingle "Now You See It, Now You Don't" for the sugar-free companion product, Diet Pepsi.

Her 1965 track, Don't Pity Me (Warner Bros. 5629 – Don't Pity Me / My Block), was a Northern Soul hit in the UK and often makes it to Northern Soul top lists.[20] The 45RPM record routinely changes hands among collectors at over $500.00 a copy.[21] The latter song "My Block" was written by Jimmy Radcliffe, Bert Berns and Carl Spencer and had previously been recorded by Clyde McPhatter on his "Songs Of The Big City" Album and by The Chiffons, recording as The Four Pennies on Rust Records.

In the early 1970s, she withdrew from the music scene in favor of family life. She began making public appearances again during the 1980s, including two appearances on KCRW's satirical radio program, The Cool & the Crazy, hosted by Art Fraud (Ronn Spencer) and Vic Tripp (Gene Sculatti).

Sommers did voice work for commercial and animated films through into the 1970s. Her credits include The Peppermint Choo Choo, which was scrubbed, although the music was released; Rankin/Bass' The Mouse on the Mayflower as Priscilla Mullins (1968); B.C.: The First Thanksgiving (1973) in dual roles as the Fat Broad and the Cute Chick.[22]

Personal life

Sommers was married to theatrical agent Jerry Steiner up until his death in 1972. Their three children are Carolyn, Nancy and Jason.[23]

Singles discography

Release date Titles
Both sides from same album except where indicated		 Record label Chart positions Album
US
Billboard Hot 100		 US
Billboard AC
1959 "Kookie's Love Song"
With Edd Byrnes & The Mary Kaye Trio
b/w Sing-along version by Edd Byrnes		 Warner Bros. 5114 — — Non-album tracks
1960 "One Boy"
b/w "I'll Never Be Free" (Non-album track)		 Warner Bros. 5157 54 — Johnny Get Angry
"Be My Love"
b/w "Why Don't You Do Right (Get Me Some Money Too)"		 Warner Bros. 5177 — — Non-album tracks
"Ruby-Duby-Du"
b/w "Bob White (Whatcha Gonna Swing Tonight?)"		 Warner Bros. 5183 — —
1961 "I Don't Want To Walk Without You"
b/w "Seems Like Long, Long Ago"		 Warner Bros. 5201 — — Johnny Get Angry
"The Piano Boy"
b/w "Serenade Of The Bells" (Non-album track)		 Warner Bros. 5226 — —
"Makin' Whoopie"
b/w "What's Wrong With Me"		 Warner Bros. 5241 — — Non-album tracks
1962 "Johnny Get Angry"
b/w "Theme from A Summer Place" 		Warner Bros. 5275 7 — Johnny Get Angry
"When The Boys Get Together"
b/w "Passing Strangers"		 Warner Bros. 5308 94 — Non-album tracks
"Goodbye Joey"
b/w "Bobby's Hobbies"		 Warner Bros. 5324 — —
1963 "Since Randy Moved Away"
b/w "Memories, Memories" (Non-album track)		 Warner Bros. 5339 — — Johnny Get Angry
"A Little Bit Of Everything"
b/w "Henny Penny"		 Warner Bros. 5350 — — Non-album tracks
"One Boy"
b/w "June Is Bustin' Out All Over"		 Warner Bros. 5361 — — Johnny Get Angry
"Little Girl Bad"
b/w "Wishing Well"		 Warner Bros. 5374 132 — Non-album tracks
"Big Man"
b/w "Goodbye Summer"		 Warner Bros. 5390 — —
1964 "I'd Be So Good For You"
b/w "I'm Gonna Know He's Mine"		 Warner Bros. 5437 — —
"If You Love Him"
b/w "I Think I'm Gonna Cry Now"		 Warner Bros. 5454 — —
1965 "Don't Pity Me"
b/w "My Block"		 Warner Bros. 5629 — —
1966 "Never Throw Your Dreams Away"
b/w "You've Got Possibilities"		 Columbia 43567 — —
"Alfie"
b/w "You Take What Comes Along" (from Come Alive!)		 Columbia 43731 — 9
"It Doesn't Matter Anymore"
b/w "Take A Broken Heart"		 Columbia 43950 — —
1967 "Trains and Boats and Planes"
b/w "Yesterday's Morning"		 Capitol 5936 — —
1968 "Talk Until Daylight"
b/w "The Great Divide"		 Warner Bros. 7251 — 29
1969 "Little Girl From Greenwood, Georgia"
b/w "Step Inside Love"		 Happy Tiger 522 — —
1970 "The Sunshine After The Rain"
b/w "Tell Him"		 Happy Tiger 537 — —
1978 "The Peppermint Choo Choo"
b/w "The Peppermint Engineer"[24]		 Peppermint Choo Choo 302
ABC 12323		 — —

Album discography

References

  1. ↑ "Jazz Columns: Joanie Sommers: Her Generation – By Christopher Loudon — Jazz Articles". Jazztimes.com. Retrieved 2012-03-27.
  2. ↑ "New Faces: Sommers Is Icumen On". TIME. 1961-12-15. Retrieved 2012-03-27.
  3. ↑ "Too marvelous for words!: Joanie Sommers & Anna Maria Alberghetti". Fjazz.blogspot.com. 2007-02-25. Retrieved 2012-03-27.
  4. ↑ Billboard July 11, 1960 p. 34
  5. ↑ Billboard December 7, 1959 p. 40
  6. ↑ Billboard October 19, 1959 p. 45
  7. ↑ Seida, Linda (1941-02-24). "Joanie Sommers". AllMusic. Retrieved 2012-03-27.
  8. ↑ Warner Bros. W1474 album Let's Talk About Love liner notes
  9. ↑ Billboard May 30, 1960 p. 28
  10. ↑ Warner Bros. W1412 album The "Voice" of the 60's liner notes
  11. ↑ Billboard February 22, 1960, p. 34
  12. ↑ Billboard November 14, 1960, p. 17
  13. ↑ "Johnny Got Angry ()". Sabob.com. Retrieved 2012-03-27.
  14. ↑ "Joanie Sommers Songs (Top Songs / Chart Singles Discography) ••• Music VF, US & UK hits charts". Musicvf.com. Retrieved 2012-03-27.
  15. ↑ Joanie Sommers – IMDb
  16. ↑ American Film Institute Catalog: Feature Films 1961–1970, page 621 (University of California Press, 1997). ISBN 0-520-20970-2
  17. ↑ Joanie Sommers – Filmography by Genre
  18. ↑ "Joanie Sommers". JPop.com. 1941-02-24. Retrieved 2012-03-27.
  19. ↑ Sponsor, Volume 18, Part 3, page 19, article "Pepsi Sponsors All-Out Campaign" (Sponsor Publications, 1964).
  20. ↑ "Rocklist.net...Steve Parker...Northern Soul 500". Rocklistmusic.co.uk. Retrieved 2012-03-27.
  21. ↑ "Vinyl records LP price guide – record collector". popsike.com. Retrieved 2012-03-27.
  22. ↑ "Nine And A Half Questions with Joanie Sommers | AWN | Animation World Network". AWN. Retrieved 2012-03-27.
  23. ↑ Columbia CS 9295 album Come Alive! liner notes
  24. ↑ "Joanie Sommers". Soulfulkindamusic.net. 1941-02-24. Retrieved 2012-03-27.
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