Arnold Joseph Poovey (May 10, 1941 – October 6, 1998), often credited on record and stage as "Groovey" Joe Poovey (in various alternate spellings), was an American

rockabilly Rockabilly is one of the earliest styles of rock and roll music. It dates back to the early 1950s in the United States, especially the Southern United States, South. As a genre it blends the sound of Western music (North America), Western music ...

and

country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, while the ...

singer, songwriter, guitarist and radio disc jockey. His best known record was "Ten Long Fingers", recorded in 1958.

Life and career

Born in

Dallas, Texas Dallas () is the third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 million people. It is the largest city in and seat of Dallas County w ...

, he was encouraged to be an entertainer as a child. He initially learned the

steel guitar A steel guitar ( haw, kīkākila) is any guitar played while moving a steel bar or similar hard object against plucked strings. The bar itself is called a "steel" and is the source of the name "steel guitar". The instrument differs from a conve ...

, Craig Morrison, ''Go Cat Go!: Rockabilly music and its makers'', University of Illinois Press, 1996, p.158
/ref> and made his first recordings at the age of 10. Two years later, in 1953, he formed a group, the Hillbilly Boys, and started weekly broadcasts on radio station KRLD, soon followed by work as a disc jockey on the " Big D Jamboree" radio show. He also recorded several Christmas-themed songs, including "Santa's Helper", written by his father Bernice Poovey. After opening a show for

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), or simply Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one ...

in 1955, he instantly changed his musical style from traditional country music to rockabilly. In 1957, as Jumping Joe Poovey, he recorded "Move Around" on the

Dixie Dixie, also known as Dixieland or Dixie's Land, is a nickname for all or part of the Southern United States. While there is no official definition of this region (and the included areas shift over the years), or the extent of the area it cover ...

label, produced by Jim Shell in Dallas. It was followed the next year by "Ten Long Fingers", a tribute to

Jerry Lee Lewis Jerry Lee Lewis (September 29, 1935October 28, 2022) was an American singer, songwriter and pianist. Nicknamed "The Killer", he was described as "rock & roll's first great wild man". A pioneer of rock and roll and rockabilly music, Lewis made ...

, on which he was credited as "Groove Joe Poovey" . Although the record was later acclaimed as a classic rockabilly number, featuring piano by local prodigy C.B. Oliver, it was only locally successful, and Poovey remained working in the Dallas and

Fort Worth Fort Worth is the fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Texas and the 13th-largest city in the United States. It is the county seat of Tarrant County, covering nearly into four other counties: Denton, Johnson, Parker, and Wise. According ...

area, recording occasionally for small local labels. Groovey Joe Poovey at the Rockabilly Hall of Fame
/ref> The Handbook of Texas Online: Groovey Joe Poovey
/ref>
/ref> Biography by Jason Ankeny at Allmusic.com
/ref> In the 1960s he returned to playing country music and worked as a songwriter, his songs being recorded by such musicians as George Jones and Johnny Paycheck. In 1966, using the pseudonym Johnny Dallas, he recorded "Heart Full of Love", which reached no. 62 on the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

country chart Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States. This 50-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly by collecting airplay data from Nielsen BDS along with digital sal ...

. However, follow-ups failed to match its success, and he retired from performing to concentrate on his work as a disc jockey, working on various radio stations in the Dallas – Fort Worth area. In the 1970s, his earlier records began to be recognised by rockabilly fans in Europe, where he first performed in 1980, and unreleased recordings from the 1950s were made available. He also began recording again, releasing several new singles under the name Texas Joe Poovey. At the same time, he worked as a chauffeur on the film set of the ''

Dallas Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...

'' TV series. He continued to make regular visits to Britain and Europe, performing both country and rockabilly music, into the 1990s. Shortly before the release of a retrospective album, ''Golden Grooves'', he died at the age of 57 from a heart condition.

External links

Discography

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Poovey, Joe 1941 births 1998 deaths American country singers American country songwriters American rockabilly musicians Musicians from Dallas Radio personalities from Dallas Country musicians from Texas 20th-century American musicians 20th-century American singers