Joseph Paolino Jr. (March 9, 1929 – December 26, 1996), who performed as Joe Valino, was an American singer who had a chart hit in 1957 with "

The Garden of Eden In Abrahamic religions, the Garden of Eden ( he, גַּן־עֵדֶן, ) or Garden of God (, and גַן־אֱלֹהִים ''gan-Elohim''), also called the Terrestrial Paradise, is the biblical paradise described in Genesis 2-3 and Ezekiel 28 an ...

". Born in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

, United States, the son of Mary and Joseph Paolino, he learned piano and guitar and began performing in local clubs as a child. While still in his teens, he accompanied Sarah Vaughan in piano, and by the age of 18 had performed as a singer and pianist with the

big band A big band or jazz orchestra is a type of musical ensemble of jazz music that usually consists of ten or more musicians with four sections: saxophones, trumpets, trombones, and a rhythm section. Big bands originated during the early 1910s ...

s of

Woody Herman Woodrow Charles Herman (May 16, 1913 – October 29, 1987) was an American jazz clarinetist, saxophonist, singer, and big band leader. Leading groups called "The Herd", Herman came to prominence in the late 1930s and was active until his dea ...

and

Tommy Dorsey Thomas Francis Dorsey Jr. (November 19, 1905 – November 26, 1956) was an American jazz trombonist, composer, conductor and bandleader of the big band era. He was known as the "Sentimental Gentleman of Swing" because of his smooth-toned trombo ...

. After a spell as a professional boxer, he returned to the music business in the early 1950s, and local composer Dolores "Vicki" Silvers wrote the song "

Learnin' the Blues "Learnin' the Blues" is a big band popular song written by Dolores "Vicki" Silvers. The song was originally recorded by Philadelphia singer Joe Valino, along with the Gene Kutch Orchestra. Frank Sinatra versions In 1955, "Learnin' the Blues" wa ...

" for him to record. He released the song in 1954 on the local Gold Star label (not the Texas label of the same name), and it became locally successful. Valino's version was then heard by Frank Sinatra, who recorded it himself and had a No. 1 hit with the song. Andy Wallace, "Joe Valino, A Popular Singer In '50s"
''

Philadelphia Inquirer ''The Philadelphia Inquirer'' is a daily newspaper headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The newspaper's circulation is the largest in both the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the Delaware Valley metropolitan region of Southeastern Penns ...

'', December 28, 1996. Retrieved 19 October 2015 Valino's version drew him to the attention of

RCA Records RCA Records is an American record label currently owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside RCA's former long-time rival Columbia Records; also A ...

, and he recorded the song "The Garden of Eden", written by Dennise Norwood, for its subsidiary

Vik Records Vik Records was a subsidiary of RCA Victor Records established in April 1953. In the '' Billboard'' issue of the 11th of that month, it was announced that RCA was launching, namelessly, a new label that was the company's first to be distributed ind ...

label in 1956. Recorded with the George Siravo Orchestra, the song reached No. 12 on the '' Billboard'' pop chart the following year, and also reached No. 23 in the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

, where a

cover version In popular music, a cover version, cover song, remake, revival, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording by a musician other than the original performer or composer of the song. Originally, it referred to a version of a song release ...

Frankie Vaughan Frankie Vaughan (born Frank Fruim Abelson; 3 February 1928 – 17 September 1999) was an English singer and actor who recorded more than 80 easy listening and traditional pop singles in his lifetime. He was known as "Mr. Moonlight" after his ...

reached the No. 1 spot. While "The Garden of Eden" was on the charts, a former girlfriend of Valino claimed that he had arranged for her to have an illegal

abortion Abortion is the termination of a pregnancy by removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus. An abortion that occurs without intervention is known as a miscarriage or "spontaneous abortion"; these occur in approximately 30% to 40% of pre ...

. He denied the charge, but was convicted, and received a 17-year

probation Probation in criminal law is a period of supervision over an offender, ordered by the court often in lieu of incarceration. In some jurisdictions, the term ''probation'' applies only to community sentences (alternatives to incarceration), such ...

. As a result, his music was removed from sale and banned from radio play.'' Philadelphia Daily News'', January 16, 1998, page F-17 He continued to perform in clubs, and moved to Hollywood in the 1960s to pursue an acting career. He appeared in the movies ''

Girl in Gold Boots ''Girl in Gold Boots'' is a 1968 crime/drama film about the seedy underworld of go-go dancing, directed by Ted V. Mikels, who also directed ''The Astro-Zombies''. It was Mikels' first movie for his own company, Gemini. Plot Michele is a young ...

'' (1969) and ''The Commitment'' (1976). In 1977, he suffered a major

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which ma ...

, followed by a series of strokes that left him unable to sing. He returned to Philadelphia, and died in 1996 at the age of 67.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Valino, Joe 1929 births 1996 deaths Singers from Pennsylvania Traditional pop music singers 20th-century American singers