Josephine Armstead (born October 8, 1944), also known as "Joshie" Jo Armstead, is an American

soul In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being". Etymology The Modern English noun ''soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest attes ...

singer and

songwriter A songwriter is a musician who professionally composes musical compositions or writes lyrics for songs, or both. The writer of the music for a song can be called a composer, although this term tends to be used mainly in the classical music gen ...

. Armstead began her career singing backing vocals for blues musician Bobby "Blue" Bland before becoming an Ikette in the

Ike & Tina Turner Ike & Tina Turner were an American musical duo consisting of husband and wife Ike Turner and Tina Turner. From 1960 to 1976, they performed live as the Ike & Tina Turner Revue, supported by Ike Turner's band the Kings of Rhythm and backing vocal ...

Revue in the early 1960s. She also had some success as a solo singer, her biggest hit being "A Stone Good Lover" in 1968. As a songwriter, Armstead teamed up with

Ashford & Simpson Ashford & Simpson were an American husband-and-wife songwriting-production team and recording duo of Nickolas Ashford (May 4, 1941 – August 22, 2011) and Valerie Simpson (born August 26, 1946). Ashford was born in Fairfield, South Carolina, ...

. The trio wrote hits for various artists, including

Ray Charles Ray Charles Robinson Sr. (September 23, 1930 – June 10, 2004) was an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. He is regarded as one of the most iconic and influential singers in history, and was often referred to by contemporaries as "The Ge ...

Aretha Franklin Aretha Louise Franklin ( ; March 25, 1942 – August 16, 2018) was an American singer, songwriter and pianist. Referred to as the " Queen of Soul", she has twice been placed ninth in ''Rolling Stone''s "100 Greatest Artists of All Time". With ...

Tina Britt Tina Britt (born Marion Brittingham; July 5, 1938) is an American R&B singer who had two hits on the ''Billboard'' R&B chart in the 1960s. She released one album ''Blue All The Way'' and six 45s between 1965 and 1970. Life and career Tina Brit ...

Ronnie Milsap Ronnie Lee Milsap (born Ronald Lee Millsaps; January 16, 1943) is an American country music singer and pianist. He was one of country music's most popular and influential performers of the 1970s and 1980s. Nearly completely blind from birth, ...

, and

Syl Johnson Sylvester Johnson (born Sylvester Thompson; July 1, 1936 – February 6, 2022) was an American blues and soul singer, musician, songwriter and record producer. His most successful records included "Different Strokes" (1967), " Is It Because I' ...

. In the 1970s, Armstead appeared in the

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

musicals ''

Don't Play Us Cheap ''Don't Play Us Cheap'' is a 1973 American musical comedy film written, produced, scored, edited and directed by Melvin Van Peebles. The film stars Avon Long and Joe Keyes Jr. as Brother Dave and Trinity, a pair of demons who take human form to bre ...

'' and ''Seesaw''.

Life and career

Armstead was born to Wilton and Rosie Armstead in

Yazoo City, Mississippi Yazoo City is a U.S. city in Yazoo County, Mississippi. It was named after the Yazoo River, which, in turn was named by the French explorer Robert La Salle in 1682 as "Rivière des Yazous" in reference to the Yazoo tribe living near the river's m ...

on October 8, 1944. She started singing in the church in which her mother was a minister. After her grandfather introduced her to

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form which originated in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues incorporated spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts, chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads from the Afr ...

music, she also began singing in

juke joint Juke joint (also jukejoint, jook house, jook, or juke) is the vernacular term for an informal establishment featuring music, dancing, gambling, and drinking, primarily operated by African Americans in the southeastern United States. A juke joint ...

s and at dances, and first sang in a club as part of

Bobby "Blue" Bland Robert Calvin Bland (born Robert Calvin Brooks; January 27, 1930 – June 23, 2013), known professionally as Bobby "Blue" Bland, was an American blues singer. Bland developed a sound that mixed gospel with the blues and R&B. He was descr ...

's band. She joined a local band, Little Melvin & The Downbeats, as a teenager. In 1960, Armstead along with Eloise Hester and Delores Johnson became The Ikettes as part of the

Revue. She had been recommended to

Ike Turner Izear Luster "Ike" Turner Jr. (November 5, 1931 – December 12, 2007) was an American musician, bandleader, songwriter, record producer, and talent scout. An early pioneer of 1950s rock and roll, he is best known for his work in the 1960s and 1 ...

by her sister Velma Dishman who was his ex-wife. As an Ikette, Armstead recorded the single "

I'm Blue (The Gong-Gong Song) "I'm Blue (The Gong-Gong Song)" is a song written by Ike Turner and recorded by Ike & Tina Turner's backing trio The Ikettes in 1961. In 2017, ''Billboard'' ranked the song No. 63 on their list of 100 Greatest Girl Group Songs of All Time. Overvi ...

" which peaked at No. 19 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and No. 3 on the

R&B chart The Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart ranks the most popular R&B and hip hop songs in the United States and is published weekly by ''Billboard''. Rankings are based on a measure of radio airplay, sales data, and streaming activity. The chart had 100 p ...

. In 1962, Armstead settled in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

and recorded under the name Dina Johnson, by her own account a pseudonym to avoid being tracked down by Turner. However, she recalled her time as an Ikette fondly: "It was the greatest but you had to be young to travel the

Chitlin' Circuit The Chitlin' Circuit was a collection of performance venues throughout the eastern, southern, and upper Midwest areas of the United States that provided commercial and cultural acceptance for African American musicians, comedians, and other enterta ...

as they called it. We weren’t flying and we didn’t stay in 5-star hotels. It was really rough. You really had to be young but it was fun and we joked and laughed a lot." She added, "I have the utmost respect for Ike Turner as an artist and what he created." After her tenure as an Ikette, Armstead recorded advertising

jingle A jingle is a short song or tune used in advertising and for other commercial uses. Jingles are a form of sound branding. A jingle contains one or more hooks and meaning that explicitly promote the product or service being advertised, usually t ...

s and sang back-up for such musicians as

James Brown James Joseph Brown (May 3, 1933 – December 25, 2006) was an American singer, dancer, musician, record producer and bandleader. The central progenitor of funk music and a major figure of 20th century music, he is often referred to by the honor ...

, Walter Jackson and

B.B. King Riley B. King (September 16, 1925 – May 14, 2015), known professionally as B.B. King, was an American blues singer-songwriter, guitarist, and record producer. He introduced a sophisticated style of soloing based on fluid string bending, shi ...

, before a chance meeting with

Nick Ashford Ashford & Simpson were an American husband-and-wife songwriting-production team and recording duo of Nickolas Ashford (May 4, 1941 – August 22, 2011) and Valerie Simpson (born August 26, 1946). Ashford was born in Fairfield, South Carolina, ...

and

Valerie Simpson Ashford & Simpson were an American husband-and-wife songwriting-production team and recording duo of Nickolas Ashford (May 4, 1941 – August 22, 2011) and Valerie Simpson (born August 26, 1946). Ashford was born in Fairfield, South Carolina, ...

. They began writing songs together, one of the first results being "

Let's Go Get Stoned "Let's Go Get Stoned" is a song originally recorded by The Coasters in May 1965. It was written by Nickolas Ashford, Valerie Simpson, and Josephine Armstead. Ronnie Milsap recorded it in October 1965 as a B-side to the single, "Never Had It S ...

", which became an

no. 1 hit for Ray Charles in 1966. Its follow-up "

I Don't Need No Doctor "I Don't Need No Doctor" is an R&B song written by Nick Ashford, Valerie Simpson, and Jo Armstead. First released by Ashford on Verve in August 1966, it went nowhere. It was then picked up and recorded by Ray Charles and released in October ...

" was also a hit. The trio of writers also had success with songs for

Chuck Jackson Chuck Jackson (born July 22, 1937) is an American R&B singer who was one of the first artists to record material by Burt Bacharach and Hal David successfully. He has performed with moderate success since 1961. His hits include "I Don't Want to ...

, Maxine Brown and

. Armstead also wrote or co-wrote hits for other artists, including "Cry Like a Baby" by

, "Casonova" by

Ruby Andrews Ruby Andrews (born Ruby Stackhouse; March 12, 1947) is an American soul singer. Her best known songs include "Casonova (Your Playing Days Are Over)" (1967), "You Made A Believer (Out Of Me)" (1969), and "Everybody Saw You" (1970). Biography Rub ...

, "Jealous Kind of Fella" by

Garland Green Garland Green (born Garfield Green Jr., June 14, 1942) is an American soul singer and pianist. Biography Born in Dunleith, Mississippi, United States, Green was the tenth child of eleven in his family. He lived in Mississippi until 1958 when ...

, "Come On Sock It to Me" by

, and "Drop By My Place" by

Carl Carlton Carl Carlton (born May 21, 1953) is an American R&B, soul, and funk singer-songwriter, best known for his hits "Everlasting Love" and "She's a Bad Mama Jama (She's Built, She's Stacked)". Career Carlton was born in Detroit, Michigan, and bega ...

. After Ashford and Simpson joined

Motown Motown Records is an American record label owned by the Universal Music Group. It was founded by Berry Gordy Jr. as Tamla Records on June 7, 1958, and incorporated as Motown Record Corporation on April 14, 1960. Its name, a portmanteau of ''moto ...

, Armstead moved to

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

in 1967 with her husband, record producer Mel Collins, and formed Giant Productions. The Giant label released her single "I Feel An Urge Coming On" which, although not successful at the time, later became a favorite with Northern soul audiences in the UK. Two of her follow-up records, "A Stone Good Lover" and "I've Been Turned On", both made the R&B chart in 1968. Armstead returned to New York after her marriage deteriorated and continued as a singer and writer of commercials. She was a backing vocalist on

Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan, born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Often regarded as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture during a career sp ...

's 1971 single " George Jackson", and sang backing vocals on Roberta Flack's album '' Quiet Fire'' (1971). Armstead had a role in

Melvin Van Peebles Melvin Van Peebles (born Melvin Peebles; August 21, 1932 – September 21, 2021) was an American actor, filmmaker, writer, and composer. He worked as an active filmmaker into the 2000s. His feature film debut, ''The Story of a Three-Day Pass'' ( ...

' musical film, ''

'', and it's stage play adaptation on Broadway. In the early 1970s, she signed to the Gospel Truth label, an offshoot of

Stax Streaming API for XML (StAX) is an application programming interface (API) to read and write XML documents, originating from the Java programming language community. Traditionally, XML APIs are either: * DOM based - the entire document is read in ...

, and recorded several singles as Joshie Jo Armstead, of which the most successful was "Stumblin' Blocks, Steppin' Stones" in 1974. She also sang as a backing singer for Stax. After Stax Records collapsed, Armstead continued to write songs through her own publishing company, and also worked as a

fashion design Fashion design is the Art (skill), art of applying design, aesthetics, clothing construction and natural beauty to clothing and its Fashion accessory, accessories. It is influenced by culture and different trends, and has varied over time and plac ...

er. She provided vocals for four titles on the 1977

Burt Bacharach Burt Freeman Bacharach ( ; born May 12, 1928) is an American composer, songwriter, record producer and pianist who composed hundreds of pop songs from the late 1950s through the 1980s, many in collaboration with lyricist Hal David. A six-time Gra ...

LP ''Futures''. In the 1980s, after returning to Chicago, Armstead had a spell managing a boxer,

Alfonso Ratliff Alfonso Ratliff (born February 18, 1956) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1980 to 1989, holding the WBC and '' The Ring'' cruiserweight titles in 1985. He was later coaching at the Harvey Boxing Club in Harvey IL. Amat ...

. She recorded for her own Prairie Rose Records in the 1990s. Armstead was a 2006 STAR (Special Thanks And Recognition) honoree, awarded by the Metro New York Chapter of the

Jackson State University Jackson State University (Jackson State or JSU) is a public historically black research university in Jackson, Mississippi. It is one of the largest HBCUs in the United States and the fourth largest university in Mississippi in terms of studen ...

Alumni Association. A version of Armstead's song "I Feel An Urge Coming On," performed by

Nick Waterhouse Nicholas Ryan Waterhouse (born February 8, 1986) is an American singer-songwriter and record producer from Los Angeles. He is a guitarist and singer known for a sound rooted in rhythm & blues, jazz, and soul. Early life Waterhouse was born in ...

, has been used in the television soundtracks of CW shows Riverdale and

Black Lightning Black Lightning (Jefferson Pierce) is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character, created by writer Tony Isabella and artist Trevor Von Eeden, first appeared in ''Black Lightning'' #1 (April 1977), during ...

Selected discography

Singles

Backing vocal credits

* 1971:

Esther Phillips Esther Phillips (born Esther Mae Jones; December 23, 1935 – August 7, 1984) was an American singer, best known for her R&B vocals.Santelli, Robert (2001). ''The Big Book of Blues: A Biographical Encyclopedia''. Penguin Books. p. 376. . She ...

– ''From A Whisper To A Scream'' * 1971: Valerie Simpson – ''Exposed'' * 1971: Roberta Flack – " To Love Somebody" * 1971: Quincy Jones – ''

Smackwater Jack ''Smackwater Jack'' is a 1971 studio album by Quincy Jones. Tracks include the theme music to '' Ironside'' and ''The Bill Cosby Show''. Track listing # " Smackwater Jack" (Gerry Goffin, Carole King) – 3:31 # "Cast Your Fate to the Wind" (Vin ...

'' * 1971: B.B. King – ''In London'' * 1972: Valerie Simpson – ''Valerie Simpson'' * 1972:

David Bromberg David Bromberg (born September 19, 1945) is an American multi-instrumentalist, singer, and songwriter. David Bromberg biographyat Billboard.com An eclectic artist, Bromberg plays bluegrass, blues, folk, jazz, country and western, and rock a ...

– "Sharon" * 1972:

Archie Shepp Archie Shepp (born May 24, 1937) is an American jazz saxophonist, educator and playwright who since the 1960s has played a central part in the development of avant-garde jazz. Biography Early life Shepp was born in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, but ...

– ''Attica Blues'' * 1973: Ashford & Simpson – ''Gimme Something Real'' * 1973: Blood, Sweat & Tears – ''No Sweat'' * 1973:

– ''Black-Eyed Blues'' * 1974: The Kiki Dee Band – "

I've Got The Music In Me "I've Got the Music in Me" is a pop song by The Kiki Dee Band, released in 1974. It was written in 1973 by Bias Boshell, Kiki Dee Band's keyboardist. It is also the title of a Kiki Dee Band album released in 1974 and re-mastered and re-issued wit ...

" * 1974: Ashford & Simpson – ''I Wanna Be Selfish'' * 1975: Roberta Flack – ''Feel Like Makin' Love'' * 1975: Sky King – ''Secret Sauce'' * 1975:

Randall Bramblett Randall Bramblett (born 1948) is an American musician and singer-songwriter, whose career as a solo artist, session player, and touring musician, has spanned more than three decades. He has worked with Gregg Allman, Bonnie Raitt, Goose Creek S ...

– ''That Other Mile'' * 1975:

Frankie Valli Francesco Stephen Castelluccio (born May 3, 1934), better known by his stage name Frankie Valli, is an American singer, known as the frontman of the Four Seasons beginning in 1960. He is known for his unusually powerful lead falsetto voice. ...

– ''Closeup'' * 1976: Ashford & Simpson – ''Come As You Are'' * 1977:

– ''Futures'' * 1978:

Taj Mahal The Taj Mahal (; ) is an Islamic ivory-white marble mausoleum on the right bank of the river Yamuna in the Indian city of Agra. It was commissioned in 1631 by the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan () to house the tomb of his favourite wife, Mu ...

– "Why You Do Me This Way" * 1978: Good Rats – "You're Still Doing It" * 1978:

Sylvia Syms Sylvia May Laura Syms (born 6 January 1934) is an English actress, best known for her roles in the films ''Woman in a Dressing Gown'' (1957), ''Ice Cold in Alex'' (1958), ''No Trees in the Street'' (1959), ''Victim'' (1961), and ''The Tamari ...

– ''She Loves To Hear The Music'' * 1978:

Nina Simone Eunice Kathleen Waymon (February 21, 1933 – April 21, 2003), known professionally as Nina Simone (), was an American singer, songwriter, pianist, and civil rights activist. Her music spanned styles including classical, folk, gospel, blues, ...

– ''Baltimore'' * 1979: Ashford & Simpson – "Dance Forever" * 1980:

Jess Roden Jess Roden (born 28 December 1947) is an English rock singer, songwriter and guitarist. Biography Roden's first band was The Raiders followed by The Shakedown Sound which also included the guitarist, Kevyn Gammond, and keyboard player, August E ...

– ''Stonechaser'' * 1981:

Max Romeo Max Romeo (born Maxwell Livingston Smith; 22 November 1944)"Respect to th ...

– "Holding Out My Love To You" * 1982:

Stephanie Mills Stephanie Dorthea Mills (born March 22, 1957) is an American singer and songwriter. She rose to stardom as "Dorothy" in the original seven-time Tony Award winning Broadway run of the musical ''The Wiz'' from 1974 to 1979. The song " Home" from t ...

– '' Tantalizingly Hot'' * 1998:

Luther Vandross Luther Ronzoni Vandross Jr. (April 20, 1951 – July 1, 2005) was an American singer, songwriter, and record producer. Known for his sweet and soulful vocals, Vandross has sold over 40 million records worldwide. He achieved eleven consecutive P ...

– "Get It Right"

Songwriting credits

* 1965: "The Real Thing" –

* 1965: "One Step at a Time" – Maxine Brown * 1966: "

" –

* 1965: "

Hey Ho, What You Do to Me "Hey Ho, What You Do to Me" is a song written by Nickolas Ashford, Valerie Simpson, and Jo Armstead and performed by Chad Allan and the Expressions (Guess Who?). It reached #3 in Canada in 1965. The song was released in the United States in Aug ...

" –

The Guess Who The Guess Who are a Canadian rock band formed in Winnipeg, Manitoba, in 1965. The band originated in 1962 and achieved an international hit single with a cover of "Shakin' All Over" in 1965 under the name Chad Allan and the Expressions. After c ...

* 1965: "My Heart Belongs to You" –

The Shirelles The Shirelles were an American girl group formed in Passaic, New Jersey in 1957. They consisted of schoolmates Shirley Owens (later Shirley Alston Reeves), Doris Coley (later Doris Kenner-Jackson), Addie "Micki" Harris (later Addie Harris McFadd ...

* 1965: "Never Had It so Good" –

* 1966: "The Hard Way" –

The Nashville Teens The Nashville Teens are a British rock band, formed in Surrey in 1962. They are best known for their 1964 hit single "Tobacco Road", a top 10 UK hit and a top 20 hit in the United States. Early membership Art Sharp (born Arthur Sharp, 26 May 1 ...

* 1966: "I'm Satisfied" –

& Maxine Brown * 1966: "Cry Like a Baby" –

* 1966: "

" – Ray Charles * 1967: "Come On Sock It to Me" –

* 1967: "Casanova (Your Playing Days Are Over)" –

* 1968: "A Stone Good Lover" – Jo Armstead * 1968: "I've Been Turned On" – Jo Armstead * 1968: "Sock It to Me (Part I)" – The Deacons * 1969: "Look at Mary Wonder (How I Got Over)" –

* 1969: "Jealous Kind of Fella" –

* 1969: "Don't Think That I'm a Violent Guy" – Garland Green * 1970: "Drop by My Place" – Carl Carlton * 1970: "I Can Feel It" – Carl Carlton * 1971: "I Don't Need No Doctor" –

Humble Pie Humble Pie are an English rock band formed by guitarist and singer Steve Marriott in Moreton, Essex, in 1969. They are known as one of the first supergroups of the late 1960s and found success in the early 1970s with songs such as " Black Cof ...

* 1972: "I Don't Need No Doctor" –

New Riders of the Purple Sage New Riders of the Purple Sage is an American country rock band. The group emerged from the psychedelic rock scene in San Francisco in 1969 and its original lineup included several members of the Grateful Dead. The band is sometimes referred ...

* 1972: "Silly Wasn't I" – Valerie Simpson * 1973: "Cry Like a Baby" –

Dorothy Moore Dorothy Moore (born October 13, 1946) is an American blues, gospel, and R&B singer best known for her 1976 hit song, "Misty Blue". Career Moore's parents were Mary Moore and Melvin Hendrex Senior. Her father performed under the stage name Melv ...

* 1974: "Stumblin' Blocks, Steppin' Stones (What Took Me So Long)" – Jo Armstead * 1980: "Casanova" – Coffee * 1982: "A Friend of Mine" –

Gladys Knight & the Pips Gladys Knight & the Pips were an American R&B, soul and funk family music group from Atlanta, Georgia, that remained active on the music charts and performing circuit for over three decades starting from the early 1950s. Starting out as simpl ...

* 1987: "I Don't Need No Doctor" – W.A.S.P. * 1994: "Casanova" – Baby D * 2006: " Best Friend" –

50 Cent Curtis James Jackson III (born July 6, 1975), known professionally as 50 Cent, is an American rapper, actor, and businessman. Born in the South Jamaica neighborhood of Queens, Jackson began pursuing a musical career in 2000, when he produced ...

and

Olivia Olivia may refer to: People * Olivia (name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the name * Olivia (singer) (Olivia Longott, born 1981), American singer * Olívia (basketball) (Carlos Henrique Rodrigues do Nascimento, born 19 ...

Stage

References

External links

Joshie Jo Armstead
on

IBDB The Internet Broadway Database (IBDB) is an online database of Broadway theatre productions and their personnel. It was conceived and created by Karen Hauser in 1996 and is operated by the Research Department of The Broadway League, a trade assoc ...

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Armstead, Jo 1944 births Living people Singer-songwriters from Mississippi African-American women singer-songwriters Ike & Tina Turner members People from Yazoo City, Mississippi Northern soul musicians American rhythm and blues singer-songwriters American soul singers American musical theatre actresses