Joe Dowell (January 23, 1940 – February 4, 2016)
was an American
pop
Pop or POP may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Music
* Pop music, a musical genre Artists
* POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade
* Pop!, a UK pop group
* Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band
Albums
* ''Pop'' (G ...
singer.
Career
He was born in
Bloomington, Indiana, United States,
and moved to
Bloomington, Illinois
Bloomington is a city and the county seat of McLean County, Illinois, United States. It is adjacent to the town of Normal, and is the more populous of the two principal municipalities of the Bloomington–Normal metropolitan area. Bloomington ...
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
Single may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media
* Single (music), a song release
Songs
* "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004
* "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008
* "Single" (William Wei song), 2016
* "Single", by ...
stateside. In 1961, "Wooden Heart" became the first single released on
Smash Records to shoot to No. 1 on the
''Billboard'' Hot 100. It sold over one million copies and was awarded a
gold disc.
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. He had two further hits, "The Bridge of Love" (US No. 50) and "Little Red Rented Rowboat" (US No. 23) but, after struggles with his management, he was dropped from the
label.
Dowell went on to record one single for Monument Records, a folk album in the 1960s, and a number of singles and a gospel album for his own Journey label in the 1970s and 1980s. He also recorded a bicentennial EP at Golden Voice Recording Co in
South Pekin, Illinois, for the
Boy Scouts of America and radio jingles.
In 2004,
Bear Family Records released a CD on Joe Dowell's music, including unreleased recordings.
His publicist and friend Johnny Vallis confirmed to the
Associated Press, that Joe Dowell died on February 4, 2016 in Bloomington, Illinois, after suffering a heart attack the prior weekend. He was 76.
Discography
Singles
References
External links
Official site*
Joe Dowell Collection McLean County Museum of History
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dowell, Joe
1940 births
2016 deaths
American male singers
Singers from Illinois
Musicians from Bloomington, Indiana
Smash Records artists
People from Bloomington, Illinois