Joyce Vincent Wilson (born December 14, 1946 in

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at t ...

Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and t ...

) is an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

singer Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or withou ...

, best known as part of the group

Tony Orlando and Dawn Tony Orlando and Dawn is an American pop music group that was popular in the 1970s, composed of singer Tony Orlando and the backing vocal group Dawn (Telma Hopkins and Joyce Vincent Wilson). Their signature hits include " Candida", " Knock Thre ...

. Wilson began her career in Detroit providing background vocals on Motown and Golden World recordings. She met

Telma Hopkins Telma Louise Hopkins (born October 28, 1948) is an American actress and singer. Hopkins rose to prominence as a member of the 1970s pop music group Tony Orlando and Dawn, which had several number-one songs. She also performed on the CBS variety ...

during this time and the two provided background vocals at

Holland–Dozier–Holland Holland–Dozier–Holland was a songwriting and production team consisting of Lamont Dozier and brothers Brian and Eddie Holland. The trio wrote, arranged and produced many songs that helped define the Motown sound in the 1960s. Du ...

Invictus "Invictus" is a short poem by the Victorian era British poet William Ernest Henley (1849–1903). It was written in 1875 and published in 1888 in his first volume of poems, ''Book of Verses'', in the section ''Life and Death (Echoes)''. Backgr ...

Hot Wax Records Hot Wax Records was a Detroit, Michigan-based record label, created by producers/songwriters Holland–Dozier–Holland (Eddie Holland, Lamont Dozier and Brian Holland) in 1968 when they left Motown. History Until 1967, Holland, Dozier, and Holl ...

. Orlando released the singles " Candida" and " Knock Three Times", recorded with session vocalists Linda November and

Toni Wine Toni Wine (born June 4, 1947 in Washington Heights, New York City, United States) is an American pop music songwriter, who wrote songs for such artists as The Mindbenders (" A Groovy Kind of Love"), Tony Orlando and Dawn (" Candida"), and Checkm ...

backing him, under the name Dawn; when the singles charted, Orlando found himself needing to assemble an actual backing group to tour and record with. Wilson and

became the fully embodied Dawn. The popular 1970s group later had their own successful

television program Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication Media (communication), medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of Transmission (telecommunications), television tra ...

( ''Tony Orlando and Dawn''), and Wilson was featured on

hit single A hit song, also known as a hit record, hit single or simply a hit, is a recorded song or instrumental that becomes broadly popular or well-known. Although ''hit song'' means any widely played or big-selling song, the specific term ''hit record' ...

s like "

He Don't Love You (Like I Love You) "He Will Break Your Heart", is a song originally performed and co-written by Jerry Butler, a top-ten hit in 1960. In 1975, Tony Orlando and Dawn released the song under the title "He Don't Love You (Like I Love You)". Their version topped the ' ...

", "

Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Ole Oak Tree "Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Ole Oak Tree" is a song recorded by Tony Orlando and Dawn. It was written by Irwin Levine and L. Russell Brown and produced by Hank Medress and Dave Appell, with Motown/ Stax backing vocalist Telma Hopkins, J ...

" and "Mornin' Beautiful". In 1977, Wilson was offered a chance to replace original

Supremes The Supremes were an American girl group and a premier act of Motown Records during the 1960s. Founded as the Primettes in Detroit, Michigan, in 1959, the Supremes were the most commercially successful of Motown's acts and the most successful ...

member Mary Wilson in the Supremes, with members

Scherrie Payne Scherrie Ann Payne (born November 4, 1944) is an American singer. Payne is best known as a member of the R&B/Soul vocal group The Supremes from 1973 until 1977. Because of her powerful voice and petite stature (5'2"), Payne is sometimes referred ...

and

Susaye Greene Susaye Greene (born September 13, 1948) is an American singer and songwriter. She was the last official member to join the Motown girl group The Supremes, remaining in the group during its final years of existence from 1976 to 1977. She is a su ...

, before

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 ...

determined that the group should not continue without any original members. Wilson sang as a

backing vocalist A backing vocalist is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists. A backing vocalist may also sing alone as a lead-in to the main vocalist's entry or to sing a counter-melody. Backing vocalists are ...

on Payne and Greene's

duet A duet is a musical composition for two performers in which the performers have equal importance to the piece, often a composition involving two singers or two pianists. It differs from a harmony, as the performers take turns performing a sol ...

album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early 20th century as individual 78 rpm records c ...

'' Partners'' in 1979, which was originally conceived as a Supremes album. A friend of Payne, Wilson has also provided backing vocals during her

solo Solo or SOLO may refer to: Arts and entertainment Comics * ''Solo'' (DC Comics), a DC comics series * Solo, a 1996 mini-series from Dark Horse Comics Characters * Han Solo, a ''Star Wars'' character * Jacen Solo, a Jedi in the non-canonical ''S ...

concert A concert is a live music performance in front of an audience. The performance may be by a single musician, sometimes then called a recital, or by a musical ensemble, such as an orchestra, choir, or band. Concerts are held in a wide var ...

s. In 2006, Wilson and her sister Pamela Vincent provided backing vocals at the twentieth anniversary concert of the Former Ladies of the Supremes. In January 2007, both Wilson and Vincent provided backing vocals for Payne at a concert in

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

. Wilson and Vincent also perform with the "Inspirational Voices of Free" choir, and we also members of the short-lived supergroup Tour de 4Force. This 5-piece group included Jim Gilstrap, Theresa Davis (of

The Emotions ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

) and Scherrie Payne. In April 2007, Wilson stepped in as a last-minute replacement for

Freddi Poole Freddi Pool (born September 12, 1946) is an American singer, known best for her work with the Former Ladies of the Supremes and The Three Degrees. Biography Raised in Los Angeles, she started her singing career in the church at the age of fou ...

, who was unable to join her group the Former Ladies of the Supremes, on a tour of

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the n ...

. In June 2008, Wilson stepped in to replace

Lynda Lawrence Lynda Laurence (also spelled Lawrence, born Lynda Tucker; February 20, 1949) is an American singer. The youngest daughter of Louise and Ira Tucker, a gospel songwriter, producer, and singer, Laurence's siblings are Sundray Tucker and Ira Tuck ...

on a tour of

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

. Then in September 2009, Wilson permanently replaced Freddi Poole as a member of the Former Ladies of the Supremes group, which until 2017 was billed as Scherrie Payne and Lynda Laurence Formerly of The Supremes. Following Laurence's departure, the group, now featuring former Supreme Susaye Greene alongside Payne and Wilson, is billed as Scherrie & Susaye Formerly of The Supremes.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Wilson, Joyce Vincent 1946 births Living people 20th-century African-American women singers American women pop singers Tony Orlando and Dawn members Singers from Detroit 21st-century African-American people 21st-century African-American women