The J's with Jamie was an American musical group specializing in
commercial 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 meanings that explicitly promote the product or service being advertised, usually ...
s in the 1950s and 1960s. The group's core members were Jamie and Joe Silvia, a married couple who played with a number of session musicians and other singers. They worked within the booming mid-20th century Chicago advertising industry in both radio and television with clients including well-known food companies, politicians, appliance manufacturers, and industry associations. The couple declined invitations to go on tour, opting to stay in Chicago with their family, but did record three albums for
, including a combination of original songs and
covers of
standards Standard may refer to:
Symbols
* Colours, standards and guidons, kinds of military signs
* Standard (emblem), a type of a large symbol or emblem used for identification
Norms, conventions or requirements
* Standard (metrology), an object t ...
and
Broadway show tunes. At the
6th Annual Grammy Awards
The 6th Annual Grammy Awards were held on May 12, 1964, at Chicago, Los Angeles and New York. They recognized accomplishments by musicians for the year 1963. Henry Mancini won 4 awards.
Award winners
The following awards were the winners and nom ...
in 1964, The J's with Jamie were nominated in two categories:
Best New Artist
The Grammy Award for Best New Artist has been awarded since the 2nd Annual Grammy Awards in 1960 (except in 1967) "for a new artist who releases, during the Eligibility Year, the first recording which establishes the public identity of that ar ...
and
Best Performance by a Vocal Group. Shortly before disbanding in 1967 to found a commercial production firm, the Silvias released another two albums as Jamie and the J. Silvia Singers.
Formation
The J's with Jamie was formed by husband and wife Joe and Jamie Silvia. Jamie's background was as a dancer, but she took up singing as a career in her late teens, citing
Sarah Vaughan
Sarah Lois Vaughan (, March 27, 1924 – April 3, 1990) was an American jazz singer and pianist. Nicknamed "Sassy" and "List of nicknames of jazz musicians, The Divine One", she won two Grammy Awards, including the Lifetime Achievement Award, ...
as one of her influences.
[ She went on tour as the lead vocalist for The Mellowlarks in the 1950s but left to form The J's with Jamie in 1958.][ One year for ]Christmas
Christmas is an annual festival commemorating Nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a Religion, religious and Culture, cultural celebration among billions of people Observance of Christmas by coun ...
, the couple decided to record Christmas song
Christmas music comprises a variety of Music genre, genres of music regularly performed or heard around the Christmas and holiday season, Christmas season. Music associated with Christmas may be purely instrumental, or in the case of Christmas ...
s for their friends instead of sending out a more traditional greeting card. To do so, they went to the recording studio in Chicago. The audio engineer was impressed enough with their performance that he shared the music with Ernie Altschuler in Columbia's artists and repertoire
Artists and repertoire (or A&R for short) is the division of a record label or music publishing company that is responsible for scouting, financing, and overseeing the artistic development of recording artists and songwriters. It also acts as a l ...
division, leading to a recording contract.[This citation mistakenly calls the group "The Jamies," an error for which it issued a correction in the following issue:]
From their start until the group disbanded in 1967, Jamie and Joe Silvia were the core of the group. They worked with session musicians and a number of other singers. Their most prominent collaborator was Don Shelton, a tenor
A tenor is a type of male singing voice whose vocal range lies between the countertenor and baritone voice types. It is the highest male chest voice type. Composers typically write music for this voice in the range from the second B below m ...
who was part of The Hi-Lo's
The Hi-Lo's were a vocal quartet formed in 1953, who achieved their greatest fame in the late 1950s and 1960s. The group's name is a reference to both their extreme vocal and physical ranges (Bob Strasen and Bob Morse were tall; Gene Puerling ...
, but others included Marshall Gill and Len Dresslar, whose deep bass voice is best known for the Jolly Green Giant
Green Giant and Le Sueur (spelled Le Sieur in Canada) are brands of frozen and canned vegetables owned by B&G Foods. The company's mascot is the Jolly Green Giant.
Company and brand history
The Minnesota Valley Canning Company was founded ...
's "Ho! Ho! Ho!".[
]
Jingles and recordings
Recounting the group's career years later, Jamie estimated the group recorded 25–30 commercials each week between 1958 and 1967.[ Their clients were as varied as the companies, organizations, and individuals who advertise on television and radio, such as food manufacturers, home goods companies, cigarette companies, department stores, politicians, appliance makers, and industry associations. Examples of well-known brands for which they recorded jingles include ]Campbell's
The Campbell's Company (doing business as Campbell's and formerly known as the Campbell Soup Company) is an American company, most closely associated with its flagship canned soup products. The classic red-and-white can design used by many Campb ...
, Marlboro
Marlboro (, ) is an American brand of cigarettes owned and manufactured by Philip Morris USA (a branch of Altria) within the United States and by Philip Morris International (PMI, now separate from Altria) in most global territories outside the ...
, Schlitz, Sears
Sears, Roebuck and Co., commonly known as Sears ( ), is an American chain of department stores and online retailer founded in 1892 by Richard Warren Sears and Alvah Curtis Roebuck and reincorporated in 1906 by Richard Sears and Julius Rosen ...
, Pillsbury, Alka-Seltzer
Alka-Seltzer is an effervescent antacid and pain reliever owned by Bayer since 1978. First marketed by the Dr. Miles Medicine Company of Elkhart, Indiana, United States, Alka-Seltzer contains three active ingredients: aspirin (acetylsalicylic ac ...
, Wrigley, Amana, Mr. Clean, Green Giant
Green Giant and Le Sueur (spelled Le Sieur in Canada) are brands of frozen and canned vegetables owned by B&G Foods. The company's mascot is the Jolly Green Giant.
Company and brand history
The Minnesota Valley Canning Company was founded ...
, and Kellogg's
Kellanova, formerly known as the Kellogg Company and commonly known as Kellogg's, is an American Multinational corporation, multinational food manufacturing company headquartered in Chicago, Illinois, US. Kellanova produces and markets con ...
.[
In 1963, they recorded a song, "Hey, Look Him Over!" for ]Birch Bayh
Birch Evans Bayh Jr. (; January 22, 1928 – March 14, 2019) was an American politician. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he served as a member of United States Senate from 1963 to 1981. He was first elected t ...
's Senatorial campaign against incumbent Homer Capehart. The song, telling voters how to pronounce Bayh's name, ran extensively in commercials in the weeks leading up to the election, and was credited in part with Bayh's victory. The commercial went on to win a Clio Award
The Clio Awards, also simply known as The Clios, is an annual award program that recognizes innovation and creative excellence in advertising, design, and communication, as judged by an international panel of advertising professionals. The awar ...
.[
A July 1964 '']Time
Time is the continuous progression of existence that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, and into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequ ...
'' article reported that they were earning $250,000 per year for their work, and that even Broadway producers interested to hire Jamie learned that she was out of their price range.[ Jamie and Joe declined invitations to go on tour, opting to stay in Chicago with their two daughters, Jana and Risa. Their primary activity was always commercial, but they did record three albums for Columbia Records, including both original songs and covers of ]standards Standard may refer to:
Symbols
* Colours, standards and guidons, kinds of military signs
* Standard (emblem), a type of a large symbol or emblem used for identification
Norms, conventions or requirements
* Standard (metrology), an object t ...
and show tunes
A show tune is a song originally written as part of the score of a work of musical theatre or musical film, especially if the piece in question has become a standard, more or less detached in most people's minds from the original context.
Th ...
.[
Despite not concentrating on recording albums, The J's with Jamie received two ]Grammy Awards
The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious a ...
nominations at the 1964 ceremony. Their album ''Hey, Look Us Over!'' earned a nomination for Best Performance by a Vocal Group, losing to Peter, Paul and Mary
Peter, Paul and Mary were an American Contemporary folk music, folk group formed in New York City in 1961 during the American folk music revival. The trio consisted of Peter Yarrow (guitar, tenor vocals), Paul Stookey (guitar, baritone vocals), ...
(for "Blowin' in the Wind
"Blowin' in the Wind" is a song written by Bob Dylan in 1962. It was released as a single and included on his album '' The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan'' in 1963. It has been described as a protest song and poses a series of rhetorical questions about ...
"), and they were in the running for Best New Artist
The Grammy Award for Best New Artist has been awarded since the 2nd Annual Grammy Awards in 1960 (except in 1967) "for a new artist who releases, during the Eligibility Year, the first recording which establishes the public identity of that ar ...
, which was won by The Swingle Singers
The Swingles are an a cappella vocal group. The Swingle Singers were originally formed in 1962 in Paris under the leadership of Ward Swingle. In 1973, Swingle disbanded the French group, and formed an English group known initially as Swingle I ...
.[ A single from the album, "Yoshiko," earned some international attention, even reaching the #1 on the Radio Malaysia chart in 1964.][
In 1966 and 1967, the Silvias released two more albums on ]ABC Records
ABC Records was an American record label founded in New York City in 1955. It originated as the main popular music label operated by the Am-Par Record Corporation. Am-Par also created the Impulse! jazz label in 1960. It acquired many labels bef ...
as Jamie and the J. Silvia Singers, retaining their familiar style.[ The J's with Jamie formally disbanded in 1967, when the couple moved to ]New York City
New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
to found a commercial production house.[ Shelton and Dresslar remained in Chicago, teaming up with Bonnie Herman and Shelton's bandmate from The Hi-Lo's, ]Gene Puerling
Eugene Thomas Puerling (March 31, 1929 – March 25, 2008) was an American vocal performer and arranger. Puerling created and led two prominent vocal quartets, The Hi-Lo's and The Singers Unlimited. He was nominated for 14 Grammys and awarded the ...
, to form another successful commercial music group, The Singers Unlimited
The Singers Unlimited was a four-part jazz vocal group formed by Gene Puerling in 1971. The group included Len Dresslar (better known as the Jolly Green Giant in General Mills commercials), Bonnie Herman, and Don Shelton.
History
Gene Puerl ...
.[
]
Reception and legacy
The J's with Jamie are best known for their work in marketing. A ''Time'' article about them titled "Oratorios for industry" called them "the best commercial-single ensemble n whichall four singers deliver their words with the sort of enunciation that makes poets out of admen."[ Among other recognition for their work in advertising, they received a Clio Award for a political commercial in 1963.
They also received a positive reception for the musical quality of their popular music work.][ In the 1962 ''Billboard'' Artist Popularity Poll, they were ranked 5th in the "Most Promising Vocal Group" category.][ They received two Grammy Award nominations in 1964 following the release of ''Hey, Look Us Over!'' A '']Variety
Variety may refer to:
Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats
* Variety (radio)
* Variety show, in theater and television
Films
* ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont
* ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...
'' review of that album noted that The J's with Jamie sound young and "sprightly," but show a wide range of genres and "professional efficiency."[ In their review, '']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 advertis ...
'' said the group was "the best thing to come around since The Modernaires
The Modernaires were an American vocal group, best known for performing in the 1940s with the Glenn Miller Orchestra.
Career
The Modernaires began in 1934 as "Don Juan, Two and Three," a trio of schoolmates from Lafayette High School in Buffa ...
" and remarked on their "matchless vocal quality and attention to detail."[ Music journalist Marc Myers described Jamie's voice as "lovely and special ]ith
The Ith () is a ridge in Germany's Central Uplands which is up to 439 m high. It lies about 40 km southwest of Hanover and, at 22 kilometers, is the longest line of crags in North Germany.
Geography
Location
The Ith is i ...
an upbeat warmth and polished perfection to her intonation that came with a girl-next-door naturalism reminiscent of Eydie Gorme Eydie may refer to:
* Eydie Gormé (1928–2013), American singer.
* Steve and Eydie, an American pop vocal duet,
* Eydie Whittington, a Democratic politician in Washington, D.C.
* The World Of Steve & Eydie, a 1972 album released by Steve Lawrenc ...
."[
Despite being Grammy-nominated and being among the most prominent vocal performers on the radio in the United States in the 1960s, little is known about the group.][ In 1964 '']Time Magazine
''Time'' (stylized in all caps as ''TIME'') is an American news magazine based in New York City. It was published weekly for nearly a century. Starting in March 2020, it transitioned to every other week. It was first published in New York Cit ...
'' wrote that "they have probably been heard by more people more times than any other group in the history of sound. Yet next to nobody knows who they are. They are the world's most successful singers of TV commercials."[ A ]WFMU
WFMU (91.1 MHz) is a non-commercial educational station, non-commercial, listener-supported, independent radio, independent community radio station city of license, licensed to East Orange, New Jersey, with studios in Jersey City. It is owned by ...
blog noted that although the Columbia records are long out of print, bootlegs in Japan have had a "substantial" influence on J-pop
J-pop (often stylized in all caps; an abbreviated form of "Japanese popular music"), natively known simply as , is the name for a form of popular music that entered the musical mainstream of Japan in the 1990s. Modern J-pop has its roots in trad ...
.[
]
Discography
For most of their recording career, the group worked with Columbia Records, which released three LPs, several singles, and promotional albums. In the late 1960s, as Jamie and the J. Silvia Singers, they issued two more LPs with ABC.
As The J's with Jamie
Albums
* ''Hey, Look us Over!'' (Columbia, 1963, CL-2005/CS-8805)
* ''The Remarkable J's with Jamie'' (Columbia, 1964, CL-2149/CS-8949)
* ''The Two Sides of the J's with Jamie'' (Columbia Special Products, 1963, XCTV-96680) – not released commercially[
Singles
* "Momma, Momma, Momma" /"The Sound Of Money" (1962, Columbia 4-42422)
* "One Little World Apart" / "Let's Not Be Sensible" (1962, Columbia 4-42488)
* "Laugh It Up" / "Nowhere To Go But Up" (1962, Columbia 4-42595)
* "Little Me" / "Come On Strong" (1962, Columbia 4-42635)
* "Your Dog" / "For The Last Time" (1963, Columbia 4-42855)
* "Here's Love" / "Au Revoir" (1963, Columbia 4-42903)
* "This Old House" / "London (Is A Little Bit All Right)" (1963, Columbia 4-42939)
* "Yoshiko" / "Everybody Says Don't" (1964, Columbia 4-43017)
* "Theme From 'A Summer Place'" / "Popsicles In Paris" (1964, Columbia 4-43068)
EP's:
* ''The J's With Jamie'' (1963, Columbia JZSP 75720/75699)][Jacket has text: "Special presentation record to the Music Operators of America, Inc. 11th annual convention from the J's with Jamie and Columbia Records."]
* ''Seasons Greetings'' (1963, Columbia ZCTV-94306/94307)
As Jamie and the J. Silvia Singers
Albums
* ''Jamie and the J. Silvia Singers'' (ABC, 1966, LP, ABC-562/ABCS-562)[
* ''Encore'' (ABC, 1967, LP, ABCS-592)][
Singles
* "It's Not Unusual" / "It Was A Lover And His Lass" (1966, ABC 45–10867)
]
Notes
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:J's with Jamie, The
Columbia Records artists
Jingle composers
Jingle writers
Musical groups from Chicago
Married couples