Joe Dowell (January 23, 1940 – February 4, 2016) was an American pop singer.
Career
He was born in Bloomington, Indiana, and moved to Bloomington, Illinois 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 stateside. In 1961, "Wooden Heart" became the first single released on Smash Records to shoot to #1 on the Billboard Hot 100. It sold over one million copies and was awarded a gold disc.[1] 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.[2] He had two further hits, "The Bridge of Love" (US #50) and "Little Red Rented Rowboat" (US #23),[3] 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 for the Boy Scouts of America and radio jingles.[4]
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 in the prior weekend. He was 76.[5][6]
Discography
Singles
| Year | Title | US Hot 100 | US Easy Listening | Label |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1961 | "Wooden Heart" / "Little Bo Peep" | 1 | 1 | Smash 1708 |
| 1961 | "The Bridge of Love" / "Just Love Me" | 50 | 10 | Smash 1717 |
| 1962 | "Little Red Rented Rowboat" / "The One I Left for You" | 23 | -- | Smash 1759 |
| 1962 | "Poor Little Cupid" / "No Secrets" | -- | -- | Smash 1786 |
References
- ^ Murrells, Joseph (1978). The Book of Golden Discs (2nd ed.). London: Barrie and Jenkins Ltd. p. 134. ISBN 0-214-20512-6.
- ^ Joe Dowell at Allmusic.com
- ^ Billboard Singles, Allmusic.com
- ^ "Joe Dowell: An insanely complete post-Smash/Mercury discography". MusicWeird.com. 2014-01-26. Retrieved 2014-03-29.
- ^ [1]
- ^ "Joe Dowell, had No. 1 hit with 'Wooden Heart," dies at 76". Archived from the original on 2016-02-09. Retrieved 2015-02-04.
External links
- Official site
- Joe Dowell at IMDb
- Joe Dowell Collection, McLean County Museum of History