Joe Dowell (January 23, 1940 – February 4, 2016)[1] was an American pop singer.

Career

He was born in Bloomington, Indiana, United States,[2] 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 No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100. It sold over one million copies and was awarded a gold disc.[3] 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.[4] 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.[5]

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.[1][6]

Discography

Singles

Year Title US
Hot 100		 US
Easy Listening		 Label
1961"Wooden Heart" / "Little Bo Peep"11Smash 1708
1961"The Bridge of Love" / "Just Love Me"5010Smash 1717
1962"Little Red Rented Rowboat" / "The One I Left for You"23--Smash 1759
1962"Poor Little Cupid" / "No Secrets"----Smash 1786

References

  1. 1 2 "Joe Dowell, had No. 1 hit with 'Wooden Heart," dies at 76 - US News". 6 February 2016. Archived from the original on 2016-02-06. Retrieved 24 August 2021.
  2. ↑ Colin Larkin, ed. (1992). The Guinness Encyclopedia of Popular Music (First ed.). Guinness Publishing. p. 727. ISBN 0-85112-939-0.
  3. ↑ Murrells, Joseph (1978). The Book of Golden Discs (2nd ed.). London: Barrie and Jenkins Ltd. p. 134. ISBN 0-214-20512-6.
  4. ↑ Joe Dowell, AllMusic
  5. ↑ "Joe Dowell: An insanely complete post-Smash/Mercury discography". Musicweird.com. 2014-01-26. Retrieved 2014-03-29.
  6. ↑ "Joe Dowell, had No. 1 hit with 'Wooden Heart," dies at 76". Archived from the original on 2016-02-09. Retrieved 2015-02-04.
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