Joe Jones (singer)
Joe Jones | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Joseph Charles Jones |
| Born | August 12, 1926 R&B |
| Occupation(s) | Singer, songwriter, arranger |
| Labels | Capitol, Roulette, Ric |
Joseph Charles Jones (August 12, 1926 – November 27, 2005)
Career
Jones served in the U.S. Navy, where he played piano in a band, before studying music at the Juilliard Conservatory of Music. He formed a band, Joe Jones and his Atomic Rebops, in the late 1940s; band members played on Roy Brown's 1947 hit "Good Rocking Tonight".[4] He was expelled from the New Orleans local chapter of the American Federation of Musicians for attempting to set up a rival organization but was later reinstated.[4]
Jones became a valet, then pianist and arranger for
Jones claimed to have composed many songs, including the song "Iko Iko." Although his assertions were originally successful, a federal jury and then Court of Appeals ruled that Jones did not write "Iko Iko," that his claims were fraudulent, and that the true writers were the band he managed, the Dixie Cups (the true original recording of this song had been released as Checker 787 by New Orleans singer and pianist Sugar Boy Crawford and his Cane Cutters in late 1953). The band hired music attorney Oren Warshavsky, who had previously won a case demonstrating that Jones falsely professed ownership of another Mardi Gras classic song, "It Ain't My Fault." Jones also failed in his bid to declare title (though not as an author) to yet another Mardi Gras classic song, "Carnival Time." He also recorded the original "California Sun" on Roulette Records in 1961, which was made a hit by the Rivieras in 1963.[7]
He later moved into
In 2021, the Dixie Cups' Rosa Lee Hawkins revealed that she had been sexually abused by Jones, but has not let the painful memory sour her love of singing with The Dixie Cups. "We love what we do and that's coming from our heart. When we walk onstage to perform, we leave him behind. We leave his memory behind. The only time we talk about him is if somebody calls and says they want to do an interview. We know Joe is a so-and-so, but we have to realize it was him that, as they say, discovered us on that talent show, so that's all he deserves. He stole from us. We got one royalty check. I think it was $423 apiece."[8]
He died in 2005 from complications from quadruple bypass surgery.[3]
Discography
Singles
| Year | Title | Peak chart positions |
Record Label | B-side | Album | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Pop |
US R&B | |||||
| 1954 | "Will Call" | — | — | Capitol | "Adam Bit the Apple" | |
| 1956 | "You Done Me Wrong" | — | — | Herald | "When Your Hair Has Turned To Silver" | |
| 1958 | "A-Tisket A-Tasket" | — | — | Roulette | "Every Night About Eight" | |
| "The Prisoner's Song" | — | — | "To Prove My Love to You" | |||
| 1960 | "You Talk Too Much" | 3 | 9 | "I Love You Still" | You Talk Too Much | |
| "One Big Mouth (Two Big Ears)" | — | — | "Here's What You Gotta Do" | |||
| 1961 | "California Sun" | 89 | — | "Please Don’t Talk About Me When I'm Gone" | ||
| "(I've Got A) Uh Uh Wife" | — | — | "The Big Mule" | |||
References
- ISBN 978-0313344237.
- ^ ISBN 0-85112-939-0.
- ^ a b Doc Rock. "The Dead Rock Stars Club 2005 July To December". Thedeadrockstarsclub.com. Retrieved November 15, 2012.
- ^ a b c d e Joe Jones Obituary, The Independent, 24 December 2005. Retrieved October 12, 2016
- ^ "Roulette Buys Jones Master From Ric" (PDF). Billboard. October 10, 1960. p. 4.
- ^ a b Ankeny, Jason. "Joe Jones – Music Biography, Credits and Discography". AllMusic. Retrieved November 15, 2012.
- ^ "The Rivieras cover of Joe Jones's 'California Sun'". WhoSampled.com. Retrieved January 21, 2020.
- ^ Masley, Ed. "'We were young girls that didn't know A from Z': A '60s girl group shares stories of abuse". The Arizona Republic. Retrieved September 18, 2021.
External links
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| National | |
| Artists | |
