Joe Dowell

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"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. Murrells, Joseph (1978). The Book of Golden Discs (2nd ed.). London: Barrie and Jenkins Ltd. p. 134. ISBN 0-214-20512-6.
  2. Joe Dowell at Allmusic.com
  3. Billboard Singles, Allmusic.com
  4. "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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