Col Joye

On Wednesday August 6th I was at home about to go for a shower when I heard on 4BH news that Australian rock and roll singer Col Joye passed away which I then told my Mum about it and I was sad about it even though I've been aware that he had health issues for some time. Col Joye was born Colin Fredrick Jacobsen April 13th 1936 to George and Minnie Jacobsen as he was one of 4 children with 2 brothers Kevin and Keith and sister Carol and left school at 14 to work an jewellery. Col played in an group called the KJ Quintet which had Kevin and Keith Jacobsen and they became Col Joye and the Joy Boys which they played at the Manly Jazzerama as well as playing at the dances around Bankstown and also were used to warm up the audiences at the screenings of the Tommy Steele Story. Col and the Joy Boys began recording for Festival Records in 1958 which they released an EP called Joyride and in released their 1st single in 1959 with an version of the Lloyd Price song Stagger Lee but it was the 2nd single that launched Col Joye and the Joy Boys was Bye Bye Baby which was a cover of the Sonny Williams song and it went to number 1 in Sydney, number 2 in Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth and number 3 in Melbourne which was the start of 16 hits he would achieve between 1959 until 1973 that would also include Rockin Rollin Clementine, Oh Yeah Uh Huh which was an national number 1 as well as in Sydney, Brisbane, Melbourne, Adelaide and Hobart and number 13 in Perth which made Col Joye the first Australian rock and roll singer to have a national number 1, Teenage Baby, bad Man, Yes Sir That's My baby, Today Teardrops, Be Bop A Lula and Heaven Is My Woman's Love an number 1 in 1973. Col was one of the regulars on the iconic Australian music show Bandstand which was hosted by Brian Henderson who would become an very well known Sydney newsreader and was also on the bill of the Lee Gordon tours which his first was the Johnny Cash tour with the Tennessee Two, Gene Vincent, Robin Luke, Frankie Sardo and The Playmates which included Brisbane at the Milton Tennis Courts April 20th 1959, The Everly brothers Tour(May-June 1959 ),Battle of The Big Beat (July 1959), Fabian(October 1959),(The Everly Brothers/Bobby Rydell/Crash Craddock/Marv Johnson and the Crickets (Perth May 1960), Ricky Nelson(September 1960), Brenda Lee, Bobby Rydell and Duane Eddy(January 1961), Connie Francis, Bobby Vee, The Ventures, Donnie Brooks and Johnny Burnette(April 1961) and Chubby Checker(January 1963) as well was on the bill of the Everly Brothers tour October 1961 with Bobby Vee and Mark Wynter which included Brisbane October 9th 1961 at Festival Hall and Col had an great back up band with the Joy Boys which besides from Kevin and Keith Jacobsen had great guitar players first with Dave Bridge who would go on to success with The Dave Bridge Quartet/Trio and Norm Day and John Bogie on drums which they were great players who would go on to have hits in their own right as well as backing Col. Col also hosted Jumpin With Joye on Channel 9 in 1961 and the Col Joye Show on the ABC in 1966 and Col and Kevin started to built an influential entertainment management which including publishing and recording business including the ATA Studios in Glebe NSW which it worked with developing and managing acts and also had the Jacobsen Entertainment that would go on for many years. Col played an part in the Bee Gees story as he was performing on the Gold Coast in the early 60's which the brothers Barry, Robin and Maurice Gibb who were living there as they had been living in Brisbane including Redcliffe after emigrating from England in 1958 which the name Bee Gees was given to them by Brisbane disc jockey Bill Gates from 4BH after the connections of the BG names Bill Goode an race car driver who heard them sing at Redcliffe Speedway, Bill Gates, Barry Gibb, the mother Barbara Gibb and Brothers Gibb when they first met him as they sang for him and Kevin which they were impressed with their harmonies and it was through them that they went to Sydney which they would record for Festival and as they say the rest is history which Col recorded Underneath the Starlight of Love in 1963 which was a hit written by Barry Gibb and Love Is Blind for the All The Way album in 2004 and also managing and producing younger brother Andy when he lived here in the mid 70's. Col performed with Little Pattie in 1966 in Vietnam which they were performing when the Battle Of Long Tan happened on August 18th 1966 and also performing in Japan and Papua New Guinea in the mid 60's. Col continued to record and toured when the hit making days ended and in 1981 was awarded an AM for his entertainment and philanthropic works and also was inducted into the ARIA Hall Of Fame in 1988. In 1989 was on the bill of the Legends of Rock n Roll tour with Lesley Gore, Chuck Berry, The Everly brothers, Mary Wilson (The Supremes), Bo Diddley and Jerry Lee Lewis which the Melbourne show was shown on Channel 7 and in 1990 Col had an accident when he fell over and hit his head on the brick paving which he was in a coma but recovered and went back on the road in 1998. In 2002 and 2003 he was on the bill of the Long Way To The Top tour both the city and regional tours which he opened the show and was on the 2012 tour he was on the tour celebrating 10 years when that tour happened which it was his last tour But made appearances at different events playing ukulele as well as getting interviewed on TV and radio. I got to see Col Joye live 3 times which the first was the Long Way To The Top concert at the Brisbane Entertainment Centre Tuesday September 10th 2002, Kedron Wavell with Judy Stone which I went with my Mum Cath Friday August 13th 2004 and Twin Towns with Little Pattie which Mum came with me Sunday June 12th 2005 during Wintersun which was FANTASTIC all 3 of them with Col being entertaining as well as having an great sense of Humour and getting the crowds to sing along to the songs like doing Be Bop A Lula he would get the ladies to sing along first and the guys which Mum said to me not too loud and also came out after the show to sign autographs and photos which I got mine too . He was an nice man and an true entertainer giving people an great show and with his passing it's the end of the era but what he and Johnny O' Keefe started opened the doors for many artists who have come along since and what the industry it is today was because of JOK and Col and also the great music he made from the 50's to the 2000's lives on today which it will be around as well as hoping for an CD compilation as well as the albums from the era on CD as there hasn't been one for a long time. Thank You for the Music Col Joye and the legacy.