Col Joye - 2004-Along The Way (Australian Classics)

Col Joye, born 1939 in Sydney, is an Australian popular entertainer and entrepreneur. He was the first Australian rock and roll singer to have number one records in Australia and the first Australian to reach the American Billboard charts, with Bye Bye Baby, Stagger Lee, and Oh Yeah Uh Huh, in 1959. With his brothers Kevin and Keith, recording as "Col Joye and the Joyboys", and as a solo artist, Col Joye enjoyed a series of number one hits in the early 1960s in Australia. He was an original member of Brian Henderson's "Bandstand" television program and was on the air there for fourteen years. After the Beatles took music by storm, Col Joye's popularity leveled off, and it was not until 1973 that he had another hit record, Heaven Is My Woman's Love.

Tracklist:
01. Heaven is my womans' love
02. Oh yeah, uh huh
03. Diana
04. Love is a rose
05. Bye bye baby
06. Young love/Love letters Medley
07. Love is blind
08. Touch the morning
09. Sunshine on your face
10. Buddy Holly Medley
11. All shook up
12. I'm gonna sit right down
13. Bill Halley Medley
14. Dont be cruel
15. Be bop a lula
16. Livin' doll
17. Bye bye love
18. Elvis Medley
19. Take me back to rock 'n' roll

Col Joye was Australia's first "pop" star. In 1957 Colin Jacobson joined his brother Kevin's jazz group, the KJ Quintet on rhythm guitar, just as rock and roll music was emerging. The group decided to become one of the first Sydney acts to play the new music, and Colin became its featured vocalist.
They performed wherever they could, more often than not having to organize and run the gigs themselves. They weren't innovators. Their contribution to Australian rock was the way they were able to improvise to get the desired result. Using the rock and roll movies from America as reference, younger brother Keith built the group the electric guitars and amplifiers that weren't available in Australian music stores. Col became famous for his unique 'horned' guitar. They also painted their shoes white before each performance. As well as watching the latest teen movies, on some occasions the band also performed in front of the screen as "support" act to films like 'The Tommy Steele Story'
The KJ Quintet was getting quite a reputation around town, when a local promoter was putting on a major concert and the band won a place on the bill. Thinking this might be a good time to choose a name more in keeping with their new music style, the band came up with Col Joye and The Joy Boys. Just as quickly, they changed their minds, but it was too late. The concert posters had been printed.
The band also caught the eye of Festival Records, and after two EPs and a cover version of Lloyd Price's 'Stagger Lee' Col Joye and the Joy Boys hit the charts in March 1959 with an original song found for them by 2GB disc jockey John Burls. It was a good song, but maybe Col's vocals also accidentally sounded more Australian than any other record the country had heard. The singer had a head cold the day of the recording session, and as a result sounds quite nasally in the chorus. His wheezes and sniffs had been edited out as best as possible.
The Joy Boys' piano player, brother Kevin, was already showing his entrepreneurial flair. It was Kevin who organized for Col to make exclusive performances on Channel Nine's youth oriented hit music family show 'Bandstand'. As well as performing his own records, Col and the band were seen performing popular hits by others. Col Joye might have opted to go in that direction anyway, but 'Bandstand' helped cast Col in the boy next door Mr.Nice Guy role, like a Pat Boone or Ricky Nelson rather than as an Elvis Presley or Jerry Lee Lewis. Johnny O'Keefe had claimed that role for himself anyway.
Col Joye and the Joy Boys' third hit, October 1959's 'Oh Yeah Uh Huh' holds the distinction of being Australia's first locally recorded national number one pop hit. The only other previous local number one record was country singer Slim Dusty's 'Pub With No Beer'. 'Oh Yeah Uh Huh' is also remembered for its unusual backing, the beat provided by the sound of a typewriter.
Col Joye's popularity reached a point where two full time staff were required to cope with all the fan mail. Until 1964 the hits kept coming. Nothing spectacular, professional workman-like records catering to the market of the day, some cover versions and some new songs, often with Col and the Joy Boys augmented by vocal groups like the Bradley Sisters, the Graduates, the Sapphires and the Delltones. Col Joye also perfomed records on his own, and the Joy Boys scored instrumental hits on their own.
Then the Beatles hit and it was all so different. Col Joye had to wait nine years for another hit, 1973's middle of the road ballad, 'Heaven Is My Woman's Love', another national number one, 14 years after the first.
In the meantime, Col Joye and brother Kevin Jacobson built up a strong business in representation management and publishing. They worked on the careers of artists like Little Pattie and Judy Stone, were instrumental in unearthing the Bee Gees, and encouraging Barry Gibb's songwriting. By the time the youngest Gibb, Andy, was ready to start a music career he was able to record for the Jacobsons' ATA label. While Kevin Jacobson retired from the stage completely, Col Joye continued a steady performing and recording career.

Col Joye won several music awards including two ARIA Music Awards and he earned numerous gold and platinum records; he was inducted into the ARIA Hall of Fame in 1988, the first year of such inductions. In 1983 he was awarded the Order of Australia Medal for his entertainment and philanthropic work.
In 1990, Joye sustained serious head injuries when he fell while pruning a tree on his property. Comatose and initially given a poor prognosis, he eventually made a full recovery, but elected to retire from performing. A 2001 television documentary series Long Way To The Top recalled some of Australian music's most notable acts, and brought Joye recognition. The popularity of the television series led to a national tour in 2002 with Joye, and more than twenty other acts participating.
He is featured on an Australian stamp honoring the greatest Australian music, [2] and continues to perform and record pop and country music today.