Jo Armstead

Last updated
Jo Armstead
Loz joshie3.png
Joshie Jo Armstead in NYC at a Melvin Van Peebles performance
Background information
Birth nameJosephine Armstead
Also known asJoshie Jo Armstead
Joshie Armstead
Jossie Armstead
Dina Johnson
Born (1944-10-08) October 8, 1944 (age 79)
Yazoo City, Mississippi, U.S.
Genres R&B, soul
Occupation(s) Singer, songwriter, actress
Instrument(s) Vocals
Years active1961 - 1990s
LabelsDe-Lex, Infinity, Giant, Gospel Truth, Preacher Rose

Josephine Armstead (born October 8, 1944), [1] also known as "Joshie" Jo Armstead, is an American soul singer and songwriter. Armstead began her career singing backing vocals for blues musician Bobby "Blue" Bland before becoming an Ikette in the Ike & Tina Turner Revue in the early 1960s. She also had some success as a solo singer, her biggest hit being "A Stone Good Lover" in 1968. As a songwriter, Armstead teamed up with Ashford & Simpson. The trio wrote hits for various artists, including Ray Charles, Aretha Franklin, Tina Britt, Ronnie Milsap, and Syl Johnson. [2] In the 1970s, Armstead appeared in the Broadway musicals Don't Play Us Cheap and Seesaw.

Contents

Life and career

Armstead was born to Wilton and Rosie Armstead in Yazoo City, Mississippi on October 8, 1944. [3] She started singing in the church in which her mother was a minister. After her grandfather introduced her to blues music, she also began singing in juke joints and at dances, and first sang in a club as part of Bobby "Blue" Bland's band. She joined a local band, Little Melvin & The Downbeats, as a teenager.

In 1960, Armstead along with Eloise Hester and Delores Johnson became The Ikettes as part of the Ike & Tina Turner Revue. [1] [4] She had been recommended to Ike Turner by her sister Velma Dishman who was his ex-wife. [5] As an Ikette, Armstead recorded the single "I'm Blue (The Gong-Gong Song)" which peaked at No. 19 on the Billboard Hot 100 and No. 3 on the R&B chart. [6] In 1962, Armstead settled in New York City and recorded under the name Dina Johnson, by her own account a pseudonym to avoid being tracked down by Turner. [4] However, she recalled her time as an Ikette fondly: "It was the greatest but you had to be young to travel the Chitlin' Circuit as they called it. We weren’t flying and we didn’t stay in 5-star hotels. It was really rough. You really had to be young but it was fun and we joked and laughed a lot." She added, "I have the utmost respect for Ike Turner as an artist and what he created." [5]

After her tenure as an Ikette, Armstead recorded advertising jingles and sang back-up for such musicians as James Brown, Walter Jackson and B.B. King, before a chance meeting with Nick Ashford and Valerie Simpson. They began writing songs together, one of the first results being "Let's Go Get Stoned", which became an R&B chart no. 1 hit for Ray Charles in 1966. [7] Its follow-up "I Don't Need No Doctor" was also a hit. The trio of writers also had success with songs for Chuck Jackson, Maxine Brown and Tina Britt. [1] [4] Armstead also wrote or co-wrote hits for other artists, including "Cry Like a Baby" by Aretha Franklin, "Casonova" by Ruby Andrews, "Jealous Kind of Fella" by Garland Green, "Come On Sock It to Me" by Syl Johnson, and "Drop By My Place" by Carl Carlton. [2] [1] [4]

After Ashford and Simpson joined Motown, Armstead moved to Chicago in 1967 with her husband, record producer Mel Collins, and formed Giant Productions. The Giant label released her single "I Feel An Urge Coming On" which, although not successful at the time, later became a favorite with Northern soul audiences in the UK. Two of her follow-up records, "A Stone Good Lover" and "I've Been Turned On", both made the R&B chart in 1968.

Armstead returned to New York after her marriage deteriorated and continued as a singer and writer of commercials. She was a backing vocalist on Bob Dylan's 1971 single "George Jackson", and sang backing vocals on Roberta Flack's album Quiet Fire (1971). Armstead had a role in the 1972 Broadway production of Melvin Van Peebles' musical, Don't Play Us Cheap , and its 1973 film adaptation. In the early 1970s, she signed to the Gospel Truth label, an offshoot of Stax, and recorded several singles as Joshie Jo Armstead, of which the most successful was "Stumblin' Blocks, Steppin' Stones" in 1974. She also sang as a backing singer for Stax. After Stax Records collapsed, Armstead continued to write songs through her own publishing company, and also worked as a fashion designer. She provided vocals for four titles on the 1977 Burt Bacharach LP Futures. In the 1980s, after returning to Chicago, Armstead had a spell managing a boxer, Alfonso Ratliff. She recorded for her own Prairie Rose Records in the 1990s. [4]

Armstead was a 2006 STAR (Special Thanks And Recognition) honoree, awarded by the Metro New York Chapter of the Jackson State University Alumni Association. [3]

A version of Armstead's song "I Feel An Urge Coming On," performed by Nick Waterhouse, has been used in the television soundtracks of CW shows Riverdale and Black Lightning. [8]

Selected discography

Singles

YearSingle
US Pop
[9]
US
R&B

[9]
1962"Never Try To Love No More"
1963"Sitting Here Thinking"
1968"A Stone Good Lover"12928
"I've Been Turned On"50
"I Feel An Urge Coming On"
1969"Another Reason Why I Love You"
1970"I'm Gonna Show You (How A Man Is Supposed To Be Treated)"
1973"I Got The Vibes"
1974"Stumblin' Blocks, Steppin' Stones (What Took Me So Long)"91
1989"In The Right Place "

Backing vocal credits

Songwriting credits

Stage

YearProductionRoleNotes
1972 Don't Play Us Cheap! Mrs. WashingtonOriginal Broadway Production
1973 Seesaw Sophie [Replacement]Original Broadway Production

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ike Turner</span> American musician (1931–2007)

Izear Luster "Ike" Turner Jr. was an American musician, bandleader, songwriter, record producer, and talent scout. An early pioneer of 1950s rock and roll, he is best known for his work in the 1960s and 1970s with his wife Tina Turner as the leader of the Ike & Tina Turner Revue.

<i>Whats Love Got to Do with It</i> (1993 film) 1993 film directed by Brian Gibson

What's Love Got to Do with It is a 1993 American biographical film based on the life of American singer-songwriter Tina Turner. Directed by Brian Gibson and written by Kate Lanier from a uncredited story draft by the late Howard Ashman, based on Tina's 1986 autobiography I, Tina, it stars Angela Bassett as Tina and Laurence Fishburne as her abusive husband Ike Turner.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ike & Tina Turner</span> American musical duo

Ike & Tina Turner were an American musical duo consisting of husband and wife Ike Turner and Tina Turner. From 1960 to 1976, they performed live as the Ike & Tina Turner Revue, supported by Ike Turner's band the Kings of Rhythm and backing vocalists called the Ikettes. The Ike & Tina Turner Revue was regarded as "one of the most potent live acts on the R&B circuit."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ashford & Simpson</span> American songwriting and recording duo

Ashford & Simpson were an American husband-and-wife songwriting, production, recording duo composed of Nickolas Ashford and Valerie Simpson.

Venetta Lee Fields is an American-born Australian singer and musical theater actress, and vocal coach.

<i>Anthology</i> (Ray Charles album) 1988 greatest hits album by Ray Charles

Anthology is the first compact disc to collect many of soul music icon Ray Charles' ABC-Paramount-era recordings. AllMusic considers it to be "the best single CD collection of Ray Charles' '60s and '70s ABC-Paramount material", while Rhino Records, the issuing label, refers to it in the liner notes as "the compact disc edition of Ray Charles' Greatest Hits", alluding to the two Rhino LPs issued the same year. It is one of the first CDs to be released by Rhino.

Claudia Lennear is an American soul singer and educator. Lennear began her performing with the Superbs before becoming an Ikette in the Ike & Tina Turner Revue. She was also a background vocalist for various acts, including Joe Cocker, Leon Russell, and Freddie King. She released her only solo album in 1973. Lennear was featured in the 2013 Oscar-winning documentary 20 Feet from Stardom. She was inducted in the Rhode Island Music Hall of Fame in 2019.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Ikettes</span> American backing vocalists for the Ike & Tina Turner Revue

The Ikettes, originally The Artettes, were a trio of female backing vocalists for the Ike & Tina Turner Revue. Despite their origins, the Ikettes became successful artists in their own right. In the 1960s they had hits such as "I'm Blue " and "Peaches 'N' Cream". In 2017, Billboard ranked "I'm Blue " No. 63 on its list of 100 Greatest Girl Group Songs of All Time.

"I Don't Need No Doctor" is an R&B song written by Nick Ashford, Valerie Simpson, and Jo Armstead. First released by Ashford on Verve in August 1966, it went nowhere. It was then picked up and recorded by Ray Charles and released in October 1966. Over the years, it has been covered by bands such as garage rock band The Chocolate Watchband in 1969, Humble Pie in 1971, New Riders of the Purple Sage in 1972, metal band W.A.S.P. in 1986, by rock band Great White in 1987, and by the garage punk band The Nomads in 1989. Styx also covered this song. Humble Pie's version reached No. 73 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart and No. 72 in Canada.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kathi McDonald</span> American blues and rock singer and songwriter (1948-2012)

Kathryn Marie "Kathi" McDonald was an American blues and rock singer and songwriter. As a teenager she sang with different bands around the Pacific Northwest before she was discovered by Ike Turner. She sang as an Ikette with Ike & Tina Turner and eventually replaced Janis Joplin as the front woman of Big Brother and Holding Company. McDonald became a background vocalist for various artists, including Leon Russell, Joe Cocker, The Rolling Stones, Freddie King, and Long John Baldry. She also recorded as a solo artist and fronted her own band Kathi McDonald & Friends.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">I'm Blue (The Gong-Gong Song)</span> 1961 single by The Ikettes

"I'm Blue " is a song written by Ike Turner and recorded by Ike & Tina Turner's backing trio The Ikettes in 1961. In 2017, Billboard ranked the song No. 63 on their list of 100 Greatest Girl Group Songs of All Time.

Tina Britt is an American R&B singer who had two hits on the Billboard R&B chart in the 1960s. She released one album Blue All The Way, and six 45s between 1965 and 1970.

Robbie Montgomery is an American singer and restaurateur. She is noted for being one of the original Ikettes in the Ike & Tina Turner Revue in the 1960s. After her tenure as an Ikette, she was a member of the Mirettes, and then became a "Night Tripper" for Dr. John. In the 1970s, Montgomery was a backing vocalist for acts such as Stevie Wonder, Barbra Streisand, the Rolling Stones, and Joe Cocker. She later created the Sweetie Pie's franchise, and starred in the award-winning reality series Welcome to Sweetie Pie's.

<i>Soul Sister</i> (Aretha Franklin album) 1966 studio album by Aretha Franklin

Soul Sister is the eighth studio album by American singer Aretha Franklin, released in 1966 by Columbia Records.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Maxayn Lewis</span> American singer

Maxayn Lewis is an American soul singer, musician, songwriter, and producer. She began her career in the 1960s, under her birth name Paulette Parker, as member of the Ikettes in the Ike & Tina Turner Revue. In the 1970s, Lewis sang lead in the band Maxayn with her then-husband Andre Lewis. She was described as "a cross between Aretha Franklin and Roberta Flack." The group eventually morphed to Mandré.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Esther Jones (singer)</span> American singer (1945–2006)

Esther Jones was an American soul singer and choreographer, best known as the "longest-lasting Ikette" in the Ike & Tina Turner Revue. In the 1980s, she was the lead vocalist in the band Formula 5.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jessie Smith (singer)</span> American R&B vocalist (1941–2021)

Jessie Smith was an American R&B vocalist. She began her career singing with musician Benny Sharp, recording as Little Miss Jessie, and became best known as one of the original Ikettes in the Ike & Tina Turner Revue. She later sang backing vocals for various artists, including Dr. John, Paul Williams, Al Kooper, José Feliciano, and Leon Ware.

Ruby Alline Bullock was an American songwriter. She was the older full sister of singer Tina Turner. Bullock once served as the manager of the girl group the Ikettes. She wrote songs for Ike & Tina Turner as well as their band the Kings of Rhythm, including "Funkier Than a Mosquita's Tweeter" which was covered by Nina Simone.

<i>Ike & Tina on the Road: 1971–72</i> 2012 American film

On the Road: 1971–72 is a documentary film about Ike & Tina Turner. The footage was assembled by rock photographer Bob Gruen and his wife Nadya. The film was released in 2012 and won the 2014 Living Blues Award for Best Blues DVD of 2013.

Vera Hamilton was an American soul singer. Best known as an Ikette in The Ike & Tina Turner Revue, she also performed as an Otisette with Johnny Otis and recorded as a solo artist.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Jo Armstead | Biography, Albums, Streaming Links". AllMusic. Retrieved 2020-01-21.
  2. 1 2 "Jo Armstead Top Songs as Writer". Music VF, US & UK hits charts.
  3. 1 2 "STAR Award Honoree Josephine "Joshie" Armstead. The Yazoo Herald, 28 Jun 2006". The Yazoo Herald. June 28, 2006. p. 9 via Newspapers.com.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 "SoulMotion.co.uk: Jo Joshie Armstead". 2008-05-13. Archived from the original on 2008-05-13. Retrieved 2020-01-21.
  5. 1 2 "Interview Joshie Armstead". Other Sounds. January 24, 2012. Archived from the original on July 4, 2019. Retrieved May 17, 2019.
  6. Whitburn, Joel (2004). Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942-2004. Record Research. p. 270.
  7. Whitburn, Joel (2004). Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942-2004. Record Research. p. 113.
  8. Wikane, Christian John (30 April 2021). "An Interview with Original Ikette Joshie Jo Armstead". PopMatters.
  9. 1 2 Whitburn, Joel (1996). Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942-1995. Record Research. p. 12.