From: "Dik de Heer" Date: Fri May 10, 2002 2:00 am Subject: Born To Be With You : Groovy Joe Poovey GROOVY JOE POOVEY (By Phil Davies) Born Arnold Joseph Poovey, May 10th 1941, Dallas, Texas Died of a heart attack on October 6th 1998, Dallas, Texas His start in show business came at the tender age of 12. His parents had encouraged him to learn the guitar and by 1953 he was fronting his own country band, the Hillbilly Boys, and playing the prestigious Big D Jamboree where he was billed as Jumping Joe Poovey. The Jamboree was a regular weekly show similar to the Opry and was broadcast on KRLD for two hours every Saturday evening. His first appearance on wax came in 1955. Earney Vandagriff and the Big D Boys were all set to cut a country number called 'Christmas Filled With Cheer' and roped in young Poovey to provide a recitation. The recording was made at Jim Beck's studio in Dallas and Joe was allowed to take the vocals on the flip side, 'Santa's Helper', a number penned by his father, Bernice Poovey. The disc was released on the Rural Rhythm label out of California. The year of 1955 also saw the arrival of Elvis Presley at the Big D Jamboree. Presley was still some months away from international stardom but was working one-nighters around the South and shaking up the country music establishment with his wild rockabilly show. The impact that he made was so sensational that Joe soon dropped the hillbilly numbers from his act and started to develop his own rockabilly style. Whilst at the Jamboree he had met a writer and producer called Jim Shell. They worked together on several songs in the new style and laid down some excellent recordings such as 'Nursery Rock', 'Sweet Louella' and 'My Life's Ambition' which are now well-known to European fans but which at the time did not see the light of day. First Joe Poovey Rockabilly Record to reach the shops was a real gem. 'Move Around' appeared in 1957 on Dixie, a subsidiary of Starday Records, and is top quality rockabilly. It was written by Les Gilliam who played rhythm guitar, and featured Joe on vocals, with Chuck Jennings on guitar, Mickey Jones (drums), Bobby Rambo (bass), Albert Talley (steel), C.B. Oliver (piano), Eddie McDuff doing the harmonies, and Orville Couch handclapping and stomping in the background. The following year Jim Shell and Poovey returned to the Sellers Studio in Dallas with a Jerry Lee Lewis styled piano rocker that they had co-written, and came out with a record that even topped 'Move Around'. Part-time Blue Cap and part-time member of Johnny Carroll's Spinners, Howard Reed supplied the guitar work and C. B. Oliver scorched knuckles with a pounding piano solo. 'Ten Long Fingers' should have been a smash hit and elevated Groovy Joe Poovey into the Big League. Instead, he remained very much a local artist continuing to work in the Dallas/Fort Worth area. After one single on Azalea, he moved back into country music during the sixties and for a spell worked with Russell Sims as both performer and songwriter. Five singles appeared on the Sims label and during this period Poovey compositions were recorded by several artists including George Jones, Johnny Paycheck, Wynn Stewart and Jimmy Patton. By 1966 Joe was trying his luck with Little Darlin' Records owned by Aubrey Mayhew. Seeking a new image, he changed his name to Johnny Dallas and the fresh approach paid off with a chart record. 'Heart Full Of Love' entered the Billboard listings in December 1966 enjoying a seven week run. No follow-up hit was forthcoming, however, and after a final single on Media, Joe allowed his recording career to wind down. He had been increasingly active in radio since the fifties and now concentrated full-time on disc jockey work. At different times he broadcast for KMAE out of McKinney, KJIM Fort Worth, KPCN Grand Prairie and KNON Dallas. Perhaps this is the way the Joe Poovey story would have continued with just the occasional country single to remind the public what a fine artist he was, but the resurgence of interest in rockabilly changed the script for him. Ten Long Fingers had belatedly gained a British release on the tiny Sussex-based Injun label and had become a firm favourite with the European rockabilly aficionados. In California, Rollin' Rock Records did a deal with Jim Shell in the mid-seventies and issued an EP with five previously unheard cuts from the fifties. Suddenly Joe found his career re-activating and, donning a distinctive blue cowboy hat, he became Texas Joe Poovey in the States with new singles appearing on the Carol, Donny and Leder labels. In November 1980 Poovey made his first trip to Europe playing dates with the Blue Cats and recording an EP for Misty Mountain Records, which was produced at Regent Sound Studios in London by Dave Travis. A single, 'You Are My Sunshine', was issued in the UK by President. He returned to Europe in February 1984, this time backed by the Dave Travis Band, and split his shows between country and rockabilly. Nearly five years elapsed before Joe Poovey's return visit and during that time two albums appeared, his first in more than 30 years. Sunjay Records of Sweden issued 'The Two Sides Of Groovey Joe Poovey' in 1985 and the following year the German label Dee Jay Jamboree gave us 'Yesterday And Today'. They contain the early rockabilly cuts that were laid down with Jim Shell, and the German release also included some newer material recorded in the eighties, including a cover of Dave Travis' excellent Lightnin' Cross the Sky which became a favourite on the club scene. Joe described to a Dallas reporter how he enjoyed his European trips, "Those guys treat you like royalty, sure different from here, nobody knows me here!" Back home he joined the Teamsters and got a job as transportation chief of a number of film/tv companies, working for stars on Dallas (driving Priscilla around) and Walker Texas Ranger starring the Crowthorne cowboy. He worked as a dj on various local stations and still recorded intermittently and worked closely with good guy David Dennard of Dragon Street Records on a career overview cd. Sadly Joe died before the album came out. He'd suffered from heart problems during his final years. Recommended listening: Greatest Grooves - Dragon Street Records/Rollercoaster Vol 1 & 2 Starday/Dixie Rab - Various artists - Ace Much of the above from an Ian Wallis article used on the Poovey RHOF page (http://www.rockabillyhall.com/JoePoovey.html)