Joyce, Jimmy (29th April 1923-5th January 1979)

Arranger, bandleader, choral director and vocalist who had his own orchestra in December 1942 which played the Engineer’s Prom at Ohio State University.

On 25^th October 1947, he and Alvino Rey scored a top-ten hit with “Near You”, according to Billboard’s retail sales chart. They were back in the studio on 4^th December 1947 recording “The Friendly Mountains” and “I Wish I Had a Girl” with The Blue Reys.

In 1957, Jimmy was a member of the Randy Van Horne Singers, who were a staple on Nat King Cole’s TV program. He also recorded several Christmas carols that would eventually appear on A Jolly Christmas with Frank Sinatra. On 8^th May 1959, he reunited with Sinatra on his recording of “High Hopes”.

By this time, Jimmy had formed The Jimmy Joyce Singers, who teamed up with Billy May on A Christmas to Remember. On 15^th February 1960, he appeared on Frank Sinatra’s TV special, Here’s to the Ladies. The Randy Van Horne Singers released Sleighride the same year. It should be no surprise that Jimmy made the cut on The Complete Capitol Singles Collection of Frank Sinatra. He also provided the singing voice for Stephen Boyd in the movie Jumbo, released in 1962.

In 1963, The Jimmy Joyce Singers, billed as The Voices of Jimmy Joyce, recorded the Grammy-nominated This is Christmas: A Complete Collection of the Alfred S. Burt Carols. Jimmy was good friends with Alfred S. Burt and this was the first such collection of his works. In 1964, Jimmy was moonlighting with The Ray Conniff Singers on Speak to Me of Love, Jimmy Joyce & His Children’s Chorus appeared on Doris Day’s album, With a Smile and a Song, and The Jimmy Joyce Singers celebrated the Yuletide with Frank Sinatra on “Whatever Happened to Christmas”. Oh, and they also found time to perform on a TV variety program called The Hollywood Palace.

Things got a bit silly in 1965 when they appeared on a pair of novelty records, Chipmunks Sing with the Children, and Allan Sherman’s For Swingin’ Livers Only!. In 1967, Jimmy arranged the music for and directed The Jimmy Joyce Singers on The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour. He was also the vocal supervisor for the movie version of How to Succeed in Business without Really Trying.

In 1968, he directed the children’s chorus on Claudine’s album, Love is Blue. Then, The Jimmy Joyce Singers appeared on the 1969 holiday LP, The Sinatra Family Wish You a Merry Christmas. From 1969 to 1970, they also made regular appearances on The Red Skelton Hour. In the fall of 1970, they were the chorus du jour on The Tim Conway Comedy Hour. Jimmy did the vocal arrangements on Frank Sinatra, Jr.’s Spice, which hit the racks in 1971. In 1972, he collaborated with Goldie Hawn on Goldie, was the vocal arranger for the TV special Make Mine Red, White and Blue, and even made an appearance on The Tonight Show. Oh, and he found time to publish Jimmy Joyce: Scoring for Voice.

In 1973, The Jimmy Joyce Children’s Chorus offered vocal support on Roger McGuinn’seponymous album. Another one of their most famous recordings was The Carpenters’ “Sing” which appeared on their 1973 album, Now and Then. Jimmy Joyce’s legacy has been immortalized in CD form on compilations such as Carpenters Gold, Peggy Lee’s Christmas Carousel, and Frank Sinatra’s The Christmas Collection.

He died of a heart attack in Summit, New Jersey, in 1979 when he was 56 years old.

He is the vocalist here on “Near You” with Alvino Rey..

Sources:

Joyce, Jimmy (29th April 1923-5th January 1979)

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