Wednesday, September 5, 2007

Whatever happened to... LIVIN' JOY?

Hi hi!

You know that we usually have a good time remembering the dance songs and singers of our youth (*tear*)... and it's always interesting to look into what some of those famous faces are doing now.

The other day we brought you a flashback to Everything But the Girl, but today I thought we'd delve a little into Livin' Joy! Now, I won't hold it against you if you don't know the name right off the bat... they only had two big hits in the USA (back in those glorious days of the mid-90s Eurodance explosion!). But boy... they were BIG ones!


Livin' Joy vocalist Janice Robinson in her "Dreamer" days!

Livin' Joy was an Italian house act composed of producers (and real life brothers) Gianni Visnadi and Paolo Visnadi. In 1994, they teamed up with vocalist Janice Robinson to record the single "Dreamer." This song has since become a House classic, but check out the video below if you don't remember it...


If you still can't recall this one, then you must have been dead (or had two left feet ;)) in the '90s. God, I LOVED this song. I remember trying to tape it off the radio (remember THAT??) so that I could slow it down and figure out what the HELL they're saying in that really really fast part. Haha.

(Sidenote: Thanks to the wonders of the modern internet, which was sadly missing from my 12-year-old existence back then, I've uncovered the lyrics:

Here we lie all alone in my dreamin'
Your eyes move my soul it's unbelievin'
Now you see the me, get my feelin'
How'm I feelin

I feel your hands, your lips the heat of your body
Whisper you love me, you say you love me
Please don't dumb it down and never leave me
I'm a dreamer

Aww how romantic ;)

Anyway, "Dreamer" was a #1 Billboard Club hit, and it even made it on to the pop charts... peaking in the Hot 100 at #72.

After the success of the song, Janice Robinson left the group... and was replaced by Tameka Star. She and the Visnadi brothers released a follow-up hit in 1997: "Don't Stop Movin'." This one was a smaller hit on the Club chart (peaking at #3) but a bigger hit on the pop one (#67)! Personally, I much prefer "Dreamer"...

They did release a full-length album ("Don't Stop Movin'") which produced a few more UK dance hits... but none stateside. In the last 90s a song "Just For the Sex of It" was released to build anticipation for a follow-up album. But that single fizzled, and the new record never materialized.

So... where are they now?

Gianni and Paolo Visnadi continued to produce and remix dance tracks for other European dance artists. They also released their own music under a different name: Alex Party. They released three international singles under that name throughout the mid-90s: "Alex Party (Read My Lips)" "Don't Give Me Your Life," and "U Gotta Be." All were hits across the pond, but none captured the American audience the way their work as Livin' Joy did! C*Y*B and Gradiva are two other pseudonyms that these producers would work under throughout their production career.

Tameka Starr has been pretty quiet over the years. She did release a solo song, "Going in Circles," and in 2005 she provided vocals for the dance act Each Others on "Fast Car," their Euro remake of the Tracy Chapman folk-rock hit.

If it's any consolation, Tameka's work with Livin' Joy has not been forgotten! In 2006, Swedish pop star Velvet released a cover version of "Don't Stop Movin" - you can check out HER video below:


Janice Robinson released a brilliant singer-songwriter album in 1999, "The Color Within Me." It's fantastic stuff, and highlights that Ms. Robinson... well, she's a lot more talented than the average person would suspect of a supposed "one hit wonder" dance artist! Actually, she's had several more hits... behind the scenes. Janice frequently lends her songwriting gifts to other dance artists, including Reina ("If I Close My Eyes" and "On My Own") and Brian Kent ("I Pray"). And she re-released "Dreamer" on her own in 2005 with all new mixes.


Janice Robinson in 2006.

The mainstream dance scene isn't what it used to be back in the '90s heyday... but I still owe Ms. Robinson and Livin' Joy one big THANK YOU for making my 'tween days and junior high dances that much more fun!! :)

Later kiddies!
JADE

No comments:

Post a Comment