Oldies But Goodies Doo Wop Cruise

Johnnie and Joe were an American R&B vocal duo from the Bronx, who is best known for their 1957 hit "Over the Mountain, Across the Sea". The female half of this duo-Johnnie Richardson was the daughter of Zell Sanders a well-known entrepreneur in the early fifties among R & B record producers. She had a collaborative association with neighbor Rex Garvin, a pianist, writer, and arranger. They were both very much involved with The Hearts the Baton label girl group that recorded some of the strongest sides ever made in the mid fifties. Rex had championed newcomer Joe Rivers as a vocal stylist, and tried out some new tunes.

As the story goes, Zell thought there was an element missing in their music that her Daughter, Johnnie could provide and so a new rock and roll duo was born. Johnnie and Joe started recording for Zell Sanders small independent label J & S and the duo recorded "I'll Be Spinning" and "Feel Allright". The rhythmic ballad side "Spinning" was an immediate hit in New York and soon the excellence of this record began to spread across the country with increased radio play. Chess records in Chicago picked up the distribution from J & S. The tune was selling big time and this resulted in a cover version by The Cadets on the west coast. A second strong ballad was released called "It Was There" on J & S, which followed in the footsteps of their first release, was picked up by Chess with the B-side "There Goes My Heart".

After two strong recordings, the duo was looking to go over-the-top. They did just that in a big way. "Over The Mountain (Across The Sea)" on J & S was the perfect vehicle to top the charts. A dramatic opening, standard R & B ballad form with great vocal performances and a spoken word fade-out makes for one of the true classics ever recorded during the nineteen fifties. The most interesting part of this record is that a trio performs it-if you listen, you will hear a second voice singing harmony with Joe Rivers while Johnnie sings wordless countermelody throughout the song. That third voice belongs to the previously mentioned and wonderfully talented Rex Garvin. The J & S original was quickly picked up by Chess once again, and it exploded all over the United States. Dick Clark got on the record on his nationally televised American Bandstand and it hit the pop charts and stayed there for an incredible four months. As happens often, the high point of the accomplishments by this duo could not be sustained. They came up with fine sounding songs, but the records just did not click with the listeners. "I Was So Lonely" and "If You Tell Me You're Mine" on Chess.

In early 1958 they first was on Gone Records with recording "Who Do You Love" and "Trust In Me". They than recorded "Warm Soft, and Lovely ", "False Love Has Got To Go", "Why Did She Go" and "Why Oh Why?" where on Chess. They ended that year recording "Across The Sea" and "I Adore You" was an ABC-Paramount recording but did very little to further the appeal of Johnnie & Joe. Also in the same year, they formed their own record label called Dice Records.

In the spring of 1959 on J&S they recorded "Red Sails In The Sunset" and "Where Did She Go?" Their biggest success in these years however, was a rerelease of "Over The Mountain" in 1960. Further releases for a variety of labels went nowhere and the time of Johnnie & Joe was now over. The first three sides for J & S live on as a testament to the talent and excellence of this great duo. It is rather a shame that most of the public is aware only of "Over The Mountain".

After a brief association in the Jaynetts girl group in 1963, Richardson resumed her career with Rivers and the pair made records throughout the 60s. During the 70s and 80s, they performed in oldies concerts, and made a critically acclaimed album in 1982. They continued to record sporadically even into the late 80's on the Ambient Sound label which suddenly ended when Richardson died of complications from a stroke on October 25, 1988. Joe continues to perform today with his new partner Barbara Toomer formally of the Toys. When you hear them today you would think the clock turned back to 1957.