# Col Joye

Colin Frederick Jacobsen AM (born 13 April 1937), better known by his stage name Col Joye, is an Australian pioneer rock singer-songwriter, musician and entrepreneur with a career spanning almost sixty-seven years, starting from the late 50s. Joye was the first Australian rock and roll singer to have a number one record Australia-wide, and experienced a string of chart successes in the early Australian rock and roll scene, performing with his then band the Joy Boys (formerly KJ Quintet).

## Early life and education

Colin Jacobsen was born in Sydney, New South Wales, on 13 April 1937. Graduating school, prior to stardom, he worked as a jewellery salesman.

## Musical career

Jacobson started performing and recording in the late 1950s with his backing band, originally called the KJ Quintet, the predecessor of what would become the Joy Boys, which included his brothers Kevin and Keith.
As Col Joye he enjoyed a string of hits on the local and national singles charts of Australia beginning in 1959. Joye's first single, "Stagger Lee" was a cover of the Lloyd Price US original. However, his third single "Bye Bye Baby" (written by American Frank McNulty) reached No.3 on the Australian Kent Music Report charts in 1959, followed by "Rockin Rollin Clementine" also peaking at No. 3. His fifth single, "Oh Yeah Uh Huh", became his most successful, peaking at No. 1. He also had other charting singles, including "Yes Sir That's My Baby" peaking at No. 5 nationally.
Backing vocals on "Bye Bye Baby" were by male trio The Sapphires. The Sapphires were Duke Finlay, Tony Garrick and Ned Hussey, initially starting as a Sydney vocal trio in 1957, Barry Carroll was added in 1960 to round out their sound (much like the Deltones ) and they were used as backing group for many Australian artists on studio recordings in the early 1960s. They also appeared in Lee Gordon concert shows, and wrote some songs.
In mid-October 1959, Joye and The Joy Boys, performed in shows titled Lee Gordon's 1959 Rock'n'Roll Spectacular. The concerts at the Sydney Stadium were edited into a film called Rock 'n' Roll which premiered on 30 October. Four of the five songs performed by Joye were included on the album Songs That Rocked the Stadium, released December 1959. The film, thought lost but rediscovered in 2020, includes rare footage of a 1950s rock and roll concert in Australia.
Joye was an original member of the television program Bandstand, and appeared regularly on the show over a fourteen year period. He toured Australia with fellow acts that where featured on the program, including Judy Stone, the De Kroo Brothers, Sandy Scott and Little Pattie. Joye and the band also entertained troops in Vietnam and Borneo and recorded several songs in Japan in the mid-1960s.
Joye's popularity levelled off after the changes to the music scene associated with the rise of surf music and the British Invasion, and it was not until 1973 that he had another hit record, with the country music song "Heaven Is My Woman's Love", reaching No. 1 on the Go-Set charts that year.

## Entrepreneurship

During the period between personal musical successes in the late 50s and early 1960s, Col and Kevin Jacobsen built an influential entertainment management, publishing and recording business, including ATA Studios in Glebe, New South Wales. This business worked with developing and promoting artists including the Bee Gees, and their brother Andy Gibb. Their promotions company, Jacobsen Entertainment, continued into the 2000s, with the brothers remaining as principal directors.

## Personal life

In 1990, while pruning a neighbour's tree with a chainsaw as a favour, Joye slipped and fell six metres onto brick paving below, striking his head and falling into a coma, as well as sustaining serious lower back and shoulder injuries. Initially given a poor prognosis, he eventually recovered to start performing and touring again in 1998.

## Honours, awards and recognition

On 8 June 1981, he was appointed as a Member of the Order of Australia for his entertainment and philanthropic work. In 1988, the ARIA Music Awards in 1988, inducted Joye into the ARIA Hall of Fame.
| Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result |
| 1988 | Col Joye | ARIA Hall of Fame | Inducted |

### Country Music Association Awards (CMAA)

In 1974, Joye won a CMAA award for "Top Selling Album of the Year".
| Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result (wins only) |
| 1974 | Heaven Is My Woman's Love | Top Selling Album of the Year | Won |

### Mo Awards

Joye won two Mo Awards.
| Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result (wins only) |
| 1980 | Col Joye | John Campbell Fellowship Award | Won |
| 1988 | Col Joye | Most Outstanding Club Act | Won |

### Others

In 1998, Australia Post issued a special-edition set of twelve stamps celebrating the early years of Australian rock and roll, featuring Australian hit songs from the late 1950s to the early 1970s. One of the stamps commemorated Joye, based on the song "Oh Yeah Uh Huh". Australia Post wrote that "Each of them said something about us, and told the rest of the world this is what popular culture sounds like, and it has an Australian accent".
In 2010, "Bye Bye Baby" (1959) was added to the National Film and Sound Archive's Sounds of Australia register. The curator's notes commented that:
   There is not a lot to this pop song, written by American Frank McNulty, other than a catchy title hook. The lyrics are about the singer saying goodbye to his girlfriend and how lonely he will be without her until the next time they meet. The original recording was made using a nylon string guitar, bass (wonderfully out of tune in the beginning) and minimalist drums with Col Joye almost whispering the vocals (as he had a cold at the time). This is the released version, with added celeste and 'ooh-ahh' backing vocals from the Sapphires, presumably to give it a little more musical interest.

## Discography
### Studio albums

List of albums, with selected chart positions :
| Title | Album details | Peak chart positions |
| Title | Album details | AUS |
| Jump With Joye | Released: 1959 Format: LP Label: Festival Records (FM-6010) | — |
| Songs That Rocked The Stadium | Released: 1959 Format: LP Label: Festival Records (FL-7152) | — |
| The Golden Boy | Released: 1960 Format: LP Label: Festival Records (FL-7225) | — |
| Joy To The World | Released: 1961 Format: LP Label: Festival Records (FL-30636) | — |
| Col Joye Sings His Solid Gold Hits | Released: 1961 Format: LP Label: Festival Records (FL-30644) | — |
| Joyride | Released: 1961 Format: LP Label: Festival Records (FL-30692) | — |
| Col Joye And The Ballad | Released: 1962 Format: LP Label: Festival Records (FL-30801) | — |
| Col and Judy With Orchestra (with Judy Stone) | Released: 1962 Format: LP Label: Festival Records (FL-30901) | — |
| Classics Of Rock | Released: 1963 Format: LP Label: Festival Records (FL-31078) | — |
| Stomp Around The Clock | Released: 1964 Format: LP Label: Festival Records (FL-) | — |
| Rock'n Roll Classics | Released: 1964 Format: LP Label: Seven Seas (MH-182) | — |
| Rock Classics No. 2 | Released: 1964 Format: LP Label: Festival Records (FL-) | — |
| The Exciting Big Beat - the best hit parade | Released: 1965 Format: LP Label: Seven Seas (SET-29) | — |
| Joy Boys In Tokyo | Released: 1965 Format: LP Label: Seven Seas (SET-30) | — |
| For the Good Times | Released: 1972 Format: LP Label: Ata Records (L 25210) | – |
| Heaven Is My Woman's Love | Released: 1973 Format: LP Label: Ata Records (L 35036) | – |
| For You | Released: 1975 Format: LP Label: Ata Records (L 35489) | – |
| Truck Stop (with Bob Purtell, Laurie Allen and Jim Cooper) | Released: 1976 Format: LP Label: Ata Records (L 35943) | – |
| A Little Bit of Country (with Little Pattie) | Released: 1978 Format: LP Label: Pisces (L27031) | 86 |
| Back to Rock 'N' Roll | Released: 1990 Format: LP, CD Label: Ata Records (D 30233) | – |

### Charting compilation albums

List of albums, with Australian chart positions :
| Title | Album details | Peak chart positions |
| Title | Album details | AUS |
| The Very Best | Released: 1980 Format: LP Label: J&B (JB046) | 47 |
| 20 Most Requested Songs | Released: 1984 Format: LP Label: J&B (JB174) | 20 |

### Charting singles

List of singles, with selected chart positions :
| Year | Title | Peak chart positions |
| Year | Title | AUS |
| 1970 | "Come into My Life" | 56 |
| 1973 | "Heaven Is My Woman's Love" | 1 |
| 1978 | "Rock Around the Clock" | 94 |

#### Other singles

List of singles as featured artist, with selected chart positions :
| Title | Year | Peak chart positions |
| Title | Year | AUS |
| "The Garden" (as Australia Too) | 1985 | 22 |

## Footnotes

* ↑ Not to be confused with a Melbourne instrumental group of the same name, active between 1958 and 1964, led by guitarist Charles Osbourne.