Interviews/Joelle Schroeck

This is a navigation hub for official and fan-run interviews for Joelle Schroeck.

## Fan-run

The art was only one part of toy advertising.
What about the singing? Jem was about music and such a commercial would sound boring without music. Let's hear from the glittering goldie Joelle Dunn:

**1. Could you please introduce yourself?**

My name is Joelle Dunn. My name when doing the Jem commercials was Joelle Schroeck.
**2. Could you please tell the fans your role in Jem?**

I sang the Jem commercials from 1988 to 1989. I was told that this Jem product was being revamped and they were changing the tag from Truly Outrageous to Jem Girls and that Jem had Gone Gold. I never sang the words "Truly Outrageous."
**3. What commercials did you sing on?**

I sang on every commercial (not any bumpers for the show or credits for the show) from from 1988 to 1989. The words were "Me and my friends are Jem Girls" and then the words would go from there for whatever they were selling with the Jem Doll. (I sent you those links to Tracy's youtube vids).
**4. How did you get the jingle job?**

I was a jingle singer from the age of 8. My father, Artie Schroeck, was a jingle singer and song writer and arranger. He wrote, arranged and sang on many commercials. 2 of his most famous were Come On Along with ABC 1982 and Now is the Time ABC is the Place in 1981, one of which won a Cleo award. He wrote, sang and arranged both of those. He had many friends in the jingle business and his friend Helen Miles got me all of my jobs. I went to meet with her at the age of 8 and she had me as one of her "kids" that she sent to sing on kids' commercials. This was all done in NYC.
**5. In retrospect, since you were a child, did you feel it would be harder to secure the jingles position?**

In this case it was "who I knew." My dad was in the business already and famous in his own right - facelessly famous. He knew all the right people in that business. I was in the business without having to really do anything but be a natural singer.
**6. Did you have to have parental consent?**

That's an interesting question. During the time I did commercials, my dad or mom always brought me there to sing on them, but I don't remember them signing anything except at the end when we filled our our W2s for payment. By the time I was doing the Jem commercials, I was 17 and I'd take the bus into the city myself or I was being dropped of by my dad who was on his way to his own jingle. At that point, I could fill out my own W2 with my eyes closed. Unless he came and signed something and I didn't know it, I never saw a consent form.
**7. Did you have family support?**

Yes, they were always proud of me to get a jingle job. From the time I was 10 till 18 I had a lot of jobs and we never turned any down.
**8. (If it's not too personal), how old were you when you sang?**

It was 1988 to 1989 so I was 17 when I sang on the JEM commercials.
**9. Did you sing because you liked Jem or because you were just into jingling?**

I had no clue who JEM was. I didn't watch a ton of after school shows. But when I mentioned to a few friends in highschool that I was singing on the JEM commercials, word spread quickly that "Joelle is the JEM girl" and it was only then that I realized that JEM was Truly Outrageous and popular. I sang on the commercials because they called me in to the studio and said, "Here. Sing this." So I sang it. There were a lot of rumors going around school that I was the one who did the voice for Jem on the cartoon, that I sang the opening credits and more. But I only ever sang the commercials during that one year.
**10. What else have you sang in the form of jingles?**

I probably sang at least 50 different commercials over the 10 years I was a jingle singer - maybe more. I wish I could remember the whole list of commercials I did. I remember my first commercial was when I was 8. It was for a game called "I Scream. You Scream. We all Scream for Ice Cream." I think that it was a game with icecream scoops that you would stack against a timer - sort of Perfection-esque. I was very timid and didn't really know what I was doing. But by the time I was 10 I was being picked up from school almost every week to sing something new. I know I did an M&Ms commercial in the early 80s and I believe a Volkswagon one. I remember a JC Penny commercial. I definitely remember an HO Oatmeal commercial because the tune was really catchy. I remember thinking - what the heck is H-O Oatmeal?
**11. So let's look at your resume, what have you done since jingling until today?**

Since 1989 I did no real professional singing. My resume consists of moving to California with my husband and raising my twin daughters through their own acting, singing and gymnastics careers. The 90s was a weird transitional time for jingle singers and writers. The economy took a downturn and many companies began cutting corners by using synths instead of full bands and real session players (horns, strings, etc). They used less singers and non-union singers (we were SAG and AFTRA). My dad went from working almost every day to almost nothing. Transitioning from kid to adult jingles just never happened for me. I helped sing back up on a few things, but I got married at 20 and pregnant at 22 and raised my 2 girls since then. I've also played violin on a few sessions and volunteered in a few orchestras for musical theater. In 2000 I auditioned for an American Idol-type contest on the radio for the Mark and Brian Radio Program to "Sing on Stage with Chicago" (the band) and won! I sang "Old Days" at the Greek Theater with them. Now that my daughters are 18, I'm getting into the musical theater world which is something I've always dreamed of doing. My first audition I got understudy for the Narrator in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat and got to perform in 1 show during the run. I'm presently about to play the Sour Kangaroo in a production of Seussical at the Warner Grand in San Pedro, California in January. That was my 2nd audition. I'm so excited! The community theater company is called Encore Entertainers and can be found at www.encoreentertainers.org.
**12. What were those experiences like?**

Raising my daughters has been the most rewarding thing ever. I loved playing violin in the orchestras for different shows that my kids were in, like Les Miserables, Into the Woods and Seussical.
The musical theater, I'm having a wonderful time. I spent a lot of time singing behind the scenes and then being behind the scenes with my daughters and helping them flourish and succeed. Now I'm doing something that I've dreamed of doing since age 8 when I saw Annie on Broadway. I'm having a blast. It's a small community theater, but it's a rush to get on the stage and do something that comes both comes naturally to me and is also terrifying. Spending time behind the scenes has made me fear the stage a little, but at 40 there's no reason to be afraid. I have no one to impress but myself.
**13. In retrospect, do fans come up to you and realize you as "Joelle, the Glitter and Gold jingler"?**

No, but I did find out recently that die hard fans of Jem do know that someone named Joelle Schroeck sang on those particular commercials. I am not sure how they found out since there are no credits on commercials. :) Maybe because I told someone on youtube.
**14. Did you lose the small amount of interest you could have at the time in Jem because both the toys and cartoon were discontinued?**

I didn't know much about Jem before or after. I had a lot of kids in school ask me if I could get them 'free stuff' from Jem. I never asked because usually it was just me and the engineer who had the tracks that were already laid down by the musicians. They music was pre-recorded and I was given words and music. I sang them and then since I was the only singer, I sang all the harmonies as well. I didn't realize at the time that everything was cancelled. But it definitely makes more sense now that I was never called back to continue singing on the commercials.
**15. The series has been rereleased on DVD; would you buy them to see what you missed during the heyday?**

I might. It seems that it had a huge following! I might want to see what I missed.
**16. Integrity Toys has releases Jem dolls, though they look different than the original Hasbro 80's. Are you going to start a collection?**

Probably not. Well, maybe one.
**17. It seems you connected with a Tracy over YouTube. Is that how rediscovering this past of yours began or were you always searching for videos with yourself?**

A while back some friends and I were talking about the commercials I had done and one suggested I try to find them on youtube. There are a ton of JEM commercials on youtube, but it was Very difficult finding mine. Tracy happened to have 2 of mine. She and I connected and have communicated through the years since. I found another person who had a longer version, but I believe the account has been deleted unfortunately. There's one on youtube that is the same tune, but it's the credits to the show - that's not me.
**18. Any other videos you think people should watch of you?**

Sure. I put a couple videos up a couple years ago of me singing I Dreamed a Dream and there's a video of me singing a Heart song with one of my daughter's friends. It's under my youtube channel MsssStarlet.is a link to the Heart Song and then you can link to the Les Miserables song after that.
**19. As a child, how did you work in the jingling with school?**

I missed a ton of school and my grades definitely suffered. My dad never turned down a job and so singing in NY always came before school. I would sometimes get the bus to school and sit down at my desk only to hear my name called on the loudspeaker, "Joelle, please come to the office, you're going home." I wasn't going home; I was headed to NY to sing on a commercial.
**20. Did this busy life of school and actually working professionally put a lot of stress on you?**

I don't think it put a lot of stress on me, but we lived in NJ 50 miles from NYC. Sometimes my dad and I both would have sessions and his or mine would run late. He would want to eat out and then we'd meet up with with his friends (some famous) at Columbus Cafe on Columbus Ave near Lincoln Center and stay out till really late. I'd come home sometimes at 3-4am and then have to get up for school at 6:30. It was probably not the smartest parenting, but I don't remember having a lot of pressure to get great grades. I am sure I could have done a lot better in school had I been there more (and awake).
**21. Do you regret any of it?**

Probably just the schooling part, but I didn't have a lot of control over that. I regret not pursuing some sort of singing career after my teens.
**22. When you were young, did you feel the urge to become famous?**

I think as much as any other kid. Fantasies really. But never a huge drive to be famous. I'd like to entertain people so that they're happy. But not so that everyone would recognize me. It takes a special person to put themselves into the limelight like that. It has always scared me.
**23. Now, in retrospect, do you feel you're famous as being part of Jem history?**

No, not at all. Perhaps in the Jem world, but honestly, I'm a very small part of the whole Jem History. Commercials are Not the show. I tried to explain that to kids in school who thought I was the "Jem Girl." I never thought anyone outside the kids at school cared. I just thought it was cool to hear the commercials again and finally find the ones I personally sang on. I never knew a world existed where there was JemCon or Jem Fan Clubs. It's pretty cool that people can keep memories of loved icons alive - whether they be action figures, cartoons, a short running tv show or a youtuber. This social media world can make all of us slightly known because if we put ourselves out there on youtube or or vlogs, etc... someone out there will like it and play it over and over.
**24. Do your classmates, peers, and friends still remember you as a Jem jingler?**

Yep - that was definitely something I was known as. They knew I sang on commercials, but this they could point to. Kids called me Jem at school. Young freshman would point at me and I'd smile and they'd say, "Hi Jem." I'd just say "hi" back.
**25. Had the doll series continued, would you still have taken offers to continue singing?**

Absolutely. I would take any job singing on a jingle or a tv show or a commercial or backup or whatever. I love to sing. I would rather do that than my day job any day.
**26. What was the competition like for the singing?**

When you went to a sing on a jingle, you were already hired. I never really thought about whether or not my manager had to audition me or bid her kids for the job beforehand. But you were never sent away from a jingle and not used in some capacity. Helen would call my dad and say, "It’s a commercial for \_\_\_\_ and there will be 3 other kids there." That’s all I’d know. Sometimes I would have an hour’s notice, sometimes I’d have a week. Once we arrived someone there, whether it was another adult singer or a representative of the company, would decide who would take what part and they would decide if any one of the kids would get the solo or lead part. You would audition for the solo on the spot. That was the extent of my competition. The soloist did get paid more than the rest so you wanted the solo.
**27. Any final words to say to those who bought the dolls due to being influences by the commercials you sang on?**

Commercials, especially ones for kids, are configured in every way to entice the child to want the toy. I never thought that my singing on a commercial would cause a kid to want to buy a toy. But if I found out a kid back then was inspired to buy a Jem action figure or a Jem Rock and Curl set because the tune I sang was catchy, I’d definitely be honored.
Thank you Joelle for your time as we wish everyone a very Merry Christmas!