Jo Armstead
Encyclopedia
Josephine "Jo" Armstead (born October 8, 1944), often known as "Joshie" Jo Armstead, is an American
soul
singer and songwriter
. She co-wrote Ray Charles
' hits "Let's Go Get Stoned" and "I Don't Need No Doctor
", among other songs written with Ashford & Simpson
. After a period in The Ikettes
in the early 1960s, she also had some success as a solo singer, her biggest hit being "A Stone Good Lover" in 1968.
, and started singing in the church in which her mother was a minister. After her grandfather introduced her to blues
music, she also began singing in juke joint
s and at dances, and first sang in a club as part of Bobby "Blue" Bland's band. She joined a local band, Little Melvin & The Downbeats, as a teenager. In 1961, together with Eloise Hester and Delores Johnson, she formed The Ikettes as part of the Ike & Tina Turner Revue
.
In 1962, she settled in New York City
and recorded under the name Dina Johnson, by her own account a pseudonym to avoid being tracked down by Ike Turner
. She recorded advertising jingle
s and sang back-up for such musicians as James Brown
, Walter Jackson
and B.B. King, before a chance meeting with Nick Ashford and Valerie Simpson. They began writing songs together, one of the first results being "Let's Go Get Stoned", which became an R&B chart no. 1 hit for Ray Charles in 1966. Its follow-up, "I Don't Need No Doctor" was also a hit, and the trio of writers also had success with songs for Chuck Jackson
, Maxine Brown
and Tina Britt.
After Ashford and Simpson joined Motown
, Armstead moved to Chicago
in 1967 with her husband, record producer Mel Collins, and formed Giant Productions. The Giant label released her single "I Feel An Urge Coming On" which, although not successful at the time, later became a favorite with Northern soul
audiences in the UK. Two of her follow-up records, "A Stone Good Lover" and "I've Been Turned On", both made the R&B chart in 1968. She also wrote or co-wrote hits for other artists, including Ruby Andrews
' "Casonova", Garland Green's "Jealous Kind of Fella", and "Drop By My Place" by Carl Carlton
.
She returned to New York after her marriage broke down, and continued as a singer and writer of commercials. She was a backing singer on Bob Dylan
's 1971 single "George Jackson
", and performed in a Broadway
play written by Melvin Van Peebles
, Don't Play Us Cheap, in 1972. In the early 1970s she signed for the Gospel Truth label, an offshoot of Stax
, and recorded several singles as Joshie Jo Armstead, of which the most successful was "Stumblin' Blocks, Steppin' Stones" in 1974. She also sang as a backing singer for Stax. After Stax Records collapsed, she continued to write songs through her own publishing company, and also worked as a fashion design
er. In the 1980s, after returning to Chicago, she had a spell managing a boxer, Alonzo Ratliff. She recorded for her own Prairie Rose Records in the 1990s.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
soul
Soul music
Soul music is a music genre originating in the United States combining elements of gospel music and rhythm and blues. According to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, soul is "music that arose out of the black experience in America through the transmutation of gospel and rhythm & blues into a form of...
singer and songwriter
Songwriter
A songwriter is an individual who writes both the lyrics and music to a song. Someone who solely writes lyrics may be called a lyricist, and someone who only writes music may be called a composer...
. She co-wrote Ray Charles
Ray Charles
Ray Charles Robinson , known by his shortened stage name Ray Charles, was an American musician. He was a pioneer in the genre of soul music during the 1950s by fusing rhythm and blues, gospel, and blues styles into his early recordings with Atlantic Records...
' hits "Let's Go Get Stoned" and "I Don't Need No Doctor
I Don't Need No Doctor
"I Don't Need No Doctor" was a hit song written by Nick Ashford, Valerie Simpson and Jo Armstead, and first recorded by Ray Charles in 1966. Over the years, it has been covered by bands such as garage rock band The Chocolate Watch Band in 1969, Humble Pie in 1971, New Riders of the Purple Sage in...
", among other songs written with Ashford & Simpson
Ashford & Simpson
Nickolas Ashford , and Valerie Simpson , were a husband and wife songwriting/production team and recording artists....
. After a period in The Ikettes
The Ikettes
The Ikettes were a trio of female backing vocalists for the Ike & Tina Turner Revue, a prominent American rhythm and blues group from the 1960s.-Career:...
in the early 1960s, she also had some success as a solo singer, her biggest hit being "A Stone Good Lover" in 1968.
Career
She was born in Yazoo City, MississippiYazoo City, Mississippi
Yazoo City is a city in Yazoo County, Mississippi, United States. It was named after the Yazoo River, which, in turn was named by the French explorer Robert La Salle. It is the county seat of Yazoo County and the principal city of the Yazoo City Micropolitan Statistical Area, which is part of the...
, and started singing in the church in which her mother was a minister. After her grandfather introduced her to blues
Blues
Blues is the name given to both a musical form and a music genre that originated in African-American communities of primarily the "Deep South" of the United States at the end of the 19th century from spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads...
music, she also began singing in juke joint
Juke joint
Juke joint is the vernacular term for an informal establishment featuring music, dancing, gambling, and drinking, primarily operated by African American people in the southeastern United States. The term "juke" is believed to derive from the Gullah word joog, meaning rowdy or disorderly...
s and at dances, and first sang in a club as part of Bobby "Blue" Bland's band. She joined a local band, Little Melvin & The Downbeats, as a teenager. In 1961, together with Eloise Hester and Delores Johnson, she formed The Ikettes as part of the Ike & Tina Turner Revue
Ike & Tina Turner
Ike & Tina Turner were an American rock & roll and soul duo, made of the husband-and-wife team of Ike Turner and Tina Turner in the 1960s and 1970s. Spanning sixteen years together as a recording group, the duo's repertoire included rock & roll, soul, blues and funk...
.
In 1962, she settled in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
and recorded under the name Dina Johnson, by her own account a pseudonym to avoid being tracked down by Ike Turner
Ike Turner
Isaac Wister Turner was an American musician, bandleader, songwriter, arranger, talent scout, and record producer. In a career that lasted more than half a century, his repertoire included blues, soul, rock, and funk...
. She recorded advertising jingle
Jingle
A jingle is a short tune used in advertising and for other commercial uses. The jingle contains one or more hooks and lyrics that explicitly promote the product being advertised, usually through the use of one or more advertising slogans. Ad buyers use jingles in radio and television...
s and sang back-up for such musicians as James Brown
James Brown
James Joseph Brown was an American singer, songwriter, musician, and recording artist. He is the originator of Funk and is recognized as a major figure in the 20th century popular music for both his vocals and dancing. He has been referred to as "The Godfather of Soul," "Mr...
, Walter Jackson
Walter Jackson (singer)
Walter Jackson was an American soul ballad singer who had a string of hits on the US R&B chart between the mid 1960s and early 1980s...
and B.B. King, before a chance meeting with Nick Ashford and Valerie Simpson. They began writing songs together, one of the first results being "Let's Go Get Stoned", which became an R&B chart no. 1 hit for Ray Charles in 1966. Its follow-up, "I Don't Need No Doctor" was also a hit, and the trio of writers also had success with songs for Chuck Jackson
Chuck Jackson
Chuck Jackson is an R&B singer who was one of the first artists to record material by Burt Bacharach and Hal David successfully. He has performed with moderate success since 1961...
, Maxine Brown
Maxine Brown (soul singer)
Maxine Ella Brown is an American soul and R&B singer.-Background and career:Maxine Brown began singing as a child, performing with two New York based gospel groups called the Angelairs and the Royaltones when she was a teenager...
and Tina Britt.
After Ashford and Simpson joined Motown
Motown Records
Motown is a record label originally founded by Berry Gordy, Jr. and incorporated as Motown Record Corporation in Detroit, Michigan, United States, on April 14, 1960. The name, a portmanteau of motor and town, is also a nickname for Detroit...
, Armstead moved to Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
in 1967 with her husband, record producer Mel Collins, and formed Giant Productions. The Giant label released her single "I Feel An Urge Coming On" which, although not successful at the time, later became a favorite with Northern soul
Northern soul
Northern soul is a music and dance movement that emerged from the British mod scene, initially in northern England in the late 1960s. Northern soul mainly consists of a particular style of black American soul music based on the heavy beat and fast tempo of the mid-1960s Tamla Motown sound...
audiences in the UK. Two of her follow-up records, "A Stone Good Lover" and "I've Been Turned On", both made the R&B chart in 1968. She also wrote or co-wrote hits for other artists, including Ruby Andrews
Ruby Andrews
Ruby Andrews is a Chicago-based American soul singer.Her best known songs include "Casonova " , "You Made A Believer " , and "Everybody Saw You" .-Biography:...
' "Casonova", Garland Green's "Jealous Kind of Fella", and "Drop By My Place" by Carl Carlton
Carl Carlton
Carl Carlton is an American R&B, soul, and funk singer and songwriter, best known for his hits "Everlasting Love" and "She's a Bad Mama Jama ".-Career:...
.
She returned to New York after her marriage broke down, and continued as a singer and writer of commercials. She was a backing singer on Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan is an American singer-songwriter, musician, poet, film director and painter. He has been a major and profoundly influential figure in popular music and culture for five decades. Much of his most celebrated work dates from the 1960s when he was an informal chronicler and a seemingly...
's 1971 single "George Jackson
George Jackson (song)
"George Jackson" is a song by Bob Dylan, written in 1971, in tribute to the Black Panther leader, George Jackson, who had been recently shot and killed by guards at San Quentin Prison on August 21, 1971, an event that indirectly provoked the Attica Prison riot...
", and performed in a Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
play written by Melvin Van Peebles
Melvin Van Peebles
Melvin "Block" Van Peebles is an American actor, director, screenwriter, playwright, novelist and composer.He is most famous for creating the acclaimed film, Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song, which heralded a new era of African American focused films...
, Don't Play Us Cheap, in 1972. In the early 1970s she signed for the Gospel Truth label, an offshoot of Stax
Stax Records
Stax Records is an American record label, originally based in Memphis, Tennessee.Founded in 1957 as Satellite Records, the name Stax Records was adopted in 1961. The label was a major factor in the creation of the Southern soul and Memphis soul music styles, also releasing gospel, funk, jazz, and...
, and recorded several singles as Joshie Jo Armstead, of which the most successful was "Stumblin' Blocks, Steppin' Stones" in 1974. She also sang as a backing singer for Stax. After Stax Records collapsed, she continued to write songs through her own publishing company, and also worked as a fashion design
Fashion design
Fashion design is the art of the application of design and aesthetics or natural beauty to clothing and accessories. Fashion design is influenced by cultural and social latitudes, and has varied over time and place. Fashion designers work in a number of ways in designing clothing and accessories....
er. In the 1980s, after returning to Chicago, she had a spell managing a boxer, Alonzo Ratliff. She recorded for her own Prairie Rose Records in the 1990s.
Chart singles
| Year | A-side | Chart Positions | |
|---|---|---|---|
| US Pop Billboard Hot 100 The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday... |
US R&B Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, is a chart released weekly by Billboard in the United States.The chart, initiated in 1942, is used to track the success of popular music songs in urban, or primarily African American, venues. Dominated over the years at various times by jazz, rhythm and blues, doo-wop, soul,... |
||
| 1968 | "A Stone Good Lover" | 129 | 28 |
| "I've Been Turned On" | - | 50 | |
| 1974 | "Stumblin' Blocks, Steppin' Stones (What Took Me So Long)" | - | 91 |