Joe Dolan

For other people named Joe Dolan, see Joe Dolan (disambiguation).

Joe Dolan
Born	Joseph Francis Robert Dolan October 16, 1939(1939-10-16) Mullingar, County Westmeath, Ireland
Died	December 26, 2007(2007-12-26) (aged 68) Mater Hospital, Dublin, Ireland.
Cause of death	Brain hemorrhage
Occupation	Singer
Website
joedolan.com

Joseph "Joe" Francis Robert Dolan (16 October 1939 – 26 December 2007) was an Irish entertainer, recorder and singer of easy listening songs. A firm favourite with audiences all over the world, Joe's energetic and charismatic stage performances prompted the now immortal saying of "There's no show like a Joe show".

Early life and family

The youngest of eight children, Joe Dolan was born into a musical household on the outskirts of Mullingar, Co. Westmeath on October 16, 1939. Joe lost both his parents at a young age - his father, a bicycle shop proprietor, died when Joe was eight; his mother when he was fifteen. He sang in school, and his mother had encouraged him to take up the piano.

He made his first stage appearance at a talent show in his native Mullingar.

Career

The Drifters

As well as securing his first (and last) “real” job as a compositor in local newspaper The Westmeath Examiner in 1958, Joe also got his first guitar, and he and his saxophone-playing brother Ben started to play in local bands. They soon formed a band of their own – The Drifters. Not long afterwards the band was renamed Joe Dolan and The Drifters.

The musical landscape in the 1960s was dominated by the showbands. First single “The Answer to Everything”, released in September 1964, quickly reached number 4 in the charts and Joe and his band were guided by manager Seamus Casey. But in the summer of 1968, musical differences saw the band split up.

Solo career

The move left Joe alone, but not for long as he had more success with “Make Me an Island”. The track was a massive hit in England and after a Top of the Pops appearance the popularity of the song greatly increased across Europe and around the world – eventually becoming a number one hit in 14 countries.^{[citation needed]}

Joe became an even bigger worldwide star with follow-up singles “Teresa” and “You’re Such a Good Looking Woman”. Although singles such as “It Makes No Difference” and “You and the Looking Glass” were not big hits at home or in the UK, they were international successes for Joe. When he hooked up with writers Roberto Danova and Peter Yellowstone in the mid 1970s things went well for him internationally – 1974's “Sweet Little Rock ‘n’ Roller” was their first of many triumphs. It was later recorded by Showaddywaddy, who had a Top 20 hit with the song in 1979 in the UK, Bay City Rollers and Rod Stewart.

It was followed by one of Joe’s biggest-ever sellers, “Lady in Blue”. His biggest ever selling single, it was popular in Europe, Australasia, Africa and South America but not in Ireland or the UK. Further hits including “Crazy Woman”, “Sister Mary”, “Midnight Lover”, “Hush Hush Maria” and “I Need You” followed. Reflective songs such as “If I Could Put My Life on Paper” showcased a more maturing artist, whilst definitive versions of songs such as “Danny Boy” ensured his international audiences always had a touch of Irish on disc and in concert. In any given month Joe could be touring the Middle East one week, Australia the next, then South Africa and then back to Europe and his beloved Ireland.

In 1978, he made history when he became the first Western act to tour communist Russia. Further international successes and tours followed, with hits such as “More and More” and “It’s You, It’s You, It’s You” ensuring he had little time to settle down for any reasonable length of time.

The eighties was a time of transition for Joe. He started the decade by achieving major success in Las Vegas for two years. But he never liked to be away from home for too long and having started the decade as one of the world’s biggest acts he decided to concentrate instead on Ireland.

With his own record label, studio and material Joe became one of the biggest selling independent artists of the 1990s with albums such as ‘Endless Magic’ keeping him near the top of the charts. At the end of the decade he refined his voice for the 21st century when he hooked up with EMI for a series of albums (such as ‘Joe’s 90s’, ‘21st Century Joe’ and ‘Home Grown’) which saw him tackle more contemporary music from acts as diverse as Oasis, Pulp, Blur, U2, Bruce Springsteen, The Coral, R.E.M., Mundy and his old pal Robbie Williams (Joe was a good friend of Robbie’s father, and he often stayed at the Williams home when in the UK). He brought Blur to the top of the Irish charts with a version of “The Universal”.^{[citation needed]} It became a staple of his live shows. At the Oxegen Festival 2009, Blur’s Damon Albarn dedicated the song to Joe.

Joe recorded “Let There Be Love”- an album of old-school crooner classics perfectly suited to his smooth and still powerful voice. Plans were set in motion for further albums and some major concerts to cement his legendary status and as 2007 came to a close the clamour for Joe’s concert tickets was greater than ever.

Publication of Official Biography

Before Joe died, he had been working on his memoirs with Irish journalist, author and broadcaster Ronan Casey. After his death, these were released by Penguin as “Joe Dolan: The Official Biography.” The book was a critical and commercial success in Ireland, and it was rated by the listeners of RTE’s Joe Duffy show as one of their Top Ten books of the year. It was released on paperback in June 2009 and was launched in the UK with a night in honour of Joe at the Boogaloo in Highgate. Pete Doherty, The Aftermath and Dire Straits founding member John Illsley were among those in attendance at the UK launch.

Personal life

Joe Dolan never married and dealt with speculation about his sexuality throughout his life. However, he dismissed persistent rumours that he was gay as a "load of old rubbish".

Illness and death

In 2005, Dolan had a hip replacement. In autumn 2007, on advice from his doctors, Dolan cancelled his Vicar Street concerts due to "exhaustion". On December 16, 2007, the front page of the Sunday Independent reported that Dolan was suffering from a "bad virus" and had been forced to cancel his entire Christmas tour. Joe Dolan's website was inundated with well wishes in the wake of the article, which was reproduced in several newspapers the following day.

On December 26, 2007, Dolan was rushed from his home in Foxrock to the Mater Private Hospital in Dublin following a worsening of his illness. He died of a brain hemorrhage at approximately 15:00 hours that day.

He was buried after a funeral Mass at the Cathedral of Christ the King in Mullingar on 29 December 2007.

Legacy

Joe now has a 540 metre bridge named after him: the Joe Dolan Bridge in Mullingar, opened officially 6 September 2010.

Hit songs (partial list)

• 1964: "The Answer to Everything"
• 1965: "I Love You More and More Everyday"
• 1967: "The House With the Whitewashed Gable"
• 1968: "The Westmeath Bachelor"
• 1969: "Make Me An Island"
• 1969: "Teresa"
• 1970: "You're Such a Good Looking Woman"
• 1974: "Sweet Little Rock 'n' Roller"
• 1975: "Lady in Blue" / "My Darling Michelle"
• 1976: "Sister Mary" Duet with Kelly Marie
• 1976: "You Belong to Me"
• 1977: "I Need You"
• 1981: "More and More"
• 1981: "It's You It's You It's You"
• 1983 "Sometimes When We Touch"
• 1984 "Come Back Home"
• 1988 "Take Me I'm Yours"
• 1989 "Wait 'til The Clouds Roll By (Jenny)"
• 1990 "She Doesn't Live Here Anymore"
• 1993 "Ciara"
• 1994 "Somebody To Call My Girl"
• 1996 "I'll Give All My Love To You"
• 1997 "Endless Magic"
• 1997 "Good Looking Woman" (Duet With Dustin)
• 1998 "The Universal"
• 1998 "Disco 2000"
• 1998 "Place Your Hands"
• 1999 "Everybody Hurts"
• 1999 "Brilliant Disguise"
• 2001 "Better Man"
• 2002 "Dreaming Of You"
• 2003 "Yours Faithfully"
• 2004 "Little Green Bag"
• 2007 (4 track Tribute EP)
• 2008 "Oh Holy Night"

Studio Albums

• The Answer To Everything (1964)
• Make Me an Island (1969)
• You're Such a Good Looking Woman (1970)
• Lady in Blue (1975)
• Sister Mary (1976)
• Midnight Lover (1978)
• Turn Out the Light (1979)
• More and More
• Here and Now
• This Is My Life
• Always on My Mind
• Always Loved You
• Can't Give Enough (1993)
• Endless Magic (1997)
• Joe's 90's (1998)
• 21st Century Joe (1999)
• Home Grown (2003)
• Double 'O' Joe (2004)
• Let There Be Love (2007)

Compilation Albums

• Singles+ (2007)
• The Platinum Collection (2008)

External links

• Official website