ABOUT
Joanie Sommers (b. February 24, 1941) is a jazz/traditional pop vocalist and actress who first became famous during the early 1960s as a pop/rock singer with "Johnny Get Angry" and other hits. Born Joan Drost in Buffalo, New York, she signed with Warner Brothers in 1959, and her earliest recordings included several duets with Edd "Kookie" Byrnes. She also appeared in "77 Sunset Strip," the TV detective series that co-starred Byrnes as Gerald Lloyd "Kookie" Kookson III.
With Edd "Kookie" Byrnes & The Mary Kaye Trio, Sommers made her debut on the Pop/Rock charts in 1959 with "Kookie's Love Song (While Dancing)." Two minor hits followed in 1960, "One Boy" (from the musical, "Bye Bye Birdie") and "Be My Love," before she scored a Top 10 hit in 1962 with "Johnny Get Angry," which became her signature song. Three more minor hits followed on the Pop/Rock charts: "When The Boys Get Together" (1962), "Good-Bye Joey" (1962), and "Little Girl Bad" (1963). Sommers later had a Top 10 hit on the Adult Contemporary charts with her version of "Alfie" (1966), the title song from the 1966 movie starring Michael Caine. She had another hit on that chart in 1969 with "Talk Until Daylight," which made the Top 40.
Sommers continues to perform actively and has recorded many albums over the years up through her latest release, "Come Alive-The Complete Columbia Recordings" (2013). Her movie acting credits include "Everything's Ducky" (1961) and "The Lively Set" (1964) in which she performed "If You Love Him." She sang commercial jingles for Pepsi Cola during the 1960s and has also performed voice-overs on a number of animated films.
LINKS
- Joanie Sommers discusses her voice-over work and other aspects of her multi-faceted career in an interview with Will Ryan for awn.com (January 10, 2001).
MERCHANDISE
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- Joanie Sommers - CDs, vinyl, & more - Amazon.com
- Joanie Sommers - Digital music - Amazon.com
- Joanie Sommers - Rare vinyl, CDs, & more - MusicStack.com
- Joanie Sommers - Sheet Music - SheetMusicPlus.com
SONGS
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Joanie Sommers
- Johnny Get Angry 1962
- One Boy 1960
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