According to Wikipedia, Joe Dowell was born January 23, 1940 in Bloomington, Indiana, but moved to Bloomington, Illinois, as a child. He first performed at a ninth-grade talent show, and later attended the University of Illinois. At his first recording session (backed by organist Ray Stevens), he sang the tune "Wooden Heart", which had been a hit for Elvis Presley in Europe, but which was never released as a single stateside. "Wooden Heart", the first single released on Smash Records, shot to #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1961. In the wake of his success, Dowell wanted to become a songwriter in his own right, but due to contractual obligations, he was required to sing music owned by Smash's parent company, Mercury Records. He had two further hits, "The Bridge of Love" (US #50) and "Little Red Rented Rowboat" (US #23), but after struggles with his management he was dropped from the label. Dowell went on to work in radio advertising, and became a spokesman for banks.This week on Treasure Island Oldies, we spotlight Joe Dowell on Voice Your Choice with two of his hit songs: Wooden Heart and Little Red Rented Rowboat. Cast your vote by making your selection for the song you prefer at the Voice Your Choice page. We'll play the winner in Hour 3 of next week's show.
