Joi Cardwell

Joi Cardwell
Birth name Joi Cardwell
Born (1967-10-08) October 8, 1967
New York City, New York
Genres R&B, soul, house, old skool, pop, dance
Occupation(s) Singer-songwriter, music producer, record producer, musician
Instruments Vocals
Years active 1992–present
Labels Nervous Records, No-Mad Industries, Eightball Records
Associated acts Toshinobu Kubota
Website www.joicardwell.com

Joi Cardwell (born October 8, 1967) is an American singer-songwriter.[1]

Early life

Born in New York City in the late-1960s and raised in various areas of Queens; her early influences included Billie Holiday, Barbra Streisand, and Minnie Riperton. Cardwell appeared on stage at Carnegie Hall at the age of five in a dance recital, and was used to being on a stage by the time she was a teenager. She worked as a back-up session vocalist for Melba Moore, Jermaine Jackson, LL Cool J, and The Pointer Sisters. After graduating from New York University with degrees in English and Music in the mid-1980s, she studied voice for a year primarily in order to master control, as she had already developed and retained her own personal style. After her studies, she wrote and published songs for major R&B acts such as Kashif, LA Posse, and Malika Thomas.

Musical career

Her close affiliation with Kashif led to an album deal with Arista Records in 1988 for her pop R&B girl-group, The Promise. Since the market in the 1980s was already saturated with sweet-sounding, bubbly R&B groups, it was difficult for The Promise to stand. As a result, Cardwell decided to answer an ad in the Village Voice that read, "Epic recording artist looking for a background singer for a live tour. "The recording artist turned out to be house-music innovator Lil Louis of Lil Louis and The World, whose 1992 hits "Club Lonely" and "Saved My Life" from the album Journey with the Lonely featured Cardwell on vocals.

Cardwell’s experience as a vocalist and songwriter turned out to be exactly what Lil Louis had been searching for in a singer. He proved to be an early influence for Cardwell’s sound, which melds a new dance beat with a thoughtful lyrical twist. Cardwell creates material that sounds as though she’s musing quietly about life while a dancing throng gyrates with joy nearby, and her lyrics are soulful, romantic, and thought-provoking. Shortly after meeting Lil Louis, Cardwell conceived the single "Dancing in My Sleep, "and within a week of penning it, she was in Chicago cutting demos and well on her way to a career as a dance-hall diva and R&B songstress. When "Club Lonely "reached the number one mark, Cardwell distanced herself from the Lil Louis project. In 1993, she toured in Japan for eight months as a background singer for Japanese soul singer Toshinobu Kubota. Cardwell gleaned experience from the large overseas tour returned to the U.S. significantly more focused and ready to tackle a solo singing career. In 1995 Cardwell contributed the single "The Creator Has A Master Plan" to the Brooklyn Funkessentials’ album Cool & Steady & Easy, and the single "Luv Connection" to the Towa Tei (of Dee-Lite) album Future Listening.

Cardwell released the single "Trouble" in 1994 on Eight Ball Records, which was a double-pack single including remixes from Junior Vasquez, Sotoshi Tomiie, and Deep Dish.[2]

Cardwell released an album titled The World is Full of Trouble in 1995, followed by Joi Cardwell in 1997.[3] Cardwell’s second album combined three of her most successful singles, "You Gotto Pray," "Soul to Bare," and "Run to You," with nine original tracks, and it received favorable reviews.[2] In 1996, she toured with Toshinobu Kubota on the Oyeees! Tour.

Cardwell’s single "Holdin' On" was created by producer Kyle "Small" Smith.[2] It was originally sung by the teen music sensation Kim Moore and her male counterpart Jay, and Jay sang with Cardwell on the single as well. The single was also remixed into jazz versions. In 1997, Cardwell garnered attention with her hit singles "Run to You" and "Found Love" in her self-titled release in 1997. In 2000, she toured again as a background vocalist for her long-time friend Toshinobu Kubota during the Nothing But As One Tour. In 2005, Cardwell released her fourth album, Plain Jane Project. In 2007, she released her fifth album A Beautiful Life.[3] In 2009, she released her sixth album Wanderlust (The Soundtrack).

Discography

Albums

Singles

Year Single Hot Dance Music/Club Play Hot Dance Airplay UK Singles Chart Album
1992 Club Lonely (Lil Louis & The World featuring Joi Cardwell) 1 1 - Lil Louis & The World - Journey With The Lonely
Saved My Life (Lil Louis & The World featuring Joi Cardwell) 1 1 74
Goodbye - - - Non-album single
1994 Trouble 11 - - The World Is Full Of Trouble
Jump For Joi 2 - -
Love & Devotion 3 - -
1995 Luv Connection (Towa Tei featuring Joi Cardwell) 30 - - Towa Tei - Future Listening
My First Christmas With You - - - Non-album single
1996 You Got To Pray 1 - - The World Is Full Of Trouble
1997 Soul To Bare 2 - - Joi Cardwell
Run To You 1 - -
1998 Found Love 5 - -
Power 8 - -
1999 Last Chance For Love 17 - - Deliverance
2000 Superstar - - -
Jump For Joi 7 - - Jump For Joi Millennium Mixes - EP
2003 After The Rain - - - Non-album single
If You're Ever Lonely - - -
2004 Mind Control (Joi & Jorio) 20 - -
Freedom 7 - - The Plain Jane Project
2006 It's Over 4 - -
Make It Alright (Lenny Fontana & Joi Cardwell) - - - Non-album single
What It Feels Like 30 - - The Plain Jane Project
2012 Return to Love - - - The Art of Being
2013 Indian Giver - - -
2014 Lucky Charm - - -
Shot Through the Heart - - -

See also

References

  1. ↑ IMO Records. http://www.imorecords.co.uk/house-2/house-artists/joi-cardwell-biography/ "Joi Cardwell Biography"], IMO Records' Retrieved on 08 March 2011.
  2. 1 2 3 Joi Cardwell Discography Singles. All Music Guide. Retrieved on October 20, 2012
  3. 1 2 Joi Cardwell Discography. All Music Guide. Retrieved on October 20, 2012

External links

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