Forgotten Music -- Joni James

Probably nobody under the age of 50 remembers Joni James, which seems incredible since she had a total of 13 songs in the national Top 40 between 1952 and 1961, seven of them in the Top 10. Here's a good trivia question for you: Who was the first American artist to record in Apple Studios? Joni James. She sold over 100 million records and was once mentioned in a Peanuts comic strip. She was still doing occasional concerts up until just a few years ago. Here's a little number called "There Goes My Heart" from 1958 that will give you an idea of the kind of thing Joni James did so well but that nobody listens to now. Except maybe old guys like me. I can see the dancers swirling around the American Bandstand stage even now.