Australian Rock and Roll Pioneer Col Joye Dies Aged 89

One of Australia’s first Rock and Roll stars Col Joye has passed away at the age of 89.

Colin Jacobsen (aka Col Joye) was not only a pioneer of Australian music but also the Australian entertainment business.

The Jacobsen brothers, Col, Kevin and Keith, performed together in what became known as Col Joye and the Joy Boys.

The Joy Boys covered many of the American hits of the day including Lloyd Price’s ‘Stagger Lee’, Frank McNulty’s ‘Bye Bye Baby’ and Mickey & Sylvia’s ‘Oh Yeah Uh Huh’.

Col Joye and the Joy Boys hooked into Lee Gordon’s 1959 Rock ‘n’ Roll Spectacular shows. Rare footage from those shows resurfaced in 2020.

Col was a regular on the new Australian pop music show Bandstand, hosted by Brian Henderson. Bandstand ran for 15 years from 1958 to 1972.

The first Col Joye and the Joy Boys album ‘Jump With Joy’ was released in 1959 on Festival Records. His last chart hot was ‘Heaven Is My Woman’s Love’ in 1973.

Col and his brother Kevin Jacobsen founded the touring company Jacobsen Entertainment. Col was a director of the company into the 2000s. The Jacobsens promoted Australian tours for Barbra Streisand, Bruce Springsteen and Michael Jackson. Col was a director of the company into the 2000s. His brother Keith (who was the Joy Boys bass player) was once married to Little Patti.

Col the businessman starting one of Australia’s first record labels ATA Records in 1966. The label released music by Judy Stone, Sandy Scott, Kevin Johnson, Little Patti, Mike McClellan, Hazel Phillips, Laurie Allen of Bobby and Laurie, Bob Barnard, Johnny Devil and Andy Gibb. Col produced Andy’s first single Words and Music. ATA released Andy’s first hit ‘I Just Want To be Your Everything’.

The ‘Long Way To The Top’ Concert of tour of 2002 was a Kevin Jacaobsen and Michael Chugg production. The tour featured Col Joye, Lonnie Lee, Judy Stone, Ray Columbus & the Invaders, Lucky Starr, Billy Thorpe and the Aztecs, Little Pattie, The Masters Apprentices, Stevie Wright, Daddy Cool, Russell Morris. Axiom, Spectrum, Chain, Brian Cadd, Lobby Loyde, Normie Rowe, The Atlantics, The Twilights, Kevin Borich, Max Merritt, Tamam Shud, John Paul Young, Dinah Lee and Marcia Hines.

Col was Inducted into the ARIA Hall of Fame in 1988. In 981 he was awarded the Member of the Order of Australia (AM) in 1981 for services to the entertainment industry.

Col Joye is remembered as a founding figure of Australian popular music, a true pioneer who brought rock ‘n’ roll to local audiences and opened doors for countless artists. His influence continues to be felt in the Australian music scene, not only through his own recordings but also through his contributions behind the scenes.

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Tagged as: 50s, Andy Gibb, Australia, Col Joye, Colin Jacobsen, Joy Boys, Little Patti, pop, rock and roll