Joe Dolce
| Joe Dolce | |
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Joe Dolce, 2005
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| Background information | |
| Born | March 19, 1947 |
| Origin | Painesville, Ohio, United States of America |
| Genres | Pop |
| Occupation(s) | Singer-songwriter, poet, essayist |
| Labels | MCA Records Full Moon/Astor, Hammard, PolyGram |
| Associated acts | Joe Dolce Music Theatre |
| Website | joedolce.net |
Joseph "Joe" Dolce (/ˈdoʊltʃeɪ/, originally /ˈdoʊlts/; born March 19, 1947 in Painesville, Ohio) is an American-Australian singer/songwriter, poet and essayist who achieved international recognition with his multi-million-selling song, "Shaddap You Face", released under the name of his one-man show, Joe Dolce Music Theatre, worldwide, in 1980–1981.
The single reached number one in 15 countries, it has sold more than 450,000 copies in Australia, and has remained the most successful Australian-produced single since, selling an estimated six million copies worldwide. It reached No. 1 on the Australian Kent Music Report Singles Chart for eight weeks from November 1980.
Dolce was born in 1947, the eldest of three children, to Italian-American parents, in Painesville, Ohio, graduating from Thomas W. Harvey High School in 1965. During his senior year, he played the lead role, of Mascarille, in Molière's "Les Précieuses Ridicules" for a production staged by the French Club of Lake Erie Girls College, which was his first time on stage, acting and singing an impromptu song he created from the script. The play was well received and his performance was noted by director, Jake Rufli, who later invited him to be part of his production of Jean Anouilh's "Eurydice".
His co-star in "Les Précieuses Ridicules" was a sophomore, on a creative writing scholarship, at Lake Erie, Carol Dunlop, who introduced him to folk music, poetry and the writings of William Faulkner and Ernest Hemingway. Dunlop later married the Argentine novelist Julio Cortazar. Dolce attended Ohio University, majoring in Architecture, from 1965–67, before deciding to become a professional musician.
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Wikipedia