Joshie Jo Armstead
| Jo Armstead | |
|---|---|
Joshie Jo Armstead in NYC at a Melvin Van Peebles performance
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Josephine Armstead |
| Also known as | Joshie Jo Armstead Joshie Armstead Dina Johnson |
| Born |
October 8, 1944 Yazoo City, Mississippi, United States |
| Genres | R&B, soul |
| Occupation(s) | Singer, songwriter |
| Instruments | Vocals |
| Years active | 1961 - 1990s |
| Labels | Giant, Gospel Truth |
| Associated acts |
Ashford & Simpson The Ikettes |
Josephine "Jo" Armstead (born October 8, 1944), often known as "Joshie" Jo Armstead, is an American soul singer and songwriter. She co-wrote Ray Charles' hits "Let's Go Get Stoned" and "I Don't Need No Doctor", among other songs written with Ashford & Simpson. After a period in The Ikettes in the early 1960s, she also had some success as a solo singer, her biggest hit being "A Stone Good Lover" in 1968.
She was born in Yazoo City, Mississippi, and started singing in the church in which her mother was a minister. After her grandfather introduced her to blues music, she also began singing in juke joints and at dances, and first sang in a club as part of Bobby "Blue" Bland's band. She joined a local band, Little Melvin & The Downbeats, as a teenager. In 1961, together with Eloise Hester and Delores Johnson, she formed The Ikettes as part of the Ike & Tina Turner Revue.
In 1962, she settled in New York City and recorded under the name Dina Johnson, by her own account a pseudonym to avoid being tracked down by Ike Turner. She recorded advertising jingles and sang back-up for such musicians as James Brown, Walter Jackson and B.B. King, before a chance meeting with Nick Ashford and Valerie Simpson. They began writing songs together, one of the first results being "Let's Go Get Stoned", which became an R&B chart no. 1 hit for Ray Charles in 1966. Its follow-up, "I Don't Need No Doctor" was also a hit, and the trio of writers also had success with songs for Chuck Jackson, Maxine Brown and Tina Britt.
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