Joseph S. "Joe" Ruggiero (December 7, 1934 – January 20, 2017), who performed as Joey Powers, was an American former

pop singer Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or without ...

and songwriter whose record "Midnight Mary" reached No. 10 on the '' Billboard'' Hot 100 in early January 1964. Powers had no further hits and is known as a "

one hit wonder A one-hit wonder or viral hit is any entity that achieves mainstream popularity, often for only one piece of work, and becomes known among the general public solely for that momentary success. The term is most commonly used in regard to music p ...

". He later became a booking agent, recording studio owner, record producer, and church leader.

Biography

He was born in

Washington, Pennsylvania Washington is a city in and the county seat of Washington County, Pennsylvania. A part of the Greater Pittsburgh area in the southwestern part of the state, the city is home to Washington & Jefferson College and Pony League baseball. The populat ...

. He graduated from Washington High School in 1953 and at one time played in a band with

Bobby Vinton Stanley Robert "Bobby" Vinton (born April 16, 1935) is a American former singer and occasional actor, who also hosted his own self-titled TV show in the late 1970s. As a teen idol, he became known as "The Polish Prince", as his music paid trib ...

. Terry Hazlett, "National music spotlight fell on area thanks to Vinton and Powers"
''Canonsburg Friends'', January 13, 2009; retrieved June 9, 2014. He won a

wrestling Wrestling is a series of combat sports involving grappling-type techniques such as clinch fighting, throws and takedowns, joint locks, pins and other grappling holds. Wrestling techniques have been incorporated into martial arts, combat ...

scholarship to

Ohio State University The Ohio State University, commonly called Ohio State or OSU, is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio. A member of the University System of Ohio, it has been ranked by major institutional rankings among the best publ ...

before returning to Pennsylvania, where he recorded three singles for the Nu-Clear and

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

labels under the name Joey Rogers in 1958.Harry Young and Larry N. Houlieff, Joey Powers Discography
Retrieved 10 June 2014 However, none were successful. In 1959 he moved to

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

and, through an introduction by family friend Perry Como, secured a job at

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...

. His singing was heard by songwriter and

record producer A record producer is a recording project's creative and technical leader, commanding studio time and coaching artists, and in popular genres typically creates the song's very sound and structure. Virgil Moorefield"Introduction" ''The Producer as ...

Paul Vance Joseph Paul Florio (November 4, 1929 – May 30, 2022), known professionally as Paul Vance, was an American songwriter and record producer, primarily from the 1950s until the 1970s. His most successful song compositions, all written with Lee Po ...

, who signed him to

RCA Records RCA Records is an American record label currently owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside RCA's former long-time rival Columbia Records; also A ...

and changed his name to Joey Powers so as to avoid confusion with the singer Jimmy Rodgers. He released several singles produced by Vance, but again without success, and he returned to Ohio State University to complete his degree and work as a wrestling coach.Terry Hazlett
"The week Washington rocked the country", ''Observer-Reporter'', pg. 13
January 10, 1979; retrieved June 9, 2014. However, after ending his contract with Vance in 1963, one of his

demo Demo, usually short for demonstration, may refer to: Music and film *Demo (music), a song typically recorded for reference rather than release * ''Demo'' (Behind Crimson Eyes), a 2004 recording by the band Behind Crimson Eyes * ''Demo'' (Deafhea ...

recordings, "Midnight Mary", the lyrics of which were inspired by Jamela, the beautiful daughter of a deposed general, who was exiled to the United States along with the Shah of Iran, was heard by Paul Simon (then recording as Jerry Landis), who recommended it to record label owner Larry Uttal."The True Story Behind 'Midnight Mary'"
artiewayne.wordpress.com, June 30, 2007; retrieved June 9, 2014. The song was written by

Artie Wayne Artie Wayne (born Wayne Kent, January 22, 1942 – February 19, 2019)

and

Ben Raleigh Ben Raleigh (June 16, 1913, New York – February 26, 1997, Hollywood) was an American lyricist and composer responsible for a number of major hits, including "Dungaree Doll", "Wonderful! Wonderful!", "Hold on Girl", "She's a Fool", " I Don't Wanna ...

, originally for the

Everly Brothers The Everly Brothers were an American rock duo, known for steel-string acoustic guitar playing and close harmony singing. Consisting of Isaac Donald "Don" Everly (February 1, 1937 – August 21, 2021) and Phillip "Phil" Everly (January 19, 193 ...

who turned it down. Released as a single by Amy Records, Powers' recording rose up the national charts, entering the Hot 100's top 40 at no.36 on Powers' 29th birthday and reaching no.10 at the start of 1964. Lorna Dune's nearly note-for-note answer record "Midnight Joey" followed soon after. Powers quickly recorded an album, ''Midnight Mary'' — in the week of

John F. Kennedy's assassination John F. Kennedy, the 35th president of the United States, was assassinated on Friday, November 22, 1963, at 12:30 p.m. CST in Dallas, Texas, while riding in a presidential motorcade through Dealey Plaza. Kennedy was in the vehicle with ...

— with musicians including Paul Simon and

Roger McGuinn James Roger McGuinn (born James Joseph McGuinn III; July 13, 1942) is an American musician. He is best known for being the frontman and leader of the Byrds. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame for his work with the Byrds. As a ...

. He recorded an album, ''Special Delivery'', with Roy Orbison and country/folk musician Bobby Bare. However, these were generally ignored, as were subsequent singles, because the public preferred other acts, especially

the Beatles The Beatles were an English rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the most influential band of all time and were integral to the developmen ...

and the

British Invasion The British Invasion was a cultural phenomenon of the mid-1960s, when rock and pop music acts from the United Kingdom and other aspects of British culture became popular in the United States and significant to the rising "counterculture" on ...

, instead. In 1967, he released a single credited to Joey Powers and The New Dimensions. He then formed a new band, Joey Powers' Flower who performed around Pennsylvania and New Jersey and released several singles on the RCA label in 1969-70, without success. He later ran a booking agency in

Hazlet, New Jersey Hazlet is a township in Monmouth County, New Jersey, United States. The township is located near the Raritan Bay within the Raritan Valley region. It is located in the New York Metropolitan Area and is a bedroom community of New York. As of th ...

, and a recording studio in

West Orange, New Jersey West Orange is a suburban township in Essex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States Census, its population was 48,843, an increase of 2,636 (+5.7%) from the 46,207 counted in the 2010 Census.

used by musicians including Jethro Tull,

Tony Orlando Tony may refer to: People and fictional characters * Tony (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters * Gregory Tony (born 1978), American law enforcement officer * Motu Tony (born 1981), New Zealand international rugby leagu ...

Steve Allen Stephen Valentine Patrick William Allen (December 26, 1921 – October 30, 2000) was an American television personality, radio personality, musician, composer, actor, comedian, and writer. In 1954, he achieved national fame as the co-cre ...

The Kinks The Kinks were an English rock band formed in Muswell Hill, north London, in 1963 by brothers Ray and Dave Davies. They are regarded as one of the most influential rock bands of the 1960s. The band emerged during the height of British rhyt ...

and Aerosmith.Terry Hazlet
"Washington native Joey Powers: 'Midnight Mary' + 20 years"
''Observer-Reporter'', January 19, 1984 (pg. 17); retrieved June 9, 2014. He managed the band Phantom's Opera that included Richie Sambora,

Tico Torres Hector Juan Samuel "Tico" Torres (born October 7, 1953) is an American musician, artist, and entrepreneur, best known as the drummer, percussionist, and a songwriter for American rock band Bon Jovi. In 2018, Torres was inducted into the Rock ...

and

Alec John Such Alec John Such (November 14, 1951 – June 5, 2022) was an American musician. He was best known as a founding member of the rock band Bon Jovi. As their bass player from 1983 to 1994, he played on their first five albums. Such started h ...

, later of Bon Jovi, and helped produce a solo album by drummer Joe English.Terry Hazlett
"Fifty years ago, Washington's Joey Powers was a Top 10 artist"
''Observer-Reporter'', December 1, 2013; retrieved June 9, 2014. He won a

Gospel Music Association The Gospel Music Association (GMA) is a nonprofit organization founded in 1964 for the purpose of supporting and promoting the development of all forms of gospel music. As of 2011, there are about 4,000 members worldwide. The GMA's membership co ...

Dove Award for Album of the Year in 1991 for the album '' Triumphant Return'' by Christian rock group Whitecross. He sold the recording studio in the early 1990s and returned to college to study

theology Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...

, later becoming an ordained minister,Terry Hazlet
"Powers still going strong as the Rev. Joe Ruggiero"
''Observer-Reporter'', January 28, 1994 (pg. 11); retrieved June 9, 2014. and setting up the Bayshore Gospel church in

Keyport, New Jersey Keyport is a borough in Monmouth County, New Jersey, United States. At the 2010 United States Census, the borough's population was 7,240,Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...

, where he set up a Christian

orphanage An orphanage is a residential institution, total institution or group home, devoted to the care of orphans and children who, for various reasons, cannot be cared for by their biological families. The parents may be deceased, absent, or ab ...

and built a recording studio. He later returned to the US.

Death

Ruggiero died January 20, 2017 in

at age 82. He was survived by his three children and extended family.Obituary
Legacy.com; retrieved January 24, 2017.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Powers, Joey 1934 births 2017 deaths American male pop singers Ohio State University alumni People from Washington, Pennsylvania