Jerry Joseph (born April 19, 1961) is an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist.

Early life

Jerry Joseph was born on April 19, 1961, in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

. He is of Irish, Lebanese and

Syrian Syrians () are the majority inhabitants of Syria, indigenous to the Levant, most of whom have Arabic, especially its Levantine and Mesopotamian dialects, as a mother tongue. The cultural and linguistic heritage of the Syrian people is a blend ...

ancestry and grew up in the San Diego area. In high school, he began experiencing trouble and was sent by his parents to a

boarding school A boarding school is a school where pupils live within premises while being given formal instruction. The word "boarding" is used in the sense of "room and board", i.e. lodging and meals. They have existed for many centuries, and now extend acr ...

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

, where he started playing guitar professionally at age 15. While there, he experienced further problems with

juvenile delinquency Juvenile delinquency, also known as juvenile offending, is the act of participating in unlawful behavior younger than the statutory age of majority. These acts would be considered crimes if the individuals committing them were older. The term ...

and was eventually deported back to the United States. He wound up in

Arcata, California Arcata (; ; ) is a city adjacent to the Arcata Bay (northern) portion of Humboldt Bay (United States), Humboldt Bay in Humboldt County, California, United States. At the 2010 United States Census, 2020 census, Arcata's population was 18,857. A ...

, where he has familial ties stretching back several generations.

Little Women

Jerry Joseph formed the rock/reggae band Little Women in late 1981. One of the first incarnations of the band was formed in Logan, Utah. The band consisted of Brad Rosen on drums, Stefan Derby on bass, Eric Hellberg on keyboards and Jerry Joseph on guitar. The band featured several lead guitarists over the years, including Greg Millar (1983), Steve Smith (1989), Steve Kimock (1989) and Steven James Wright (1987). C. Louis Butts, Jr (1983 to 1992) replaced Darby on bass and percussionists Ernesto Pediango (1983) and Tony (1983) eventually played with the group. Little Women's first self-released cassette, ''Life's Just Bitchin,'' was recorded in late 1986, early 1987 in near Pomona, CA and featured Joseph, Butts, Geoff George (1982 to 1992, keyboards, vocals), Gregg Freeman (1985 to 1989, percussion), and Brad Rosen (1981 to 1993, drums, vocals). That was followed in 1990 with ''Pretty Wiped Out,'' the first release to feature the staple ''Chainsaw City,'' and featuring David Lindley,

Ian McLagan Ian Patrick McLagan (; 12 May 1945 – 3 December 2014) was an English keyboardist, best known as a member of the rock bands Small Faces and Faces. He also collaborated with the Rolling Stones and led his own band from the late 1970s. He was i ...

and

Steve Kimock Steve Kimock (born October 5, 1955) is an American rock guitarist. He was a member of San Francisco Bay Area bands Zero and KVHW. His tone and some of his playing approach has been compared to Jerry Garcia, who was a friend of his, and he has ...

. Little Women released a single for the Wahine Records label in 1992 of ''Drive,'' with ''Milk'' on the b-side, as well as the live album, ''Live Radish Head''. In 1993 the band released ''Live at New Georges'' containing the

Jimmy Webb Jimmy Layne Webb (born August 15, 1946) is an American songwriter, composer, and singer. He achieved success at an early age, winning the Grammy Award for Song of the Year at the age of 21. During his career, he established himself as one of Am ...

song, "

Wichita Lineman "Wichita Lineman" is a 1968 song written by Jimmy Webb for American country music artist Glen Campbell, who recorded it backed by members of the Wrecking Crew. Widely covered by other artists, it has been called "the first existential country ...

". The live band line-up from this point (late 1992) onward consisted of Joseph, Steve James, Greg Williams/Danny Carbo (drums) and Glen Esparza (bass). In 2006, Joseph's Cosmo Sex School records re-released ''Live Radish Head''. They eventually signed to

Capricorn Records Capricorn Records was an independent record label founded by Phil Walden and Frank Fenter in 1969 in Macon, Georgia. Capricorn Records is often credited by music historians as creating the southern rock genre. History Label and studio fou ...

but were ultimately dropped after recording what would become ''The Welcome Hunters'' in 1993.

Solo career and the Jackmormons

After the breakup of Little Women in 1993, Joseph released ''The Welcome Hunters'' which was essentially a Little Women record with James, Esparza and Williams on drums. This was the first album to contain the hit ''Climb To Safety,'' a song often covered by the band

Widespread Panic Widespread Panic is an American rock band from Athens, Georgia. The current lineup includes guitarist/singer John Bell (musician), John Bell, bassist Dave Schools, drummer Duane Trucks, percussionist Domingo "Sunny" Ortiz, keyboardist John "JoJ ...

. 1994 brought the next Joseph solo record, ''Love and Happiness'' on Back Door Records and which featured an all-new lineup of musicians, including Dave Schools on bass. The record was recorded in

Muscle Shoals, Alabama Muscle Shoals is the largest city in Colbert County, Alabama, United States. It is located on the left bank of the Tennessee River in the northern part of the state and, as of the 2010 census, its population was 13,146. The estimated popula ...

. In 1996, Joseph moved to Utah and formed the band Jackmormons with bassist JR Ruppel, drummer Jim Bone and keyboard player Dave Pellicciaro. Their first album was ''Butte, Mont. 1879'' in 1996, followed by ''Cotton'' in 1997. After a few personnel changes the band released ''Goodlandia '' and ''Salt Lake City.'' At this point, the band settled on a three-piece lineup of Joseph, Rosen and Ruppel. This lineup would remain for the Jackmormons for more than a decade, releasing ''Conscious Contact'' in 2001, featuring

Chuck Leavell Charles Alfred Leavell (born April 28, 1952) is an American musician. A member of the Allman Brothers Band throughout their commercial zenith in the 1970s, he subsequently became a founding member of the band Sea Level. He has served as the pri ...

(organ, piano),

Randall Bramblett Randall Bramblett (born 1948) is an American musician and singer-songwriter, whose career as a solo artist, session player, and touring musician, has spanned five decades. He has worked with Gregg Allman, Bonnie Raitt, Goose Creek Symphony, Ro ...

(organ, wurlitzer), Michael Houser (guitar),

Vic Chesnutt James Victor Chesnutt (November 12, 1964 – December 25, 2009) was an American singer-songwriter from Athens, Georgia. His first album, Little (album), ''Little'', was released in 1990. His commercial breakthrough came in 1996 with the rele ...

(backing vocals), John Keane (pedal steel),

John Neff John B. Neff (September 19, 1931 – June 4, 2019) was an American investor, mutual fund manager, and philanthropist. He was notable for his contrarian and value investing styles as well as for heading Vanguard's Windsor Fund. Windsor becam ...

(pedal steel),

Todd Nance Todd Nance (November 20, 1962August 19, 2020) was an American musician. He was best known as the original drummer of Widespread Panic, a band he was a member of until his departure in 2016. He struggled with chronic illness for the remainder of ...

(percussion) and David Barbe (sirens), and ''Mouthful of Copper'' in 2003. In 2005, the Jackmormons released ''Into the Lovely,'' the first record featuring Steve Drizos (drums), and his wife

Jenny Conlee Jennifer Lynn Conlee-Drizos (born December 12, 1971) is an American musician, best known as the accordionist, pianist, organist, keyboardist, melodica player, and occasional backup singer and harmonica, harmonicist for the indie rock quintet The D ...

The Decemberists The Decemberists are an American indie rock band from Portland, Oregon, formed in 2000. The band consists of Colin Meloy (lead vocals, guitar), Chris Funk (guitar, multi-instrumentalist), Jenny Conlee (piano, keyboards, accordion, backing vocals ...

(backing vocals). In parallel to the Jackmormons' career, Joseph released the solo record ''Everything Was Beautiful'' for Ulftone Records in 2000 featuring Ruppel, Rosen, Pete Droge, Ian Moore, Layng Martine III and others. Joseph's first release for Cosmo Sex School Records, a label he founded in 2003, was a duet with Danny Dzuik (credited as Dzuiks Küche), called ''Oil'', which also featured David Lindley on the track ''Any Other Day''. In 2004 ''Cherry'' was released on Terminus Records. 2006 brought ''April Nineteenth'', recorded at Mississippi studios in Portland and featuring Joseph, Drizos and the return of Steve James. In 2010, the group released ''Badlandia'', recorded in Virginia City, Montana and also featuring Conlee. The first

vinyl Vinyl may refer to: Chemistry * Polyvinyl chloride (PVC), a particular vinyl polymer * Vinyl cation, a type of carbocation * Vinyl group, a broad class of organic molecules in chemistry * Vinyl polymer, a group of polymers derived from vinyl ...

release on Cosmo Sex School was a 2012 Jackmormons 7" single of ''Mile High, Mile Deep'' backed with a cover of Michael Houser's ''Airplane''. In 2012 the Jackmormons released ''Happy Book'', a double CD set featuring guest appearances by Conlee, her Decemberists bandmate Chris Funk, Eric Earley (

Blitzen Trapper Blitzen Trapper is a Portland, Oregon-based experimental country/ folk/ rock band associated with Sub Pop Records, Vagrant Records, Lojinx, and Yep Roc. Formed in 2000, the band currently operates as a quartet, with Eric Earley (guitar/harmon ...

), Dan Eccles (Richmond Fontaine), Ingram, Little Sue Weaver and Paul Brainard. In 2008, Joseph and Drizos recorded a self-titled album under the moniker ''The Denmark Veseys''. The album, recorded in

Athens, GA Athens is a consolidated city-county in the U.S. state of Georgia. Downtown Athens lies about northeast of downtown Atlanta. The University of Georgia, the state's flagship public university and an R1 research institution, is in Athens and co ...

and released on Cosmo Sex School, features appearances from Barbe, Neff and the Chase Park Transduction Choir. Soon after the pair entered the studio with multi-instrumentalist Bret Mosley to record the ''Charge'' EP at Old Soul Studio in Catskill, NY. The album was recorded live-to-tape and was the first album Joseph offered exclusively as an online download of digital tracks. Joseph and his Stockholm Syndrome bandmate Wally Ingram teamed up for 2010's ''Civility'' EP which includes covers of M.I.A.'s Paper Planes and

's Furr. Joseph released ''Jerry Joseph'' on October 31, 2013, an album of 11 original songs, many of which are older Jackmormons, Little Women and Stockholm Syndrome songs reworked to fit his current solo acoustic aesthetic.

Stockholm Syndrome

Joseph began to use the

Stockholm Syndrome Stockholm syndrome is a proposed condition or theory that tries to explain why hostages sometimes develop a psychological bond with their captors. Emotional bonds can possibly form between captors and captives, during intimate time together, ...

moniker for a tour of Europe with

bassist Dave Schools in 2003. The band later morphed into a five-piece with Schools, guitarist Eric McFadden, and Ingram. They recorded ''Holy Happy Hour'' at the famed

Compass Point Studios Compass Point Studios was a music recording studio in the Bahamas, founded in 1977 by Chris Blackwell, the owner of Island Records. The concept of the studio was of a recording facility supported by in-house sets of artists, musicians, producers ...

with producer

Terry Manning Terry Don Manning (December 29, 1947 – March 25, 2025) was an American recording engineer, record producer, musician and photographer. In a career spanning more than 50 years, he worked with Led Zeppelin, Iron Maiden, Bryan Adams, ZZ Top, the ...

. The album featured mostly new compositions, along with a cover of the

Climax Blues Band Climax Blues Band (originally known as The Climax Chicago Blues Band) are a British blues rock and pop band that has released 22 albums. " Couldn't Get It Right" reached No. 10 on the UK Singles Chart and No. 3 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 ...

's ''

Couldn't Get It Right "Couldn't Get It Right" is a 1976 song by the Climax Blues Band. The song was written after the band's label told them that their 1976 album '' Gold Plated'' lacked a standout track and asked them to "try and write a hit". They then wrote it, in ...

''. Stockholm Syndrome toured in 2004 to support the album, while Schools' primary gig was on hiatus. Stockholm Syndrome reformed in 2010 with

Gov't Mule Gov't Mule (pronounced "Government Mule") is an American Southern rock jam band, formed in 1994 by guitarist Warren Haynes, bassist Allen Woody (both of The Allman Brothers Band at the time) and drummer Matt Abts (whom Haynes had worked with in ...

keyboardist Danny Louis replacing Dzuik, and recorded ''Live at Streetlight Records'' during a tour stop in California, and also ''Apollo'' in 2011.

Songwriting

Joseph is noted for his songwriting and the depth of his "creative, cathartic" lyrics.

has covered seven of Joseph's songs on record, and several others live. "Climb To Safety" has appeared on the '' 'Til the Medicine Takes'', '' Live in the Classic City'', '' Colorado Springs 1998'', ''

Wood Wood is a structural tissue/material found as xylem in the stems and roots of trees and other woody plants. It is an organic materiala natural composite of cellulosic fibers that are strong in tension and embedded in a matrix of lignin t ...

'' and '' Choice Cuts: The Capricorn Years 1991-1999'' albums. His song "North" (co-written with

Woody Harrelson Woodrow Tracy Harrelson (born July 23, 1961) is an American actor. He first became known for his role as bartender Woody Boyd on the NBC sitcom ''Cheers'' (1985–1993), for which he won a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in ...

) was featured in the movie '' The Earth Will Swallow You'' and later on the studio album '' Dirty Side Down'' and archival release '' Wilmington, DE 2001''. He later co-wrote "Second Skin" and "Time Zones" for '' Earth to America'' and three compositions for the ''

Free Somehow ''Free Somehow'' is the tenth studio album by the Athens, Georgia-based band Widespread Panic. It was recorded in May 2007 with Terry Manning producing in Nassau, Bahamas at the Compass Point Studios. The album is being offered in three variation ...

'' album, "Boom Boom Boom", "Flicker", and "Dark Day Program". He co-authored "Yellow Ribbons" for Bloodkin with lead singer Daniel Hutchens.

Awards

In 2015, Joseph was inducted into the Oregon Music Hall of Fame.

Discography

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Joseph, Jerry 1961 births American expatriates in New Zealand American people of Irish descent American people of Lebanese descent American people of Syrian descent American male singer-songwriters Living people People from Arcata, California People from San Diego County, California Singer-songwriters from California Stockholm Syndrome (band) members