Joi Cardwell (born October 8, 1967) is an American singer and songwriter. Born and raised in New York City, she performed in various singing competitions as a child and rose to fame in the early 1990s as a guest vocalist for

Lil Louis Marvin Louis Burns (born May 13, 1962), known by his stage name Li'l Louis (sometimes expanded to Li'l Louis & the World and Li'l Louis & the Party), is a Chicago-born house music, house-music producer and DJ .Larkin, Colin (1999) ''The Virgin ...

on the number 1

Dance Dance is an The arts, art form, consisting of sequences of body movements with aesthetic and often Symbol, symbolic value, either improvised or purposefully selected. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoir ...

singles "Club Lonely" and "Saved My Life". The release of Cardwell's debut album, '' The World Is Full of Trouble'' (1995), established her as a solo artist worldwide and featured the ''Billboard'' Dance top-five singles number-one singles "Jump for Joi" and "Love & Devotion". Her second album, '' Joi Cardwell'' (1997), spawned the top-charting singles "Soul to Bare", "Run to You", and "Found Love". In 1999, she released her third album, ''

Deliverance ''Deliverance'' is a 1972 American thriller film directed and produced by John Boorman from a screenplay by James Dickey, who adapted it from his own Deliverance (novel), 1970 novel. It follows four businessmen from Atlanta who venture into th ...

'', on her own record label, No-Mad Industries. Her fourth album, '' The Plain Jane Project'' (2005), yielded the top-ten singles "Freedom" and "It's Over". She continued to release albums on her recording label including ''Wanderlust (The Soundtrack)'' (2009) and ''Must Be the Music'' (2011). In 2014, Cardwell resurfaced with her seventh album ''The Art of Being'', which was released on her new recording label Curly Gurly Records. In 2016, ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'' magazine ranked her at No. 43 amongst the Greatest of All Time Top Dance Club Artists.

Early life

Born in New York City in the late-1960s and raised in various areas of Queens. Cardwell appeared on stage at Carnegie Hall at the age of five in a dance recital, and was used to being on a stage by the time she was a teenager. She worked as a back-up session singer for

Melba Moore Beatrice Melba Smith (born October 29, 1945) known by her stage name Melba Moore, is an American singer and actress. Biography Early life and education Moore was born Beatrice Melba Smith on October 29, 1945, in New York City to Gertrude Melba ...

Jermaine Jackson Jermaine LaJuane Jacksun (né Jackson; born December 11, 1954) is an American singer, songwriter and bassist. He is known for being a member of the Jackson family. From 1964 to 1975, Jermaine was second vocalist after his brother Michael of the ...

LL Cool J James Todd Smith (born January 14, 1968), known professionally as LL Cool J (short for Ladies Love Cool James), is an American rapper and actor. He is one of the earliest rappers to achieve commercial success, alongside fellow new school hip ho ...

, and

The Pointer Sisters The Pointer Sisters are an American female vocal group from Oakland, California, who achieved mainstream success during the 1970s and 1980s. They have had a repertoire with many genres, they have sold around 50 million records throughout their ...

. After graduating from

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private university, private research university in New York City, New York, United States. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded in 1832 by Albert Gallatin as a Nondenominational ...

with degrees in English and Music in the mid-1980s, she studied voice for a year primarily to master control, as she had already developed and retained her own personal style. After her studies, she wrote and published songs for major R&B acts such as

Kashif Kashif (also spelled Kaashif, Kaşif, Khasif , Kashef or Kawshif , ) is an Arabic word, commonly used as a male given name in the Muslim world. Its meaning is close to the "revealer", "discoverer", "uncoverer" or "pioneer", "explorer". When us ...

, L.A. Posse, and Malika Thomas.

Career

1988–1993: Beginnings

Her close affiliation with Kashif led to an album deal with Arista Records in 1988 for her pop R&B girl-group, The Promise.Biography > Joi Cardwell
''Billboard''. Retrieved February 8, 2017 Since the market in the 1980s was already saturated with sweet-sounding, bubbly R&B groups, it was difficult for The Promise to stand. As a result, Cardwell decided to answer an ad in the Village Voice that read, "Epic recording artist looking for a background singer for a live tour." The recording artist turned out to be house-music innovator

. She recorded two songs; "Club Lonely" and "Saved My Life" for Lil Louis' album ''Journey with the Lonely'', which both peaked at number 1 on ''Billboard's''

Dance Club Songs The Dance Club Songs (also known as National Disco Action, Hot Dance/Disco Club Play, and Hot Dance Club Play) was a chart published weekly between 1976 and 2020 by ''Billboard'' magazine. It used club disc jockeys set lists to determine the mos ...

chart.Chart History > Lil Louis
''Billboard''. Retrieved February 7, 2017 Cardwell's experience as a vocalist and songwriter turned out to be exactly what Lil Louis had been searching for in a singer. He proved to be an early influence for Cardwell's sound, which melds a new dance beat with a thoughtful lyrical twist. Cardwell creates material that sounds as though she's musing quietly about life while a dancing throng gyrates with joy nearby, and her lyrics are soulful, romantic, and thought-provoking. Shortly after meeting Lil Louis, Cardwell conceived the single "Dancing in My Sleep", and within a week of penning it, she was in Chicago cutting demos and well on her way to a career as a dance-hall diva and R&B songstress. When "Club Lonely" reached the number one mark, Cardwell distanced herself from the Lil Louis project. In 1993, she toured in Japan for eight months as a background singer for Japanese soul singer Toshinobu Kubota. Cardwell gleaned experience from the large overseas tour returned to the U.S. significantly more focused and ready to tackle a solo singing career.

1994–1998: ''The World Is Full of Trouble'' and ''Joi Cardwell''

In 1994, Cardwell signed a recording contract with Eightball Records, an independent label based in New York. In 1994, Cardwell released her first single "Trouble" on Eight Ball Records, which was a double-pack single including remixes from Junior Vasquez, Sotoshi Tomiie, and Deep Dish. The song charted at number 11 on the Dance chart.Chart History > Joi Cardwell
''Billboard''. Retrieved February 7, 2017 She also released a non-album single "Holdin' On" with Jay Mac. Her first solo album '' The World Is Full of Trouble'' was released on May 15, 1995. The album spawned the top-charted singles "Jump for Joi" and "Love & Devotion". In 1995, she recorded the single "Luv Connection" for

Towa Tei is a Japanese artist, record producer, and DJ. Born in Yokohama, Japan, Towa was a member of Deee-Lite, from the US label Elektra Records in 1990 and shot to fame via their international hit single, "Groove Is In the Heart". He made his solo ...

's album ''

Future Listening! ''Future Listening!'' is the debut studio album by Japanese music producer Towa Tei, released on October 21, 1994 by For Life Music. It is Tei's first release after his departure from Deee-Lite. The album was released in the United States on Apri ...

''. Cardwell contributed guest vocals on the single "The Creator Has A Master Plan" for the

Brooklyn Funk Essentials Brooklyn Funk Essentials is a music collective who mix jazz, funk, and hip hop, featuring musicians and poets from different cultures. The band was conceived in 1993 by producer Arthur Baker and bassist and musical director Lati Kronlund. In ...

' album ''Cool & Steady & Easy''. She also toured with the group throughout the year. In 1996, she toured as a backing vocalist for Toshinobu Kubota on the Oyeees! Tour. In July 1996, she released the single "You Got to Pray". The single peaked at number 1 on

's Dance Club Play chart. Cardwell's eponymous second solo album '' Joi Cardwell'' was released on November 11, 1997, in the US. The album's lead single "Soul to Bare" reached the top five on the Billboard Dance Club Play chart. The second international single "Run to You" was a commercial success, reaching number one in the United States. The album also produced two other singles; "Found Love" and "Power". By December 1997, Cardwell had sold a total of over 1.5 million records worldwide. In 1998, Cardwell left Eightball Records. In November 1998, she released a two-disc compilation '' Clubland's Greatest Hits'' which features a few club mixes of her earlier singles on Eightball Records.

1999–2004: ''Deliverance'' and ''More''

In April 1999, Cardwell self-produced and released the lead single "Last Chance for Love" of her forthcoming album. The song peaked at number 17 on the Dance Club chart. She later released her third album ''

'' on her new independent recording label "No-Mad Industries". A second single "Superstar", an interpretation of

Delaney & Bonnie Delaney & Bonnie was an American duo of singer-songwriters Delaney Bramlett and Bonnie Bramlett. In 1969 and 1970, they fronted a rock/soul ensemble, Delaney & Bonnie and Friends, whose members at different times included Duane Allman, Gregg ...

's "

Superstar A superstar is someone who has great popular appeal and is widely known, prominent, or successful in their field. Celebrities referred to as "superstars" may include individuals who work as actors, musicians, athletes, and other media-based profe ...

", was also released. In 2000, "Last Chance for Love" won for "Best Dance Song" by the GLAMA Awards. In February 2000, a remixed version of "Jump for Joi" was released on Nervous Records. The remix single peaked at number 7 on the Dance Club chart. In 2001, she toured again as a background vocalist for her long-time friend Toshinobu Kubota during the Nothing But As One Tour. In September 2003, Cardwell released a compilation album ''More (1992–2003)'', which featured unreleased songs and new remixes.Published by Nielsen Business Media, Inc. (August 9, 2003). Cardwell Compilation Covers 'More' Ground. ''Billboard'', Volume 115: No. 32, Page 52. Retrieved from https://books.google.com The album spawned the singles "After the Rain" and "If You're Ever Lonely", which were released on her manager's label, Junior Vasquez Music. In 2004, she participated in the Keep Hope Alive Project to benefit LIFEbeat, the music industry AIDS-awareness organization. Cardwell appeared alongside other house-genre singers on the song "Keep Hope Alive" and she also co-wrote and recorded a song "Be Yourself", which appear on the ''Underground Dance Artists United For Life: Keep Hope Alive'' album. In 2004, she released her

greatest hits album A greatest hits album or best-of album is a type of compilation album that collects popular and commercially successful songs by a particular artist or band. While greatest hits albums are typically supported by the artist, they can also be creat ...

entitled ''Hits and More''.

2005–2010: ''The Plane Jane Project'' and ''Wanderlust (The Soundtrack)''

On November 18, 2005, Cardwell released her fourth studio album, '' The Plain Jane Project''. The album features more R&B-styled songs as opposed to her earlier

electronic dance Electronic dance music (EDM), also referred to as dance music or club music, is a broad range of percussive electronic music genres originally made for nightclubs, raves, and List of electronic dance music festivals, festivals. It is generally ...

and

house A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air c ...

records. The album's lead single "Freedom" spent thirteen weeks on the Dance Club Play chart before peaking at number 7. The second single "It's Over" peaked at number 4 on the chart. The album's final single "What It Feels Like" peaked at number 30 on the Dance chart. Her compilation album '' A Beautiful Life'' was released on May 7, 2007, in Japan-only. The eleven-track album featured a combination of past singles and DJ mixes. On April 7, 2009, she released her fifth album ''Wanderlust (The Soundtrack)''. The album spawn the singles "Imperfect", "Happy", "People Make the World Go Round", "Come Together", "Change the World", and "What's Freedom". Her single "People Make The World Go Round" received an IDMA Awards' nomination for "Best House/Garage Track".

2010–2015: ''Must Be the Music'' and ''The Art of Being''

In June 2010, she released a maxi-single "All Night", which features the original version and various remixes of the song. A single "We Got the Night" was released, which featured production and mixing by Chus & Ceballos and DJ Koutarou.A. Caldwell released her sixth album ''Must Be the Music'' on March 19, 2011. In July 2011, she released her original song "How Deep Is Your Love?". In 2013, she released a single "Love Somebody Else", which earned an IDMA award for "Best House/Garage/Deep House Track of the Year". In September 2014, Cardwell released her seventh album ''The Art of Being'' on her own independent recording label Curly Gurly Records. The album spawned the singles "Return to Love", "Feels Like Heaven", "Indian Giver", "Lucky Charm", "Shot through the Heart", and new remix of "Jump 4 Joi".

2016–present: ''Keep Your Eye on the Game and Not the Fame'' and retirement from music

In 2016, Cardwell released a single "What Love's Gonna Do". In May 2017, she re-released her business book titled "Keep Your Eye on the Game and Not the Fame", which was originally released in 2001. On May 26, 2017, Cardwell announced through her Facebook that she would be retiring from the music industry, following a few more music releases and that she would open a wellness center. On June 2, 2017, she released a single called "We Can Do Better". In collaboration with DJ Gomi, a maxi-single was released featuring six remixed version of "We Can Do Better". On June 16, 2017, Cardwell released another single titled "Days of Our Lives". On October 13, 2017, Cardwell was featured on the track "State of Confusion" from the debut album by DJ and producer

Honey Dijon Honey Redmond (known professionally as Honey Dijon) is an American DJ, producer, and electronic musician. She was born in Chicago and is based in New York City and Berlin. She has performed at clubs, festivals, art fairs, galleries and fashio ...

, ''The Best of Both Worlds''. In March 2018, Cardwell released a new version of her single titled "Trouble 2018". On June 1, 2018, Cardwell released her eighth album "Pride and Joi". The album contained new remixes of her previous singles.

Artistry

Voice and songwriting

Cardwell's voice is a

mezzo-soprano A mezzo-soprano (, ), or mezzo ( ), is a type of classical music, classical female singing human voice, voice whose vocal range lies between the soprano and the contralto voice types. The mezzo-soprano's vocal range usually extends from the A bel ...

despite sometimes being classified as an

alto The musical term alto, meaning "high" in Italian (Latin: '' altus''), historically refers to the contrapuntal part higher than the tenor and its associated vocal range. In four-part voice leading alto is the second-highest part, sung in ch ...

. Barry Walters of ''

The Advocate An advocate is a professional in the field of law. The Advocate, The Advocates or Advocate may also refer to: Magazines * The Advocate (magazine), ''The Advocate'' (magazine), an LGBT magazine based in the United States * ''The Harvard Advocate' ...

'' highlights her tone and timbre as particularly distinctive, described her voice as "more subtle, more ethereal and seductive." Other critics praise her vocal abilities, with Larry Flick of ''

'' saying she "proved her potential as a multiformat star with a funk version of "Jump for Joi" that exploded with

Ella Fitzgerald Ella Jane Fitzgerald (April25, 1917June15, 1996) was an American singer, songwriter and composer, sometimes referred to as the "First Lady of Song", "Queen of Jazz", and "Lady Ella". She was noted for her purity of tone, impeccable diction, phra ...

-style scatting." Cardwell's music is generally

, but she also incorporates

traditional jazz Trad jazz, short for "traditional jazz", is a form of jazz in the United States and Britain that flourished from the 1930s to 1960s, based on the earlier New Orleans Dixieland jazz style. Prominent English trad jazz musicians such as Chris Barb ...

funk Funk is a music genre that originated in African-American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African-Americans in the ...

, and

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form that originated among African Americans in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues has incorporated spiritual (music), spirituals, work songs, field hollers, Ring shout, shouts, cha ...

into her songs. ''Deliverance'' demonstrated Cardwell's exploration of

neo soul Neo soul (sometimes called progressive soul) is a genre of popular music. As a term, it was coined by music industry entrepreneur Kedar Massenburg during the late 1990s to market and describe a style of music that emerged from Soul music, soul ...

, as well as further use of soul and hip hop than compared to previous releases. While she exclusively releases English songs, Cardwell have performed several Japanese songs for Toshinobu Kubota (as a backup singer during his concert tours for a Japanese audience). To perform them, Cardwell was coached progressively by Kubota. She has received co-writing credits for most of the songs recorded with

and her solo efforts. Her songs were personally driven by dance themed compositions like "Run to You" and "You Got to Pray". Cardwell believes that, "Lyrics have to be meaningful and memorable enough that people will insist on keeping the vocals on the tracks." She has also received production credits for many of the records in which she has been involved, especially during her solo efforts. As an accomplished pianist, Cardwell incorporates piano into a majority of her songs and often writes about love. She also played a violin, and piano, on the song "Brittany" for Lil Louis' album ''From the Mind of Lil Louis''.

Influences

Her musical influences included

Billie Holiday Billie Holiday (born Eleanora Fagan; April 7, 1915 – July 17, 1959) was an American jazz and swing music singer. Nicknamed "Lady Day" by her friend and music partner, Lester Young, Holiday made significant contributions to jazz music and pop ...

Barbra Streisand Barbara Joan "Barbra" Streisand ( ; born April 24, 1942) is an American singer, actress, songwriter, producer, and director. With a career spanning over six decades, she has achieved success across multiple fields of entertainment, being the ...

, and

Minnie Riperton Minnie Julia Riperton (November 8, 1947 – July 12, 1979) was an American soul singer and songwriter best known for her 1974 single " Lovin' You", her five-octave vocal range, and her use of the whistle register. Born in 1947, Riperton grew ...

. Cardwell credits

Ashford and Simpson Ashford & Simpson were an American husband-and-wife songwriting, production and recording duo composed of Nickolas Ashford (May 4, 1941 – August 22, 2011) and Valerie Simpson (born August 26, 1946). Ashford was born in Fairfield, South Carol ...

Marvin Gaye Marvin Pentz Gaye Jr. (; April 2, 1939 – April 1, 1984) was an American Rhythm and blues, R&B and soul singer, songwriter, musician, and record producer. He helped shape the sound of Motown in the 1960s, first as an in-house session player an ...

, and

Curtis Mayfield Curtis Lee Mayfield (June 3, 1942 – December 26, 1999) was an American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and record producer. Dubbed the " Gentle Genius", he is considered one of the most influential musicians of soul and socially conscious Afric ...

as her songwriting influences.The Art of Joi Cardwell: EXCLUSIVE Q&A
Dj Buddy Beaverhausen. Retrieved February 11, 2017 Her influences also include

Sarah Vaughn Sarah Lois Vaughan (, March 27, 1924 – April 3, 1990) was an American jazz singer and pianist. Nicknamed "Sassy" and "List of nicknames of jazz musicians, The Divine One", she won two Grammy Awards, including the Lifetime Achievement Award, ...

and

Donna Summer Donna Adrian Gaines (December 31, 1948May 17, 2012), known professionally as Donna Summer, was an American singer and songwriter. She gained prominence during the disco era of the 1970s and became known as the "Queen of Disco", while her music ...

, the latter of whom she has been compared to.Published by Nielsen Business Media, Inc. (June 17, 1995). Single Reviews. ''Billboard'', Volume 107: No. 24, Page 57. Retrieved from https://books.google.com

Business and ventures

Jump for Joi Wellness Center

In 2017, Cardwell announced her plans to open a wellness center. She later earned certifications in

yoga Yoga (UK: , US: ; 'yoga' ; ) is a group of physical, mental, and spiritual practices or disciplines that originated with its own philosophy in ancient India, aimed at controlling body and mind to attain various salvation goals, as pra ...

meditation Meditation is a practice in which an individual uses a technique to train attention and awareness and detach from reflexive, "discursive thinking", achieving a mentally clear and emotionally calm and stable state, while not judging the meditat ...

, and as a holistic health coach.About Us
. Jump For Joi. Retrieved June 19, 2019 She also trained in trauma informed practices, yoga as a peace practice, and yoga nidra. In 2019, Cardwell opened the Jump for Joi Wellness Center in

West Palm Beach West Palm Beach is a city in and the county seat of Palm Beach County, Florida, United States. It is located immediately to the west of the adjacent Palm Beach, Florida, Palm Beach, which is situated on a barrier island across the Lake Worth Lag ...

, Florida. The wellness center offers classes and programs in gentle yoga,

asana An āsana (Sanskrit: आसन) is a body posture, originally and still a general term for a sitting meditation pose,Verse 46, chapter II, "Patanjali Yoga sutras" by Swami Prabhavananda, published by the Sri Ramakrishna Math p. 111 and late ...

, yoga nidra, pre-natal yoga, and guided meditation for children.

Discography

* '' The World Is Full of Trouble'' (1995) * '' Joi Cardwell'' (1997) * ''

'' (1999) * '' The Plain Jane Project'' (2005) * ''Wanderlust (The Soundtrack)'' (2009) * ''Must Be the Music'' (2011) * ''The Art of Being'' (2014) * ''Pride and Joi'' (2018)

Tours

Headlining * Brooklyn Funk Essentials Tour (1995) * My First Christmas with You Japan Tour (1995–1996) * The Joi Cardwell Tour (1997) * Greatest Hits Album Tour (2011) * The Art of Being Tour (2015) * European Tour (2016) Supporting * Évry'ting Cook An Curie! Tour (1993) (with Toshinobu Kubota) * Oyeees! Tour (1996) (with Toshinobu Kubota) * Nothing But As One Tour (2001) (with Toshinobu Kubota)

Books

* ''Keep Your Eye on the Game and Not the Fame'' (2001)Member Profile Joi Cardwell , Blurb Books
Blurb Books. Retrieved June 19, 2019 * ''Jump for Joi: Thoughts for Inner Strength Vol. 1'' (2017) * ''Jump for Joi: Thoughts for Inner Strength Vol. 2'' (2017)

Awards and nominations

GLAMA Awards

, - , 1997 , "You Got to Pray" , rowspan="2", Best Dance Song , , - , 2000 , "Last Chance for Love" , , -

IDMA Awards

, - , 2009 , "People Make the World Go Round" , Best House/Garage Track , , - , 2013 , "Love Somebody Else" , Best House/Garage/Deep House Track , , -

References

External links

* – official site *
Jump for Joi Wellness Center
– official site {{DEFAULTSORT:Cardwell, Joi 1967 births 20th-century American pianists 20th-century American women singers 20th-century American singers 20th-century American singer-songwriters 21st-century American pianists 21st-century American women singers 21st-century American singer-songwriters African-American activists 20th-century African-American women singers African-American women singer-songwriters American women singer-songwriters African-American pianists American businesspeople American contraltos American women pop singers American house musicians American multi-instrumentalists American music arrangers American contemporary R&B singers American soul keyboardists American soul singers American women in electronic music American yoga teachers Brooklyn Funk Essentials members American HIV/AIDS activists Lesbian songwriters Lesbian singers American lesbian musicians American LGBTQ songwriters American LGBTQ singers Life coaches Living people American dance-pop musicians 20th-century American LGBTQ people 21st-century American LGBTQ people 21st-century African-American women singers 20th-century American women pianists 21st-century American women pianists American lesbian writers

Early life

Career

1988–1993: Beginnings

1994–1998: ''The World Is Full of Trouble'' and ''Joi Cardwell''

1999–2004: ''Deliverance'' and ''More''

2005–2010: ''The Plane Jane Project'' and ''Wanderlust (The Soundtrack)''

2010–2015: ''Must Be the Music'' and ''The Art of Being''

2016–present: ''Keep Your Eye on the Game and Not the Fame'' and retirement from music

Artistry

Voice and songwriting

Influences

Business and ventures

Jump for Joi Wellness Center

Discography

Tours

Books

Awards and nominations

GLAMA Awards

IDMA Awards

See also

References

External links