Joyce Elizabeth Sims-Sandiford (August 6, 1959 – October 13, 2022) was an American singer and songwriter, whose biggest

hit single A hit song, also known as a hit record, hit single, or simply hit, is a recorded song or instrumental that becomes broadly popular or well-known. Although ''hit song'' means any widely played or big-selling song, the specific term ''hit record'' ...

, " Come into My Life", reached the top 10 in both the US ''Billboard'' R&B Chart and the UK Singles Chart in 1987.

Early life and education

Sims was born in

Rochester, New York Rochester is a city in and the county seat, seat of government of Monroe County, New York, United States. It is the List of municipalities in New York, fourth-most populous city and 10th most-populated municipality in New York, with a populati ...

, on August 6, 1959. She formally studied music in college, learning a number of

instruments Instrument may refer to: Science and technology * Flight instruments, the devices used to measure the speed, altitude, and pertinent flight angles of various kinds of aircraft * Laboratory equipment, the measuring tools used in a scientific lab ...

Career

In 1986, Sims signed with the now-defunct record label

Sleeping Bag Records Sleeping Bag Records was a New York City-based independent record label founded by musician Arthur Russell (musician), Arthur Russell and entrepreneur Will Socolov. It was active between 1981 and 1992, and specialized in dance music and hip hop. ...

. Her first hit single was "(You Are My) All and All" in 1986, which was produced by

Kurtis Mantronik Kurtis el Khaleel (born Graham Curtis el Khaleel, September 4, 1965), known by the stage name Kurtis Mantronik, is a Jamaican-born hip hop and electronic musician, DJ, remixer, and producer. He was the leader, DJ, and keyboardist of the influent ...

and reached No. 16 on the UK Singles Chart. It entered the US Dance Chart at #51; peaking at No. 6. Sims followed up in 1988 with " Come into My Life" also produced by

which peaked at No. 10 on the US ''Billboard'' R&B Chart and No. 7 on the UK Singles Chart. This became her biggest success, although it was her only top-10 single on the R&B chart. Both "All and All" and her remake of "Love Makes a Woman" with

Jimmy Castor James Walter Castor (January 23, 1940 – January 16, 2012) was an American funk, R&B and soul musician. He is credited with vocals, saxophone and composition. He is best known for songs such as "It's Just Begun", " The Bertha Butt Boogie", and ...

were also chart entries. Sims' debut album, '' Come into My Life'', reached No. 22 in the US R&B album chart and No. 5 in the

UK Albums Chart The Official Albums Chart is the United Kingdom's industry-recognised national record chart for album, albums. Entries are ranked by sales and audio streaming. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the O ...

following the Top 10 success of the title track in the UK Singles Chart. All songs on the album were written by Sims except for "Love Makes a Woman". Sims' second album, '' All About Love'', was released in 1989 and reached No. 64 in the UK Albums Chart. In 1994, Sims released the single "Who's Crying Now" on Warlock Records, which absorbed her Sleeping Bag Records contract after purchasing the label in 1992. In 2006 she released the single "What the World Needs Now is Love," from her album ''A New Beginning'', after teaming up with record producers

Junior Vasquez Junior Vasquez (born Donald Gregory Mattern; August 24, 1949) is an American DJ, record producer and remixer. He has been referred to as one of the only DJs of his time to gain international attention. Career Mattern moved to New York City a ...

and Glen Frisica. In 2009, ''Come into My Life: the Very Best of Joyce Sims'', a double-CD of her greatest hits and

remix A remix, also sometimes called reorchestration or rework, is a piece of media which has been altered or contorted from its original state by adding, removing, or changing pieces of the item. A song, piece of artwork, book, poem, or photograph ca ...

es was released, which includes the original studio versions on the first disc and extended mixes on the second disc. That same year, she formed a record label, August Rose Records, and started work on a new album. In 2014, Sims released the album ''Love Song'', which includes a duet with

reggae Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica during the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its Jamaican diaspora, diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, "Do the Reggay", was the first ...

vocalist

Maxi Priest Max Alfred Elliott (born 10 June 1961), known by his stage name Maxi Priest, is a British reggae vocalist of Jamaican descent. He is best known for singing reggae music with an Contemporary R&B, R&B influence, otherwise known as reggae fusion. ...

. Sims' music can be heard on the soundtrack of the film ''

Species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

'', and her songs have been recorded or

sampled Sample or samples may refer to: * Sample (graphics), an intersection of a color channel and a pixel * Sample (material), a specimen or small quantity of something * Sample (signal), a digital discrete sample of a continuous analog signal * Sample ...

Randy Crawford Veronica "Randy" Crawford (born February 18, 1952) is an American retired jazz and R&B singer. She has been more successful in Europe than in the United States, where she has not entered the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 as a solo artist. However, sh ...

Angie Stone Angela Laverne Stone (née Brown; December 18, 1961 – March 1, 2025) was an American singer-songwriter, rapper, actress, and record producer. With a career spanning over four decades, she has been credited with revolutionizing the sound of Ol ...

, and

Snoop Dogg Calvin Cordozar Broadus Jr. ( ; born October 20, 1971), better known by his stage name Snoop Dogg (previously Snoop Doggy Dogg), is an American rapper, record producer, and actor. Rooted in West Coast hip-hop, he is widely regarded as one of t ...

. Sims released "Wishing You Were Here" on her own record label, August Rose Records, and another album, ''Back in Love Again''.

Death

Sims died unexpectedly on October 13, 2022, at the age of 63.

Discography

Albums

Singles

References

External links

* – official site * *
Joyce Sims
at Vh1.com
Joyce Sims
– live in Europe
August Rose Records
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sims, Joyce 1959 births 2022 deaths 20th-century African-American women singers 20th-century American women singers 20th-century American singers American dance musicians African-American women singer-songwriters American women singer-songwriters American freestyle musicians American house musicians American contemporary R&B singers Musicians from Rochester, New York Singer-songwriters from New York (state) 20th-century American pianists 20th-century American women pianists 21st-century American pianists 21st-century American women pianists Sleeping Bag Records artists London Records artists African-American pianists 21st-century African-American women 21st-century African-American musicians