Colin Frederick Jacobsen AM (born 13 April 1937), better known by his stage name Col Joye, is an Australian pioneer rock singer-songwriter, musician and entrepreneur (he has also recorded various other cross-over styles such as country music), with a career spanning some sixty years.
Joye was the first Australian rock and roll singer to have a number one record Australia-wide and experienced a string of chart successes in the early Australian rock and roll scene that was emerging from the US and the United Kingdom.
Joye started his career as a jewellery salesman, after leaving school, before performing and recording with his backing band, the KJ Quintet that would become the Joy Boys which included his brothers Kevin and Keith. Joye enjoyed a string of hits on the local and national singles charts of Australia beginning in 1959.
Joye's first single, "Stagger Lee" was a cover of the Lloyd Price US original. However, his third single "Bye Bye Baby" reached No.3 on the Australian Kent Music Report charts in 1959, followed by "Rockin Rollin Clementine" also peaking at No. 3. His fifth single, "Oh Yeah Uh Huh", became his most successful, peaking at No. 1. He also had other charting singles, including "Yes Sir That's My Baby" peaking at No. 5 nationally.
Joye was an original member of Brian Henderson's Bandstand television program, and appeared regularly on the show for fourteen years. 'Bandstand' cast Col in the boy next door Mr. Nice Guy role, like a Pat Boone or Ricky Nelson rather than as an Elvis Presley or Jerry Lee Lewis, that position had been filled by Australia very own wild child, Johnnie O’Keefe.
He toured Australia with fellow Bandstand acts, including Judy Stone, the De Kroo Brothers, Sandy Scott and Little Pattie. Joye's popularity levelled off after the changes to the music scene associated with the rise of the Beatles.
After the initial rock ‘n’ roll boom died, Joye continued his success with ballads and later resurfaced as a country and MOR artist. Col Joye married Dalys Dawson in 1970 in a joint wedding ceremony with his sister Carol Jacobsen and Sandy Scott in Fiji. The wedding was quite a private ceremony and only had six people present. Col recorded consistently during the 70s and it was not until 1973 that he had another hit record, with "Heaven Is My Woman's Love" reaching No. 1 on the Go-Set charts.
During the period between personal musical successes in the 1960s, Col and Kevin Jacobsen built an influential entertainment management, publishing and recording business, including ATA Studios in Glebe, New South Wales. This business worked with developing and promoting artists including Little Pattie, Johnny Devlin, Laurie Allen, Sandy Scott, Judy Stone and Andy Gibb. Their promotions company, Jacobsen Entertainment, continued into the 2000s, when the brothers had a falling out over money. On 8 June 1981, Col was appointed as a Member of the Order of Australia for his entertainment and philanthropic work he was also inducted into the Australian Music Hall of Fame in 1988.
In 1990, while pruning a neighbour's tree with a chainsaw as a favour, Joye slipped and fell six metres onto brick paving below, striking his head and falling into a coma, as well as sustaining serious lower back and shoulder injuries. Initially given a poor prognosis, he made a full recovery and made a comeback to live entertainment when he participated in the Long way to the top, national tour (2002). Col was still touring and performing well into the 2010’s but now only performs on special occasions.
(Edited mainly from Wikipedia)