I remember another gal, who had a popular country band in that same time era (1968-69-70). Her name was Joy Goodnow. She used to play at the Inn in Jamica and around Springfield and Southern Vt. I didn't know her, but my brother did. Said she was a great singer and showperson.
-- Paul "Hank" Preston, e-mail message, January 3, 2003
This e-mail message is the only item in our archive that puts a date of any sort to the time when Joy Goodnow was performing from a base in the Brattleboro, Vermont, area. Our archive places her around Boston in the late 1970s and the early 1980s. As far as the broad outline of her career goes, I'm afraid this is all we know.
-- Alan Lewis, January 5, 2003
Some Joy Goodnow Recordings
"15 Minutes" b/w "What a Change" (45, Fleetwood, n.d.)
- The Lynn/Revere Massachusetts label, Fleetwood Records, flourished from the
1950s into the early 1970s.
The Joy of Country (LP, Major 2015, n.d.)
- Personal favorites from the Joy of Country album include "Your Cheatin' Heart," "Oklahoma Hills," "Help Me Make It Through the Night," "Walking After Midnight," "So Afraid of Losing You Again," and "Swinging Doors." On several songs, such as "Help Me Make It Through the Night," a Patsy Cline influence is apparent.
- She makes her home in one of the most beautiful parts of this country, the beautiful mountains of Vermont. -- jacket notes by Bob Wood
- I've often heard that Joy Goodnow graduated from Brattleboro Union High School (or, possibly, the earlier Brattleboro High School), which is about a mile from here; and I've spoken with people who tell me they remember her, though I don't recall any details. It is my understanding from print sources that Goodnow's family came here from Colorado.
Joy Goodnow (LP, TNT 2006, 1976)
- Larry Deshaies: lead guitar, rhythm, piano, background vocals
- Tom Dishaw: bass, drums, strings, background vocals
- Gary Lacourse: drums
- Carl Davey: strings
- Leroy Love: steel guitar
- Cindy and Chris Dishaw: background vocals
Produced and engineered by Tom Dishaw for United Sound Productions
Arrangements by Larry Deshaies and Tom Dishaw
Recorded at United Sound Studio, Massena, New York
Cover photo by Creative Portraits, Lebanon, New Hampshire
- Personal favorites from the Joy Goodnow album include "The Wayward Wind," "I Can't Find the Feeling Anymore," "Country Life," the Beatles' "You Won't See Me," "He Called Me Baby," and "Banks of the Ohio."
"Memory Maker" b/w "You're the Reason Why" (45, Belmont 001, n.d.)
Produced by Jerry Fox and Bob Fillion
Engineered by Roger Baker
Both songs credited to C. Bragner and E. Bragner
Belmont Records is a division of John Penny Enterprises, Inc.
- John Penny is a colorful fellow, and he certainly knows how to put together a great band. At the time Joy Goodnow was connected with John Penny Enterprises and his Belmont Records label, so were quite a number of excellent New England performers. The first that come to mind are Chris Anders, Liz Boardo, Dick Curless, John Hicks and Revolution, Dave Pike, Robin Right, Rick Robinson and the Bayou Boys, and Tina Welch, though I'm sure I'm forgetting the names of other notable New England country musicians.
Copyright © 2002 by Alan Lewis.
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