Australian rock ‘n’ roll legend Col Joye passed away earlier this month at the age of 89.
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According to Australia’s ABC News, the musician, whose real name is Colin Jacobsen, died in Sydney on Aug. 5. He was best known for his success in the early days of rock ‘n’ roll with his band, Col Joye and the Joy Boys.
Starting his music career in the late 1950s, Jacobsen founded the music group, The KJ Quintet, alongside his brother, Kevin. The group changed its name to Col Joye and the Joy Boys to secure a gig at the Manly Jazzerama. His younger brother Keith also joined the group, which performed regularly in Bankstown.
The group’s second single, “Bye Bye Baby,” became a huge success, topping the Sydney music charts.
Col and his brother Kevin went on to establish a management, publishing, and recording business. After seeing them perform in Surfers Paradise, Col signed the Bee Gees to Joye Music.
His 1973 single, “Heaven Is My Woman’s Love,” became a massive hit in Australia.
Col Joye Remembered as a “Guiding Light” for Fellow Australian Singer
While speaking to ABC News, Australian singer and songwriter Normie Rowe opened up about the influence that Col Joye had on him and his music career.
“Col was in my psyche right throughout my entire life,” Rowe stated. “I watched him and thought, ‘If I’m going to be a singer, that’s the sort of singer I want to be.”
Rowe also stated that Joye was a “guiding light” when they toured together for the Long Way to the Top live concert tour in the early 2000s.
“He was almost like the den mother of the whole tour,” Rowe recalled. “And we all revered him so much. Every morning he would arrive at the bus to go on the next concert or to the airport and he would get on with his ukulele and start immediately strumming a little ditty, a different one every day.”
Rowe then pointed out, “I think he carried it around with him wherever he went in the last 10 years.”
The singer shared that he was gifted Joye’s guitar. “I phoned him and said, ‘Colin, there’s a guitar here for me?’ And he said, ‘Yes, it’s my guitar, it’s my Maton guitar and I won’t be going on stage anymore, so I wanted it to go to somebody who would play it.”
Rowe further stated that Joye was a “true gentleman” of the Australian music industry. “I don’t think anybody could have ever had a bad word to say about Col.”