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Johnnie & Joe
Johnnie & Joe
Origin	The Bronx, New York, USA
Genres	R&B
Years active	1957–1988
Labels	Chess Records (under lease from J & S Records)
Past members	Johnnie Richardson, Joe Rivers

Johnnie & Joe were an American R&B vocal duo from The Bronx, New York, United States, who were best known for their 1957 hit "Over the Mountain; Across the Sea."

History

Johnnie Louise Richardson (June 29, 1935, Montgomery, Alabama - October 25, 1988, New York City)^[1] and Joe Rivers (March 20, 1937, Charleston, South Carolina)^[2] began singing together in 1957 and released several singles on Chess Records,^[3] which were leased from J & S Records, to whom the duo were under contract. Richardson was the daughter of the J & S label owner, Zelma "Zell" Sanders, who had been a touring member of The Hearts.^[2]

Richardson and Rivers resumed their professional partnership later in the 1960s. During the 1970s and '80s they performed in oldies concerts, and made a critically acclaimed album, Kingdom of Love, in 1982.^[4] Johnnie Richardson died of complications from a stroke in 1988.

Discography

Three of the songs hit the U.S. singles charts. "Over the Mountain; Across the Sea," written by Rex Garvin, went to #3 on the R&B chart and #8 on the Billboard Hot 100,^[5] and "I'll Be Spinning," written by Freddie Scott, went Top 10 R&B, both in 1957.^[3]^[6] "My Baby's Gone," a #15 R&B hit, was their last hit,^[3] although "Over the Mountain, Across the Sea" returned to the pop charts in 1960, peaking at #89 the second time around.^[5]