On September 25, 2010, at Brookdale Community College PAC in Lincroft, New Jersey, Jody Joseph will do what she does best: combine her music with her ongoing dedication to give back to the community.  Sharing a gene pool with opera legend Mario Lanza and garage band rocker-turned-chart buster Jon Bon Jovi, Jody’s style weaves strong influences of Janis Joplin and Stevie Nicks with her own spiritually flavored blues, soul, and rock.

With three albums under her belt — including her debut The Only Way Out is Through produced under the auspices of Scott Welch, who has worked with Alanis Morissette — Jody fronts a tight, highly competent band.  The artist and her group have, respectively, been nominated for four Asbury Music Awards (including “Best Female Vocalist” and “Best Rock Band”).  Joseph herself was named “Living Legend 2009” at the Asbury Music Awards.

Over the past decade, Jody has performed her tributes as well as her own material to glowing reviews and appreciative audiences at venues in New York City and New Jersey.  On September 25th, at the PAC, you can see her slip into the skins of gone but never forgotten blues phenomenon, Janis Joplin, and Stevie Nicks, best known for her enduring work with the seminal Fleetwood Mac.

Does Jody transform, on stage, into Pearl and The Gypsy?  She does, by virtue of wardrobe and mannerisms.  But beyond the trappings, Jody Joseph has the vocal chops to carry it off.   Her voice swings from gritty-soulful blues goddess Joplin on covers such as Ball & Chain to Stevie Nicks’ quirky, throaty, signature vibretto on crowd pleasers such as Stand Back.

Jody Joseph – Ball & Chain

Jody Joseph – Stand Back

Stand back now, because here comes some truth.  Nobody’s ever going to do it for me like Janis did, and there is only one Stevie Nicks.  But Jody Joseph comes damned close, and she imbues her performances with genuine respect for the two artists who have shaped her craft.  As far as her homage to Janis goes, Big Brother and the Holding Company agree, and you can’t get a better testimonial than that.  Joplin’s original band invited Jody to accompany them as their lead singer on their 2006 Northeast tour.

A portion of the proceeds from Jody’s September 25th gig will benefit the charity, Mary’s Place by the Sea. The organization, whose services includes holistic and spa treatments, is dedicated to rejuvenating the spirits of women following traditional cancer therapy.    Still a young charity, Mary’s Place by the Sea has aspirations of expanding nationwide by the start of the next decade.

Because of the intimate nature of the venue, seating for Jody Joseph’s “One Diva, One Woman, One Legend” show is limited.  Please note that tickets can only be obtained be calling this hotline number: (732) 544-8513. 

The son of Italian immigrants, Alfred Cini was born October 7, 1927 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania’s working class South Side.  As the boy grew, he was steered into a stable and respectable line of work: the family’s masonry business.  Al bit the bullet for a while, laboring as a bricklayer alongside of his brother.  However, God had other plans, for He had given Al a rich and captivating voice.  The lad who loved to sing dreamed of carving a career in music.

World War II intervened to sidetrack Al’s dream.  Drafted into the U.S. Navy, he was wounded in the invasion of Iwo Jima; when the conflict ended, Al returned home with his dream fully intact.  By good fortune, he had a boyhood friend in Alfredo Cocozza, who by then had altered his name to the more readily pronounceable “Mario Lanza.” Before long, the entire world was pronouncing that name, for Lanza was destined to achieve greatness as a incomparable opera singer — for too brief a period.  Lanza’s beloved wife died an untimely death, and one month later, the opera singer followed her to the grave.   Confused as to his demise, as Lanza had been young and healthy, his doctors cited the cause of death as a broken heart.  Thus did life imitate art.  Al, however, was to enjoy a much happier fate than his old friend, who had served as both inspiration and mentor.

Like Alfredo-turned-Mario, Al adopted the last name Martino for profession reasons, simultaneously honoring the name of his maternal grandparents. Martino began performing in local nightclubs, but at the insistence of Mario Lanza, moved to New York City, which offered a much broader arena for his talent.  There, Al appeared on Arthur Godfrey’s Talent Scouts Show to sing his rendition of Perry Como’s If.  This exposure, together with a very favorable audience reaction, landed him a recording contract with BBS, a Philadelphia-based label.

In 1952, Al Martino’s single Here in my Heart rose to the #1 spot on the UK Singles Chart and remained there for nine weeks: a precedent that would carve his name into the Guinness World Book of Records. Later in his career, Al contracted with Capitol Records and expanded his performing arts repertoire via the world of film.  Perhaps his most memorable role was Johnny Fontane, the character rumored to Frank Sinatra in Francis Ford Coppolla’s blockbuster, The Godfather.

In 1982, Al parted company with Capitol Records and returned to entertaining more intimate audiences in nightclubs and casinos.  Eighteen years later, he pressed his next recording, Style. In 2006, he portrayed an aging crooner in Cut Out, a cinematic production featured in film festivals worldwide.

On October 13, 2009, Al Martino passed away at his home in Springfield, Pennsylvania, survived by his wife Judi and their two children.  Al may be gone, but his golden voice can still be heard and enjoyed via his studio recordings, which follow here, along with their chart positions:

• 1959: Al Martino
• 1960: Swing Along With Al Martino
• 1962: The Exciting Voice of Al Martino (U.S. #109)
• 1962: The Italian Voice of Al Martino (U.S. #57)
• 1963: I Love You Because (U.S. #7)
• 1963: Painted, Tainted Rose (U.S. #9)
• 1963: Love Notes
• 1964: A Merry Christmas
• 1964: I Love You More and More Every Day/Tears and Roses (U.S. #31)
• 1964: Living a Lie (U.S. #13)
• 1965: My Cherie (U.S. #19)
• 1965: Somebody Else is Taking My Place (U.S. #42)
• 1965: We Could (U.S. #41)
• 1966: Spanish Eyes (U.S. #8)
• 1966: Think I’ll Go Somewhere and Cry Myself to Sleep (U.S. #116)
• 1966: This is Love (U.S. #57)
• 1967: Daddy’s Little Girl (U.S. #23)
• 1967: This Love for You (U.S. #99)
• 1967: Mary in the Morning (U.S. #63)
• 1968: Love is Blue (U.S. #56)
• 1968: This is Al Martino (U.S. #129)
• 1969: Jean (U.S. #196)
• 1969: Sausalito (U.S. #189)
• 1970: Can’t Help Falling in Love (U.S. #184)
• 1970: My Heart Sings (U.S. #172)
• 1972: Love Theme from ‘The Godfather’ (U.S. #138)
• 1975: To the Door of the Sun (U.S. #129)
• 1976: In Concert: Recorded With the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra (live)
• 1978: Al Martino Sings
• 1978: Al Martino
• 1982: All of Me
• 1993: The Voice to Your Heart; produced by Dieter Bohlen in Germany
• 2006: Come Share the Wine