Biography
Joanie Bartels ranks among the top-selling performers in children's music, yet her name stayed absent from the packaging on her earliest releases for young listeners. Her engaging vocal style and strategic promotion nevertheless shaped the infant-to-preschool category for nearly a decade, while later albums and videos extended her reach.
Raised in Boston, Bartels started performing early. At age three, a television appearance by Rosemary Clooney sparked her resolve to become a singer. By eleven she had taken up guitar and was appearing at local schools and activity centers. She next sang in community theatres and coffeehouses throughout the Boston area. From 1972 to 1977 she toured as lead vocalist with several rock bands and also began writing songs. In the late 1970s and early 1980s she moved to Los Angeles, where she worked clubs and sang backup.
Discovery Music, a new label owned by David and Ellen Wohstadder, recruited her in 1985 to record its first project. The owners intended to sell children's music in clothing stores and independent baby shops rather than record outlets. Their initial releases, Lullaby Magic (1985) and Morning Magic (1986), featured Bartels' sweet soprano on standards such as "Goodnight My Someone" and "Put on a Happy Face," though her credit appeared only in fine print. The cassettes met an unmet need and spread largely by word of mouth. Lullaby Magic 2, Travelin' Magic, Sillytime Magic, and Bathtime Magic followed in quick succession. The Magic series sold more than two million copies, an unprecedented figure in children's music, and listeners began linking Bartels to that success.
In 1994 Discovery Music introduced the "Joanie's Jukebox Café" series with Bartels' name featured prominently. Jump for Joy, the first album, appeared near the same time as her initial video, The Rainy Day Adventure. Both the audio and video projects emphasized pop-oriented songs for preschoolers, and several tracks, notably "Locomotion" and "Barefootin'," received steady airplay on children's radio. The remaining installments stayed unfinished after BMG Kids acquired Discovery Music.
Bartels signed with Youngheart Music, the label run by Greg and Steve, in 1996 and launched the "Joanie's Childhood Adventure Series." Adventures with Family and Friends, the opening release, returned to her familiar mix of popular and original material.
Raised in Boston, Bartels started performing early. At age three, a television appearance by Rosemary Clooney sparked her resolve to become a singer. By eleven she had taken up guitar and was appearing at local schools and activity centers. She next sang in community theatres and coffeehouses throughout the Boston area. From 1972 to 1977 she toured as lead vocalist with several rock bands and also began writing songs. In the late 1970s and early 1980s she moved to Los Angeles, where she worked clubs and sang backup.
Discovery Music, a new label owned by David and Ellen Wohstadder, recruited her in 1985 to record its first project. The owners intended to sell children's music in clothing stores and independent baby shops rather than record outlets. Their initial releases, Lullaby Magic (1985) and Morning Magic (1986), featured Bartels' sweet soprano on standards such as "Goodnight My Someone" and "Put on a Happy Face," though her credit appeared only in fine print. The cassettes met an unmet need and spread largely by word of mouth. Lullaby Magic 2, Travelin' Magic, Sillytime Magic, and Bathtime Magic followed in quick succession. The Magic series sold more than two million copies, an unprecedented figure in children's music, and listeners began linking Bartels to that success.
In 1994 Discovery Music introduced the "Joanie's Jukebox Café" series with Bartels' name featured prominently. Jump for Joy, the first album, appeared near the same time as her initial video, The Rainy Day Adventure. Both the audio and video projects emphasized pop-oriented songs for preschoolers, and several tracks, notably "Locomotion" and "Barefootin'," received steady airplay on children's radio. The remaining installments stayed unfinished after BMG Kids acquired Discovery Music.
Bartels signed with Youngheart Music, the label run by Greg and Steve, in 1996 and launched the "Joanie's Childhood Adventure Series." Adventures with Family and Friends, the opening release, returned to her familiar mix of popular and original material.
Albums
