JOE & JUMA, "MR. WIND" C/W "SHE'S THE GIRL FOR ME," JERDEN 108 (REL. 2/1961)

 

We are back in the Pacific Northwest for an unusual record by a married couple who lived in Renton, Washington when they made three singles for as many labels. Joe Avants and wife Rita Juma wrote their own material which I assume they also sang. They performed with vocalist-pianist Tommy Germain Baker as The Joe Juma Trio (seen here in a publicity still on file at the Tacoma Public Library). 

Nothing much came of their three records; all are scarce and a bit off the beaten path music-wise. Today we'll hear their second effort--an early release on the Seattle-based Jerden Records. It didn't get reviewed in any of the national music magazines; a mention of it in a Cash Box column is all the attention it received.

Its hearty sound differs from the light, precise touch of big-city pop music, and is all the better for its rustic chonk. "Mr. Wind" is an appealing, fat-sounding rockaballad with a jumpy rhythm, some "Bolero" chord changes and solid harmony singing from the couple.

Joe's guitar and a keyboard (played, I assume, by Baker), are augmented by overdubbed backup vocals (a whole lot of Rita Jumas). If there are drums on this side, I don't hear them; nor bass, though both instruments could be there--just mixed so low as to bury their presence.

The lack of polish helps this romantic, heartsick plea to nature to understand a man's sorrow and heal his pain speak its piece with passion. It was miles from a commercial pop sound--a lack that now feels like an asset. Like Midwestern music that kept the flame of rock 'n' roll alive, this is out of time and place and inhabits a musical twilight zone all its own.

Drums and bass are on "She's the Girl for Me," a more conventional teen pop-rocker with a 1950s feel. The multi-tracked all-Rita chorus is prominent, and there's a short, fervent guitar solo. 

Where the A-side takes place outside the realm of pop music, this deck revels in its hey-we-sound-like-regular-people energy. They don't--and that's the charm--but they're trying hard. This might have clicked in 1957 but it was off the rails in '61, when pop music sought to distance itself from the raw input of rock 'n' roll's first generation. Yet it's records like this that have become more appealing over the years, as Bobby Rydell and Fabian have faded into oblivion.

Joe and Juma made their final single, "Johnny Heartbreak," one year later for the Virgelle label--a Seattle imprint related to the Seafair, Bolo and Nolta product. Virgelle was intended as a country label, so it's possible it leans more in that direction. So far, no copies have shown up, but they're out there somewhere...

Tomorrow: Detroit's Johnny and Jacky deliver a song by Harvey Fuqua plus one of there own on a 1960 Anna Records 45.