Joe Dolce
Encyclopedia
Joseph "Joe" Dolce is an American-born, Australian singer/songwriter who achieved fame with his multi-million-selling song, "Shaddap You Face
", released under the name of his one-man show, Joe Dolce Music Theatre, in 1980. The single reached number one in 15 countries, it has sold more than 350,000+ copies in Australia, remaining the most successful Australian produced single in music history for thirty-one years and selling an estimated six million worldwide. It reached No. 1 on the Australian Kent Music Report
Singles Chart for eight weeks from November 1980. The track kept Ultravox
's "Vienna" off the number one singles spot in the United Kingdom.
and formed various bands including Headstone Circus. with Jonathan Edwards (musician) who subsequently went on as a solo artists to have a charting hit song in the US 'Sunshine'. Dolce relocated to Melbourne
, Australia in 1978 and his first single there was "Boat People"—a protest song
on the poor treatment of Vietnam
ese refugees—which he donated to the fledgling Vietnamese community starting to form in Melbourne. His one-man show, Joe Dolce Music Theatre, performed
in cabarets and pubs with various line-ups including Lin Van Hek
as singer/performance artist.
In July 1980 he recorded the self-penned "Shaddap You Face
", for Full Moon Records label at Mike Brady's new studios in West Melbourne
. When in Ohio, Dolce would sometimes visit his Italian
grandparents—they supplied the inspiration with "What's the matter, you?" and "Eh, shaddap". He wrote the song about Italians living in Australia and first performed it at Marijuana House, Brunswick Street, Fitzroy
in 1979. Dolce paid A$
500 for the recording and spent $1000 on the music video
clip, which was created by Melbourne filmmaker, Chris Lofven. It became a multi-million-selling hit, peaking at No. 1 on the Australian Kent Music Report
Singles Chart for eight weeks from November 1980, in UK from February 1981 for three weeks, also No. 1 in Austria
, New Zealand
and Switzerland
. Dolce received the Advance Australia Award in 1981.
Follow up single, "If You Want to Be Happy" charted in Austria (No. 7) and New Zealand (top 40) but not in Australia. Dolce's subsequent singles included "Pizza Pizza", "Christmas in Australia" and "You Toucha My Car I Breaka You Face" and he released two albums during this period, 'Shaddap You Face' and 'The Christmas Album'. With Lin Van Hek, he formed various performance groups including Skin the Wig, La Somnambule (1984) and the ongoing Difficult Women
(1993). Van Hek and Dolce co-wrote "Intimacy", for the 1984 film, The Terminator
s soundtrack
. He has continued to perform solo shows and with his longtime partner, Van Hek, as part of their music-literary cabaret Difficult Women
.
Over the last two years Dolce has achieved recognition as a serious poet winning the 25th Launceston Poetry Cup in Tasmania and having twenty-one poems and lyrics selected by Les Murray
for publication in Quadrant (magazine)
as well as having work published in Meanjin, Island, Cordite 35, Eye of the Telescope 2, Carmenta, Journey and Divan. His first book of poetry HATBOX was released in 2010.
Shaddap You Face
"Shaddap You Face" is an Australian novelty song written and performed by Joe Dolce in 1980. It has set a number of sales and longevity records. The song was full of broad Italian humour and included a recognizable chorus.-Sales and chart positions:It went to Number 1 on the Australian pop charts...
", released under the name of his one-man show, Joe Dolce Music Theatre, in 1980. The single reached number one in 15 countries, it has sold more than 350,000+ copies in Australia, remaining the most successful Australian produced single in music history for thirty-one years and selling an estimated six million worldwide. It reached No. 1 on the Australian Kent Music Report
Kent Music Report
The Kent Music Report was a weekly record chart of Australian music singles and albums which was compiled by music enthusiast David Kent from May 1974 through to 1998...
Singles Chart for eight weeks from November 1980. The track kept Ultravox
Ultravox
Ultravox is a British New Wave rock band. They were one of the primary exponents of the British electronic pop music movement of the late 1970s/early 1980s. The band was particularly associated with the New Romantic and New Wave movements....
's "Vienna" off the number one singles spot in the United Kingdom.
Biography
Dolce was born in 1947 in Painesville, OhioPainesville, Ohio
As of the 2010 Census, there were 19,563 people. As of the census of 2000, there were 17,503 people, 6,525 households, and 4,032 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,928.6 people per square mile . There were 6,933 housing units at an average density of 1,160.0 per square mile...
and formed various bands including Headstone Circus. with Jonathan Edwards (musician) who subsequently went on as a solo artists to have a charting hit song in the US 'Sunshine'. Dolce relocated to Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
, Australia in 1978 and his first single there was "Boat People"—a protest song
Protest song
A protest song is a song which is associated with a movement for social change and hence part of the broader category of topical songs . It may be folk, classical, or commercial in genre...
on the poor treatment of Vietnam
Vietnam
Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...
ese refugees—which he donated to the fledgling Vietnamese community starting to form in Melbourne. His one-man show, Joe Dolce Music Theatre, performed
Musical theatre
Musical theatre is a form of theatre combining songs, spoken dialogue, acting, and dance. The emotional content of the piece – humor, pathos, love, anger – as well as the story itself, is communicated through the words, music, movement and technical aspects of the entertainment as an...
in cabarets and pubs with various line-ups including Lin Van Hek
Lin Van Hek
Lin Van Hek is an Australian writer, member of the Society of Women Writers and is the co-founder of a literary-music group called Difficult Women.Van Hek was born in Melbourne but lived in Europe and India for some years...
as singer/performance artist.
In July 1980 he recorded the self-penned "Shaddap You Face
Shaddap You Face
"Shaddap You Face" is an Australian novelty song written and performed by Joe Dolce in 1980. It has set a number of sales and longevity records. The song was full of broad Italian humour and included a recognizable chorus.-Sales and chart positions:It went to Number 1 on the Australian pop charts...
", for Full Moon Records label at Mike Brady's new studios in West Melbourne
West Melbourne
West Melbourne may refer to:*West Melbourne, Florida, United States*West Melbourne, Victoria, Australia...
. When in Ohio, Dolce would sometimes visit his Italian
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
grandparents—they supplied the inspiration with "What's the matter, you?" and "Eh, shaddap". He wrote the song about Italians living in Australia and first performed it at Marijuana House, Brunswick Street, Fitzroy
Fitzroy, Victoria
Fitzroy is an inner city suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 2 km north-east from Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government Area is the City of Yarra. Its borders are Alexandra Parade , Victoria Parade , Smith Street and Nicholson Street. Fitzroy is Melbourne's...
in 1979. Dolce paid A$
Australian dollar
The Australian dollar is the currency of the Commonwealth of Australia, including Christmas Island, Cocos Islands, and Norfolk Island, as well as the independent Pacific Island states of Kiribati, Nauru and Tuvalu...
500 for the recording and spent $1000 on the music video
Music video
A music video or song video is a short film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings...
clip, which was created by Melbourne filmmaker, Chris Lofven. It became a multi-million-selling hit, peaking at No. 1 on the Australian Kent Music Report
Kent Music Report
The Kent Music Report was a weekly record chart of Australian music singles and albums which was compiled by music enthusiast David Kent from May 1974 through to 1998...
Singles Chart for eight weeks from November 1980, in UK from February 1981 for three weeks, also No. 1 in Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
, New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
and Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
. Dolce received the Advance Australia Award in 1981.
Follow up single, "If You Want to Be Happy" charted in Austria (No. 7) and New Zealand (top 40) but not in Australia. Dolce's subsequent singles included "Pizza Pizza", "Christmas in Australia" and "You Toucha My Car I Breaka You Face" and he released two albums during this period, 'Shaddap You Face' and 'The Christmas Album'. With Lin Van Hek, he formed various performance groups including Skin the Wig, La Somnambule (1984) and the ongoing Difficult Women
Difficult Women
Difficult Women is a literary-folk music cabaret created in 1992, in Melbourne, Australia, by Lin Van Hek and Joe Dolce and has been performing internationally for 15 years....
(1993). Van Hek and Dolce co-wrote "Intimacy", for the 1984 film, The Terminator
The Terminator (soundtrack)
The Terminator is a soundtrack album by Brad Fiedel, featuring the score to the film, The Terminator. It was released in 1984 through Enigma Records and reissued in 1991 through DCC Compact Classics ; a remastered edition was reissued as The Definite Edition in 1994 through Edel Music, containing...
s soundtrack
Soundtrack album
A soundtrack album is any album that incorporates music directly recorded from the soundtrack of a particular feature film or television program. In some cases, not all the tracks from the movie are included in the album; however there are rare cases of songs in the trailers that do not appear in...
. He has continued to perform solo shows and with his longtime partner, Van Hek, as part of their music-literary cabaret Difficult Women
Difficult Women
Difficult Women is a literary-folk music cabaret created in 1992, in Melbourne, Australia, by Lin Van Hek and Joe Dolce and has been performing internationally for 15 years....
.
Over the last two years Dolce has achieved recognition as a serious poet winning the 25th Launceston Poetry Cup in Tasmania and having twenty-one poems and lyrics selected by Les Murray
Les Murray
Les Murray may refer to:*Les Murray , Hungarian-Australian association football broadcaster*Les Murray , Australian poet and critic...
for publication in Quadrant (magazine)
Quadrant (magazine)
Quadrant is an Australian literary and cultural journal. The magazine takes a conservative position on political and social issues, describing itself as sceptical of 'unthinking Leftism, or political correctness, and its "smelly little orthodoxies"'. Quadrant reviews literature, as well as...
as well as having work published in Meanjin, Island, Cordite 35, Eye of the Telescope 2, Carmenta, Journey and Divan. His first book of poetry HATBOX was released in 2010.
Albums
- Shaddap You Face (Full Moon, 1981)
- Christmas in Australia (Hammard, 1981)
- Memoirs of a Mouth Organ (1997)
- Difficult Women (1998)
- Steal Away Home (1999)
- FreeLoveDays (2000)
- Flower (2001)
- The Wind Cries Mary (2007)
Singles
- "Boat People" (1979)
- "Shaddap You FaceShaddap You Face"Shaddap You Face" is an Australian novelty song written and performed by Joe Dolce in 1980. It has set a number of sales and longevity records. The song was full of broad Italian humour and included a recognizable chorus.-Sales and chart positions:It went to Number 1 on the Australian pop charts...
" (Full Moon, 1980) - "If You Want to Be Happy" (Full Moon, May 1981) AUTAustriaAustria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
No. 7, NZL No. 33- "Reggae Matilda" (1981)
- "Christmas in Australia" (November 1981)
- "You Toucha My Car I Breaka You Face" (June 1982)
- "Pizza Pizza" (Fable, 1984)
- "Vaffanculo Polka" (February 1989)
External links
- Official website
- Joe Dolce Countdown biography