Biography
"The J's with Jamie" was formed in Chicago in 1958, centered around the husband-and-wife team of Jamie and Joe Silvia. Jamie Silvia was the group's namesake and lead vocalist; she had originally worked as a dancer before becoming a singer. During the 1950s, she sang with groups such as The Mellowlarks. "The J's with Jamie" were a fascinating—though today relatively little-known—American vocal group active in the late 1950s and 1960s. What makes them particularly interesting is that they were simultaneously a pop/jazz vocal group and a highly professional jingle ensemble for radio and television. Their lineup was not as rigidly fixed as that of traditional vocal quartets. Members of their inner circle included:
Jamie Silvia – Vocals
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Joe Silvia – Vocals and musical arrangements
Don Shelton – Tenor (formerly a member of the famous group The Hi-Lo's)
Len Dresslar – Bass
Marshall Gill – Vocals
Don Shelton and Len Dresslar, in particular, are figures of interest to connoisseurs of American vocal jazz. Dresslar later became widely known for his work with The Singers Unlimited; his exceptionally deep voice is also recognized as the voice behind the "Jolly Green Giant" advertising catchphrase. What distinguished "The J's with Jamie" was that they were not primarily a recording act in the traditional sense; their main business was advertising jingles. Chicago was a major hub for radio and television advertising in the 1950s and 1960s, and the group produced a vast number of commercial jingles there. A 1962 Columbia advertisement described them as the most-heard vocal quartet on radio and television, noting that they had recorded over 500 radio and TV commercials in the preceding four years.
Companies for which they recorded jingles or advertising music included Campbell's, Marlboro, Wrigley, and Kellogg's. Their musical presence was far more significant than their name might suggest. Many Americans heard their voices daily without ever knowing who was behind them. This led to a truly paradoxical situation: they were arguably one of the most-heard vocal ensembles in America yet remained virtually unknown.
Musically, they were far more than "just" jingle singers.
Their recordings are characterized by precise, tightly arranged vocal harmonies. One can hear influences from:
jazz vocal groups
swing
Broadway musicals
easy listening
early 1960s pop
sophisticated close harmony
This makes them particularly interesting to fans of groups like The Hi-Lo's, The Four Freshmen, or—later—The Singers Unlimited. Don Shelton’s connection to The Hi-Lo's is especially significant in this context. He joined The J's with Jamie in 1964. Later, he co-founded The Singers Unlimited—one of the most technically demanding vocal ensembles of the 1970s—alongside Gene Puerling, Len Dresslar, and Bonnie Herman. Consequently, The J's with Jamie can be viewed as a kind of bridge between the classic American vocal groups of the 1950s and the highly sophisticated vocal arrangements of The Singers Unlimited.
They even received two Grammy nominations.
Although advertising was their primary business, they were taken seriously as recording artists. Their album *Hey, Look Us Over!* was released by Columbia in 1963. At the 1964 Grammy Awards, The J's with Jamie were nominated in two categories: Best New Artist and Best Performance by a Vocal Group. This is remarkable: a group whose main occupation was producing advertising music suddenly found itself competing for Grammys against some of the most famous vocal groups of the era. Contemporary Billboard polls also show that they were by no means completely unknown at the time; for instance, in 1964, they tied with The Hi-Lo's for tenth place in a poll of popular vocal groups.
One particularly curious success was "Yoshiko." One of their more interesting singles is "Yoshiko" (1964); the track achieved international success and even reached number one on a Radio Malaysia chart.
Also of interest are their recordings of "Theme from A Summer Place," "One Little World Apart," and various Broadway numbers.
Their key releases under the name The J's with Jamie were:
Hey, Look Us Over! – Columbia, 1963
The Remarkable J's with Jamie – Columbia, 1964
The Two Sides of the J's with Jamie – 1963, a special Columbia production
Subsequently, Jamie and Joe Silvia continued performing under the name Jamie and the J. Silvia Singers, releasing two further albums with ABC in 1966 and 1967.
And then they disappeared
The J's with Jamie finally disbanded in 1967. Jamie and Joe Silvia moved to New York, where they founded a production company specializing in advertising music.
The story of the other singers is particularly interesting: Don Shelton and Len Dresslar remained in Chicago and joined forces with Gene Puerling and Bonnie Herman. This collaboration gave rise to The Singers Unlimited.
Biography text from Last.fm, available under CC BY-SA.