The Joy Strings

• Formed: 1964
• Genres: Rock

Biography

Most collectors and music buffs associate EMI's Regal Zonophone label with such late-'60s outfits as the Move and Joe Cocker. In 1964, however, the label -- the poorest of the poor relationship in the EMI Group, made up of two rival ultra-budget labels (Regal and Zonophone) linked when EMI was formed -- had a pair of British hits with the Joy Strings, a Salvation Army beat group led by Captain Joy Webb. Regal Zonophone had, as a matter of policy, been given over to Salvation Army bands since the mid- to late '50s, conducting its business away from mainstream pop. Then the Joy Strings' 1964 single "It's an Open Secret" b/w "We're Going to Set the World" reached number 32 on the British charts. A second single, "Million Songs" b/w "Joshua," failed to chart, but their third, "A Starry Night" b/w "Now I Know," made it to number 35. This was the last chart action they would ever see, but a pair of EPs came out in 1964 and a pair of LPs, right up through 1967 (when Regal Zonophone's direction shifted), came out from the group. For some reason, after 1965, the group's recordings consisted exclusively of Christmas songs. They were never more than an anomaly in the explosion of pop-rock in early-'60s England, but the very fact of their success illustrates the size of the beat boom. ~ Bruce Eder, All Music Guide