Joe Barry

Who was Joe Barry?

Joe Barry was an American swamp pop singer active on the early rock and roll scene.

Barry started recording locally in 1958, and released two singles on Jin Records around 1960. In 1961, the second single he released for Jin, "I'm a Fool to Care", was picked up for national distribution by Mercury Records subsidiary Smash Records. The tune hit #15 on the U.S. Black Singles chart and #24 on the Billboard Hot 100. "I'm a Fool to Care" sold over one million records by 1968, earning a belated gold disc. The song also charted in the UK Singles Chart at #49. The follow-up single, "Teardrops in My Heart", also charted in the U.S. but did not reach the Top 40. Barry released several more singles on Smash and Nugget Records later in the 1960s, but left the music industry soon after. During his career in 1960 or 1961 Joe Barry also appeared on Dick Clark's American Banstand.

Barry returned to music in 1977, releasing a full-length country album, and followed with a religious album in 1980. Health problems prevented him from continuing a career in music later in his life until 2003, when he released an album which took several years of overdubbing to complete due to his physical limitations. The album Been Down that Muddy Road was produced by Aaron Fuchs of Night Train International in New York, along with Pershing Wells and Michael Vice of Houma, Louisiana. The band Blue Eyed Soul Revue was used on all the tracks.