Jo Ann Greer

Who was Jo Ann Greer?

Jo Ann Greer had one of the most distinctive and elegant voices, yet least-known faces of all the successful jazz and pop singers in show business.

Her career spanned nearly 50 years, but the two fields in which she primarily worked — movie dubbing and band-singing — seldom gave her the credit she deserved. She initially became known to Hollywood casting people from an early marriage to pianist Freddie Slack in the 1940s and later through her long employment with Les Brown and his Band of Renown. Following some early appearances with Sonny Burke and his orchestra, Greer recorded for Decca Records and joined Ray Anthony's band, with whom she scored her two biggest hits, "Wild Horses" and the perennial party favorite, "The Hokey Pokey" in 1953. After four unhappy months, she replaced Lucy Ann Polk as vocalist with Les Brown's band in May, 1953. They made numerous singles for Coral Records and later Capitol Records and toured internationally for nearly 40 years, well into the early 90's. She won the 1956 Downbeat Readers Poll for "best girl band vocalist." Greer became increasingly associated with her distinctive version of Brown's hit song "Sentimental Journey", which he had originally recorded with Doris Day. Unfortunately, the bandleaders' names were the ones that were prominently featured on the labels and Greer's name, if it appeared at all, was in fine print.