Johnny James, a pop singer of the 1950s who was an early influence of Barbra Streisand, died on February 20 at a hospital in West Palm Beach, Florida, at the age of 91.
Her family announced her death in online obituary, saying he “died peacefully.” Her son Michael Aquaviva confirmed her death with The Washington Post but did not provide a specific reason.
Known as the “Queen of Hearts” to her fans, the prolific singer recorded nearly 700 songs – including her debut hit “Why Don’t You Believe Me?” – and sold more than 100 million records during her career. New York Times reported.
“I’ve always sung from the heart,” she said New York Daily News in 1966. “I always sang about life and how it affected me. I am Italian. Italians are passionate people.
Johnny James, a pop singer from the 1950s, died on February 20 at a hospital in West Palm Beach, Florida, at the age of 91.
Known as the “Queen of Hearts” to her fans, the prolific singer recorded nearly 700 songs and sold over 100 million records during her career.
Streisand was a fan of James, who was known for his beautiful melancholy voice.
“My favorite singer when I was growing up was Johnny Mathis,” Streisand told The New York Times in 1985. I also listened to a lot of Johnny James recordings and sang her hit “Have You Heard?” I didn’t want to sound like her.
Streisand may not have wanted to sound like James, but New York Times critic Stephen Holden could hear her influence on the legendary singer.
“Without developing a rounded vibrato, she sounded a lot like her childhood idol, Johnny James, a singer with only elementary techniques that infused pop ballads from the early ’50s with desolate sadness,” he wrote for Streisand in 1991.
James was born Giovanna Carmela Babo to an Italian-American family in Chicago, Illinois, on September 22, 1930. Her father, Angelo Babo, sang opera arias as a shepherd in Italy before emigrating to the United States at the age of 18.
She was five when he died at the age of 36, leaving her mother Mary Chereso to raise her and her five siblings alone during the Depression.
To help his mother and earn enough money to train as a ballerina, James looked after babies and worked in a bakery. While dreaming of becoming a professional dancer, her singing was in her blood.
James was influenced by Barbra Streisand, who sang her hit “Have You Heard?” At club auditions early in her career. Streisand is pictured in 2019 (left) and 1965 (right)
James’ influence on Streisand came to a head when she was invited to play at the Institute’s Lifetime Achievement Award in 2001 in honor of the legendary singer (pictured)
“Foaming was something we grew up with,” she said Los Angeles Times in 1995. “I am Italian. Italians breathe and Italians sing. There was always music around the house, but when I thought of real singers, I thought of Sarah Vaughn and Billy Holiday and Doris Day and Hank Williams. I was just little Johnny.
After graduating from high school, she toured Canada with a local dance group and then booked a concert as a chorister at a hotel in Chicago. She had changed her first name from Giovanni to Johnny because her high school newspaper kept spelling it wrong, according to The New York Times.
When she started working as a model, her managers advised her to find a new last name, which led her to search the phone book and randomly select “James”.
The little star, who was only 5 feet tall and wore a size 4 shoe, was 21 when she was signed by MGM in 1952. She reached fame overnight when her first single “Why Don’t You Believe Me” topped the three Billboard charts in the same year.
The following year, her songs “Your Cheatin ‘Heart” – a cover of Hank Williams’ hit – and “Have You Heard?” Rose to second and fourth place with respect and sold millions of copies.
In 1955, her recording of “How Important Can It Be?” Also reached number two in the charts, consolidating her status as a pop star.
“I think what people heard in those recordings was my heart. I’ve always felt that I have to work hard to be good enough. I had to tell the story and pour it all into a song … my heart, my soul, my gut, “James told The Los Angeles Times.
James was 21 when they signed with MGM in 1952. She was shot to fame overnight when her first single, “Why Don’t You Believe Me,” topped Billboard’s three charts that year.
She married her music arranger, Anthony “Tony” Aquaviva (second from right), in 1956, and later retired from singing to care for him after he developed diabetes in 1964.
In 1956, she married her music arranger and conductor, Anthony Tony Aquaviva, at St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York City.
At the height of her fame, she starred in a number of variety shows, including The Ed Sullivan Show, American Bandstand, and The Jimmy Dean Show.
She was the first American to record at Abbey Road Studios in London, and also became the first pop singer to have a solo concert at New York’s Carnegie Hall in 1959.
Five years later, James moved out of the limelight to care for her after her husband developed diabetes in 1964.
“I became a nurse and an Italian mother,” she told The Los Angeles Times. “I wanted to be close to my family. Besides, I couldn’t turn away from Tony. He had been in a wheelchair for years. At one point, his legs would be amputated for gangrene, but we saved him. I bathed my feet six times a day.
She was named “The Garbo of Song” after her decision to retire from her singing career.
“I didn’t think of it as ‘giving up,'” she told the New York Daily News. “He needed me.” And to tell the truth, we won all the battles, but we lost the war.
“People think it’s something special and it bothers me,” she added. “If you do something, you don’t expect medals. After all, he was my husband and we loved each other deeply. He would do the same for me if things were reversed.
James, who would still play from time to time while caring for her husband, received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1969.
James returned to the spotlight after she married retired Air Force General Bernard ‘Ben’ A. Shriver in 1997. She stopped playing a few years after he died in 2005.
James, who will still appear from time to time while caring for her husband, received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1969.
Aquaviva died in 1986, and almost a decade later she married Bernard “Ben” A. Shriver, a retired Air Force general who led the development of intercontinental ballistic missiles, in 1997.
It was Shriver who encouraged her to return to concerts, which led to her hosting concerts in New York, including her return to Carnegie Hall.
James’ influence on Streisand came to a head when she was invited to play at the Institute’s Lifetime Achievement Award in 2001 in honor of the legendary singer.
She sang Streisand’s “The Way We Were” while the famous composer Marvin Hamlish played the piano.
The singer’s second husband Shriver died in 2005 and she stopped playing about a few years later.
In addition to her son, her survivors include her daughter Angela Cuoka; her brothers Angelo Babo and Jimmy Contino; and her sisters Clara Aerostegi and Rosalie Ferina.
James will be laid to rest with her second husband at Arlington National Cemetery.