JOY JORDAN (FRAZIER)
Renetta ‘Joy’ Jordan grew up with humble beginnings in Norwood, Ohio, a small suburb just north of Cincinnati. At the tender age of two, unable to even hold a microphone, she begin singing to the delight of her church congregation. She continued, and by age 5, her father had accepted an employment transfer that would move the family South to rural Kentucky. It was that move that would later set in motion a course to stardom that would take her to the stage of the Grand Ole Opry, and working with some of country music’s greatest legends.
At the age of 6, Joy began touring with her family throughout Kentucky singing Southern Gospel Music at various churches, fairs, and festivals. It was during this time when her parents had begun to see the spark that would inevitably lead her upward into a musical career. In 1984, Joy suffered a devastating loss when her mother lost an eight year battle to cancer. This tragedy would lead the family back to Ohio, also shaping Joy into the resilient, strong, and confident woman that she would become. Ohio gave Joy the opportunity to perform in churches. While there, she forged a new contemporary sound different from her early days rooted in Southern Gospel. She would go on to become involved in community and school choirs, dramatic musicals and solo performances of the national anthem. She performed at Landmark Baptist, God’s Temple, and Princeton Pike Church of God, all while unknowingly beginning to shift her focus toward the Nashville music scene.
Throughout her youth, Joy would win numerous awards; some in Kentucky’s most prestigious competitions. With an unwavering determination and love for live performances, she would continue to participate in local dinner theaters and musicals. As a music therapist major at the College of Mount Saint Joseph, Joy refined her vocal skills while building upon her musical knowledge. One of the things that would allow her to thrive as a music therapist was her slight vision impairment that she sustained at birth. Joy used this challenge to her advantage and would not allow it to hold her back from her goals. An energetic overachiever, she spent summers giving back to her community by working with visually impaired and hearing impaired children at daycares and day camps. Helping people was what she knew and sharing her love and passion of music made it an even more suitable career choice for her.
While attending College of Mount Saint Joseph, Joy Had begun realizing the influence that such country music greats had been to her throughout her years. Artists such as: David Frizzell, The Kendalls, Kathy Mathea, Merle Haggard, Marie Osmond, and the most influential of all was Reba. After beginning to pay close attention to vocal style, Joy was given a chance to work with a local club in the town of Corbin, Kentucky. This would once again turn her life’s direction inside out.
Upon making the choice to relocate to Kentucky again, Joy began shifting her direction from her Gospel roots into Country Music. She began performing and playing in country venues, and this choice would eventually get her into the appropriate doors in Nashville.
In September of 1992, Joy produced three demos of cover songs that would land in the hands of Pleasantville Studios’ Wayne Brayfield (Billy Ray Cyrus, Patti Loveless, Billy Yates, Craig Morgan, Eric Church, SKO, many others) and Brian Fisher (producer of ‘The Kendalls’ and other great talents). This discovery would again change her direction. Her dream of Nashville was becoming a reality.
In March of 1993, under the recommendation of Brayfield and Fisher, Joy moved to Hendersonville to begin working at Pleasantville Studios. There she learned the industry, inside and out as she performed demos and background vocals while hanging out with many of Nashville’s greatest artists. She began preparing herself by networking within the Nashville market and learning the day-to-day processes of the Nashville business scene. Later that year, Joy recorded her first professional-studio demo, under the direction of Brayfield and Fisher. Amazed at the outcome, they knew Joy had the studio and vocal skills that could set her apart within the industry. Her strong, yet soft-Mezzo soprano voice could perform various styles of music and capture songs very quickly, both musically and lyrically. Brayfield and Fisher encouraged her to immediately begin the search for strong power ballads and signature tunes that could take her vocal talents to new heights.
While networking days, her nights were filled with performances at some of Nashville’s greatest clubs (Bullpen Lounge, Broken Spoke, Gabes, Barbara’s ‘Printer’s Alley’), The Cove Club, Gilley’s, Hall of Fame Lounge, Sweetwater Lounge, The Nashville Palace, as well as the internationally famous Tootsie’s Orchid Lounge and The Writers’ Round at the Blue Bird Café. It was while networking, Joy met future superstars Daryl Singletary, Craig Morgan, Tim McGraw, Travis Allen, Eric Church, Tammy Cochran, and Billy Yates. In the Fall of 1993, she began a road-tour with ‘The Nashville Revue’. The tour would later launch her to new heights and legitimize her as a bona-fide Nashville music star. Very soon her life would be altered once again.
Joining and performing with the Nashville Revue would take Joy around the country on board a tour bus. For the next six months she served as a female-lead singer, back-up vocalist, and trumpeter for the band. This experience was invaluable in perfecting her skills as a performer within the country music industry; it allowed her to learn the logistics of the business end on the road. It made all the difference for Joy. In Early 1994, she was called upon to sing harmony vocals on the much anticipated Euro-Disney Theme song.
In July of 1994, Joy would encounter a producer who would give her a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to begin producing.
In 1995, Joy married Jim Frazier and launched the duet career of ‘Jim and Joy’, that charted such hits as “Together Again, and “I Can Only Go On Like This Forever”. She found herself running the office, working for publicists and radio promotors, booking agents, and video producers, all the while touring and sharing the stage with such country greats as David Frizzell, Merle Haggard, Porter Wagoner, Ralph Emery Stonewall Jackson, Freddie Hart, and many others. From Casinos, to theatres, fairs, festivals, and convention venues, along with Opry on the Road, she was continuing to learn and focus daily on the task at hand, soaking up all the information she could pertaining to the Nashville-Music industry. In her late 20’s, Joy would take the reins to fly solo on production and development of aspiring artists in the studio. She paid attention, soaked it all in and put what she was learning to work in her own production and music business dealing in developing new label artists. She is a professional vocal coach, and she possesses the skills to bring forth a vocal from an aspiring artist. Countless hours spent with professional studio musicians, engineers, in a professional studio environment, as well as her vocal training, have certainly enabled Joy to know her skills and expand them to new horizons. Throughout her marriage of 22 years, she successfully produced and managed the completion of countless recording-production projects, as a partner within the prominent Nashville Company.
Throughout Joy’s 25 years in Nashville, she’s appeared on the stage of The Grand Ole Opry, Music City Tonight and Mornings, as well as countless radio shows, including Heartland Café and WSM with Bill Cody. She has also written a series of articles for Karaoke Singer magazine on the development of music as a career. She’s been mentioned in industry publications such as Music City News, Country Weekly, Country America, The Christian Voice, and Music Row. She has achieved awards in fundraising from the Honorable Mayor of Los Angeles and has even won a Congressional Certificate of Honor for fundraising and event planning in California. Joy was a spokesperson for Chaverim, an LA based social friendship program for developmentally disabled adults. She has also been an active member of organizations such as CMA, BMI, ASCAP, ACM, and GMA. She’s attended many label meetings negotiating major independent record deals with partners and artists. Joy knows the ins and outs of the music industry. She changes with the business, making sure to stay abreast of current industry happenings by taking on every challenge she faces.
In 2010, her production team was contacted after the Nashville floods to submit some production projects to be placed in the archives of the Country Music Hall of Fame for future reference. This was truly an honor and speaks volumes to the work that she and her partners are doing within the business.
In 2012, her company was contacted to sit on the Board of Directors for the “Gone But Not Forgotten” organization of memorializing the 1963 plane crash which claimed the lives of Hawkshaw Hawkins, Patsy Cline, and Cowboy Copus.
For six years Joy has been an active member of First Baptist Church where she serves on the praise and worship team. She performs regularly at political events and rallies and serves as Vice Chair for the Camden Pregnancy Crisis Center Board of Directors helping diligently with fundraising and event planning.
Joy has planned many events for stage and music venues over the years. In 2011 she was called upon to stage 35 artists for Nashville’s Center Stage venue during CMA Music Fest. She coordinated an off-site event for developmental artists in only three days. From band, stage, rehearsal to venue, the four-day event was a success. The development artists even shared the stage during the event with such greats as David Frizzell, T.Grahm Brown, Bailey and the Boys, as well as Linda Davis. It truly showed Joy’s leadership skills by sustaining the event, not to mention her patience and professionalism.
In June of 2017, Joy would find herself in uncharted territory when her spouse and singing partner of 22 years suddenly passed away. This would chart a new course for Joy once again.
Along with producing other aspiring artists over the years, Joy is now flying solo as a producer opening Rising Joy Music Group in late 2017.
After attending to family matters and picking up the pieces of caring for her daughter, Joy continues to rise above it all. She is currently working on her new solo project to be released this Fall.
Joy is ready to lead her company Rising Joy Music Group to new heights of success in 2018 with a strong vision, creativity, and support of industry professionals. Her knowledge, industry connections, and a drive that forces her to press onward. She has risen above obstacles with God’s help and HIS Grace while giving her peace, and SHE IS BACK…Stronger than ever, eager and thrilled to be doing what she loves so much producing, vocal coaching, and performing once again.
Joy is the Joy of Rising Joy Music Group Nashville. For Joy is rising and making it happen in 2018.