Livin' Joy

Livin' Joy

Livin' Joy is an Italian house and eurodance group made up of Doris Diggs, Janice Robinson, Gianni Visnadi and Paolo Visnadi. The act becomes known for a run of club and pop singles in the 1990s, combining house music with mainstream dance crossover appeal.

Career

In 1994, with American singer Janice Robinson on lead vocals, the group reaches number one on the US Hot Dance Club Songs chart with “Dreamer”. The song also crosses over to pop radio, entering the US Hot 100 in early 1995, where it peaks at number 72 and spends seventeen weeks on the chart. In the UK, it first reaches number 18, then returns after a reissue and goes to number one on the Official Singles Chart.

By mid-1996, Robinson has left the group and Tameka Star takes over as lead vocalist. With Star, Livin’ Joy scores another major hit with “Don’t Stop Movin’”, which reaches number three on the US dance chart in early 1997 and number 67 on the US Hot 100, staying on that chart for twenty weeks. It also peaks at number five in the UK.

The group follows that success with “Follow the Rules”, a UK top ten single in 1996, and two further UK top twenty hits in 1997: “Where Can I Find Love” and “Deep In You”.

Albums and later activity

The album Don’t Stop Movin’ collects the group’s hits, including “Dreamer” with new vocals by Star, while the original Robinson version appears as a hidden bonus track. Robinson later reissues 2005 remixes of “Dreamer” as a solo release, and these chart on the US dance listings.

A planned commercial release of “Just for the Sex of It” in 1999 is not followed through as intended; the track receives only a limited club release and is issued as a single in Australia, where it reaches number 76. In 2008, several unreleased recordings leak online, including “Love Yourself”, “Lookin’ Fine”, “I Only Wanna Dance”, “U R My Livin’ Joy”, “You Don’t Love Me” and “Bump This”.