Joni James (born Joan Carmella Babbo, September 22, 1930, Chicago, Illinois) is an American singer of traditional pop music.
Joan Carmella Babbo was born to an Italian-American family in Chicago, one of six children supported by her widowed mother. As an adolescent, she studied drama and ballet, and on graduating from Bowen High School, located in the South Chicago neighborhood, went with a local dance group on a tour of Canada. She then took a job as a chorus girl in the Edgewater Beach Hotel in Chicago.
After doing a fill-in in Indiana, she decided to pursue a singing career. Some executives at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) spotted her in a television commercial, and she was signed by MGM in 1952. Her first hit, "Why Don't You Believe Me?" sold over two million copies. She had a number of hits following that one, including "Your Cheatin' Heart" (a cover of Hank Williams' hit) and "Have You Heard?".
She was the first American to record at London's Abbey Road Studios, and recorded five albums there. She was also very popular across parts of the Asia-Pacific region, particularly in the Philippines where she performed at Manila's now defunct EM Club in 1957. She also scored a big hit in Manila with Filipino composer Salvador Asuncion's work entitled "In Despair."
"You Do" is a McAlmont and Butler single, released in November 1995 and part of their debut album The Sound Of... McAlmont & Butler. The single charted at number 17 on the UK singles chart.
Is it any wonder that I've fallen for you?
You're the spell I'm under and I'm helpless it's true
Is it anmy wonder why my skies are so blue
When I searched the heavens I found no one like you
Found the rainbow, found the moonglow
Saw the light from the great Milky Way
Quite an eyeful, yet a trifle
When compared to your magical ways
Is it any wonder that I feel as I do?