Around the same time the fictional Joan Harris was battling the corporate wolves at Sterling, Cooper, Draper & Price in the Mad Men television series, the real Joan Harris was battling fellow artists for her place in the pantheon of pop music. Harris may or may not have realized all her artistic ambitions, but she did leave us a nicely rocking slice of country that goes by the curious title, “Fireproof Money Belt“:
“Fireproof Money Belt” is a standout track from Country Girl And Other Country And Western Favorites, the first of at least two albums released on Custom, an “economy” imprint of budget label, Crown – itself a subsidiary of Modern Records. As with The Green Valley Guitars, very little information is known about the elusive Joan Harris or the song itself (as the label doesn’t believe in songwriter credits – see below). However, based on the discography provided by the indispensable Both Sides Now Publications, I would guess Country Girl and Other Country And Western Favorites to have been released in 1968.
Based on the catalog number and title of Joan’s next release, Harper Valley PTA, my guess is that Custom also released this follow-up album in 1968 to capitalize on Tom T. Hall’s six-million-selling, international smash hit (and first song by a female artist to top Billboard’s pop and country charts at the same time).
Would be curious to hear “Whose Ox Is Being Gored”
Parent label, Crown, would also release both Joan Harris albums:
Harris would also record a couple singles in 1970 for Los Angeles-based label, Sparta, including “The New Harper Valley PTA” co-written with Gordon Calcote. Sparta (the name of Harris’s Tennessee hometown) was distributed by respected blues label, Kent.
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Postscript
Harris’s daughter, Lorna Maxwell, would contact Zero to 180 in the wake of her mother’s passing in March of 2023 [see comment below]. Maxwell’s obituary for Joan Atwater reveals a remarkable spiritual transformation in later years as a result of her mother’s embrace of her Christian upbringing and resolve to pursue a path in praise of the Lord:
Joan Harris-Atwater, 78, of Thousand Oaks, CA, received her eternal crown on Friday, March 31, 2023, following a courageous year and a half battle with glioblastoma.
Joan grew up in Sparta, Tennessee, singing with her two older sisters at the knee of her musical parents. As a child, Joan was encouraged to sing by her teachers and was featured in school musicals. By age 10, she and her sisters were featured singers on a local radio station every Saturday, and at age 11, Joan and her sisters were invited to sing on WSM’s live broadcast of the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville.
When Joan was 17 years old, she landed a spot on a live TV show on WLTV in Bowling Green, Kentucky called “Country Music Jubilee.” After graduating from high school, she moved to Kentucky and became the featured vocalist on the program for the next 2-1/2 years. At WLTV, Joan met and married an aspiring actor. In 1963, they moved to Southern California where she signed her first recording contract with Hummingbird Records. Joan wrote and recorded multiple Country singles and albums that made the charts on Billboard and Cashbox, and performed throughout the western U.S. at various venues, including television and radio. She was also an active member of the Academy of Country Music, and coordinated and co-wrote an ACM awards show.
During this time, Joan also reared two daughters, Lorna and Kendra. Having been brought up in a Christian home, Joan faithfully led her daughters to Christ by following the instructions given in Proverbs 22:6, “Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old, he will not depart from it.” Joan taught her daughters to love Christ above all else, and to trust in Him for everything even when the going gets tough.
Joan experienced some tough times leading to the end of her marriage, and a four-year break from music. After being encouraged by some friends to start performing again, Joan was introduced to Tom Atwater, a violinist/fiddle-player. Joan joined Tom’s band, The Crossfire Band, as the lead singer, and they were married a year later in 1991.
In 1994, Joan was asked by her pastor to write a song for an upcoming event. This led to a new focus in performing country gospel music. In 2004, Joan received the “Female Vocalist of the Year” award from the Country Gospel Music Association (CGMA), after which she decided to dedicate all of her music to the Lord.
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(image courtesy of Bob Roth)
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Joan went on to win several more awards, recorded a country gospel CD called It’s Not Complicated, that receives airplay on gospel radio and internet radio around the country, and completed a college course and became an ordained Music Minister. Joan also joined the CGMA’s leadership team, and was a regular voice heard on WVSGRadio.com as a devotional and prayer leader.
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“Joyful Sounds Of Caring“
Ventura County Star
Sep. 15, 2006
Tom & Joan Atwater perform free country gospel concert at Newbury Park First Christian Church, along with Lorna Maxwell, steel guitarist J.D. Maness, and pianist Mark Yeary, among others.
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One Response
Don’t know if this site still exists….but Joan Harris is my mother.