Simon was born in Simmesport, Louisiana, United States. Similar to many other African-American artists from the era, Simon began singing in his father's Baptist church. He pursued his vocal abilities full-time once the family moved to Richmond (near Oakland, California) in the late 1950s. There Simon joined the Golden West Gospel Singers and became influenced by Sam Cooke and Arthur Prysock. With this, the group decided to turn secular and recorded "Little Island Girl" as the Golden Tones in 1959.
Hush Records label owners Gary and Carla Thompson urged Simon to record on his own, and in 1964 Simon scored considerable success on the Vee-Jay label with "My Adorable One". Simon scored again in 1965 on the Chicago based label with "Let's Do It Over", which landed a #13 spot on the US Billboard R&B chart. However, the Vee-Jay label folded soon after the latter song's release and Simon found himself traveling across the country singing.
Simon caught the eye of Nashville, Tennessee, R&B disc jockey John Richbourg during this time, and Richbourg not only became Simon's manager/record producer but also brought the singer to Monument Records' subsidiary label Sound Stage 7 in 1966. That year Simon released "Teenager's Prayer", which peaked at #11 on Billboard's R&B chart. Within the next two years, Simon released a string of hits: "(You Keep Me) Hanging On", "The Chokin' Kind" (Billboard Hot 100 #13), "Farther On Down The Road", and "Yours Love". "The Chokin' Kind" was written by Harlan Howard, spent 12 weeks in the charts, and had sold one million copies by 16 June 1969. In addition, Simon was given a Grammy Award in 1970 for Best Male R&B Vocal Performance.
Under the encouragement of Richbourg, Simon moved to the Polydor distributed Spring Records label in 1970, which paired Simon with Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff. The team scored a #3 R&B hit in 1971 with "Drowning In The Sea of Love" and a #1 R&B hit in the summer of 1972 with "Power Of Love". Both songs reached #11 on the Hot 100. "Drowning In The Sea of Love" sold over 1.5 million copies and the R.I.A.A. on 6 January 1972 gave a gold disc. "Power of Love", written by Gamble, Huff and Simon was Simon's third million seller, and the R.I.A.A. awarded gold disc status on 29 August 1972.
Simon continued to release R&B hits with "Pool Of Bad Luck", "Trouble In My Home", "Step By Step", "I Need You, You Need Me", "Music In My Bones", "Carry Me", and 1975's "Get Down, Get Down (Get On The Floor)", which gave Simon his third #1 R&B hit, and also a #8 Hot 100 hit. Simon's success escalated with his writing/producing the theme tune for the film, Cleopatra Jones in 1973.
In the late 1970s/early 1980s, Simon decided to remove his tenor/bass-baritone voice from the secular music world and devote it and his life to Christianity. Simon began evangelist preaching in Flossmoor, Illinois. In 1983, he produced the album Lay My Burden Down for former Davis Sisters second lead Jackie Verdell. Simon released a gospel album titled This Story Must Be Told in the late 1990s.
In 1999 Simon was inducted as a Pioneer Award honoree by the Rhythm and Blues Foundation. Joss Stone covered "The Chokin' Kind" on her 2003 album, The Soul Sessions.
Simon has had a number of his songs sampled by other artists, including OutKast, who sampled "Before the Night is Over" in their hit "So Fresh, So Clean" and Lil' Kim, who sampled Simon's "It Be's That Way Sometimes" in "Magic Stick", featuring 50 Cent. Memphis Bleek sampled Simon's "Trace Your Love" for his track "Alright" on the 2005 534 album.
Theme From Cleopatra Jones
Joe Simon Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
A world of love no one has known
And yet they speak of such a place
Beyond the stars, through time and space
So this is paradise, truly paradise
I dared to dream of
My wildest fantasy could never bring to me
Lost in your kiss, here I will stay
Til there's no night 'til there's no day
What greater gift could ever be?
A world of love you gave to me
You gave to me a world of love
These lyrics from Joe Simon's song Theme From Cleopatra Jones, are a beautiful expression of being lost in love. The singer is confident that they've found a love so rare that no one else has ever experienced it. The adoration is elevated to the status of mythical proportions, as he identifies it as a world beyond time and space, something akin to paradise. He goes on to express that he had never dared to dream of such a love, saying that it goes beyond his wildest fantasies.
The singer is then overwhelmed and lost in the embrace of their lover, who has given them this world of love. He closes by admitting that there's nothing greater than the gift of love that his lover has given him. These lyrics paint a picture of a love so deep that it is beyond words, a feeling that can only be expressed through poetry and song.
Line by Line Meaning
A world of love is mine alone
I possess a unique world that's filled with love.
A world of love no one has known
No one before me has experienced a world that's better filled with love.
And yet they speak of such a place
People speak of a place better than heaven.
Beyond the stars, through time and space
This heavenly place exists beyond the confines of this world and beyond time.
So this is paradise, truly paradise
I have reached the epitome of paradise and it's real.
I dared to dream of
I was once just dreaming of this paradise.
My wildest fantasy could never bring to me
Even my wildest imaginations couldn't conjure such paradise.
Such lips, so filled with love
The love-filled lips of my companion captivate and amaze me.
Lost in your kiss, here I will stay
I'm truly lost in the midst of this kiss and I want to remain this way.
Til there's no night 'til there's no day
I want this moment to last until time loses all meaning.
What greater gift could ever be?
Nothing could surpass this gift I'm given.
A world of love you gave to me
The gift given to me is a world filled with love.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: Joe Simon
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@MusicLoverPearson
We have lost a great legend R.I.P Bishop Joe Simon.
I grew up on his music i have a few of his classic albums.He left behind a legacy of great music such as Teenager's Prayer, Nine Pound Steel,The Chokin' Kind,Your Time To Cry,Drowning In The Sea Of Love,Power Of Love,Theme From Cleopatra Jones,Get Down, Get Down (Get On The Floor),and many other great hit songs.
His music will forever live on 😢
@kimberlyreese7736
Yes, indeed Musiclover 59. He perform at my High School
@terrancecosby4805
Louisiana’s own
@aliciaward2812
Lllllllllll
@kimjackson3986
This is music you just don't get tried of....Thank Joe Simon...
@teddybearakamastere.1776
One of the best blaxploitation movies of all time. What a "Sista".
@charlesmccullough4044
Them Was Day, soul sista.
@rpatten78
💯 OF ALL TIMES!!
@muffs55mercury61
I'm white and I love this stuff and also the film. Aug-Sept, 1973, fun days.
@deidreclark8771
Amen 🙏