He’s recorded pop, country and gospel since the 1960s and he’s still going strong. One of North Louisiana’s own, Joe Stampley, will return to Natchitoches, in conjunction with the Natchitoches Christmas Festival.
Stampley, a Nashville recording artist and Louisiana Music Hall of Fame member in several categories, will be the featured artist for the Turn on the Holidays event Saturday, Nov. 18. He will be the final entertainment of the evening, following Johnny Earthquake and the Moondogs who hit the stage at 7:30 p.m. immediately following the 7 p.m. fireworks show. The first act of the night will be the Mike McKenzie Band who will play from 4:30-7 p.m.
Best known by the older generation for his lead vocals in the band, Joe Stampley & The Uniques, Stampley was inducted into the Louisiana Music Hall of Fame in three categories, which puts him in an elite class of Louisiana Artists. He joined his Uniques bandmates in the musical group category, was also inducted for his country music successes and his teaming with Moe Bandy in the group “Moe and Joe” and then into the Songwriters Hall of Fame category. Stampley began his career in the 60s as the lead singer for The Uniques. The band, whose members are from Magnolia, Ark., Springhill and Sarepta, became a well known pop/rock group throughout Louisiana, Arkansas and Texas.
The group recorded the first national hit for Paul Records of Shreveport with “Not Too Long Ago.” A year later and a performance on Dick Clark’s American Bandstand, the group released “All These Things,” which is still a sentimental favorite in his concerts.
In 1984, Joe and Moe won the American Video Association’s award for Video of the Year with a takeoff on Boy George-“Where’s the Dress.” The Springhill native also had a string of hits with his label mate Moe Bandy. They included chart toppers, “Just Good Ole Boys,” “Holdin’ The Bag” and “Hey Joe, Hey Moe.” The duo earned a number of chart-toppers and were named Country Music Association’s (CMA) Vocal Duo of the Year in 1980 and two consecutive Academy of Country Music (AM) Vocal Duo of the Year awards. For over four decades, Stampley has performed at Country Music Award Shows, concert halls, casinos, clubs and festivals. Anytime he comes back to Louisiana or East Texas however, he can’t complete a show without doing some of his hits while leading The Uniques. He has over 60-charted records to his credit. A feat that ranks his 30th in the R&R (Radio and Records) Twenty Years of Excellence Magazine and earned him Billboards Single Artist of the Year.
At one time he had eight singles on the Billboard Magazine Top 50 Chart. At ABC-Dot Records, Stampley hit No. 1 on the charts with the remake of a Uniques tune “All These Things.” While at the label, he also release “Soul Song,” “Too Far Gone,” “If You Touch Me (you’ve got to love me)” and “I’m Still Loving You.” While at Epic Records, Stampley turned out 13 albums with tunes like, “Roll On Big Momma,” “Red Wine and Blue Memories,” “If You’ve Got Ten Minutes,” “Do You Ever Fool Around,” and “I’m Gonna Love You Back to Lovin’ Me Again.”