Joseph Francis Robert Dolan, an Irish entertainer, recording artist, and pop singer, was born on October 16, 1939, in County Hospital, now Midland Regional Hospital, Mullingar, County Westmeath, as the youngest of nine children in a Roman Catholic family.
He was orphaned at a young age, his father passing away when he was ten, and his mother when he was nineteen. Dolan began singing in school and his mother encouraged him to learn the piano.
He made his stage debut at a talent show held in a marquee on the Fair Green in Mullingar. Dolan's voice was distinctive, with a high pitch and comprehensive range, utilizing a technique known as melisma, which was uncommon in the 1960s and 1970s.
Irish chat show legend Gay Byrne described Dolan's voice as "butter mixed with honey". Dolan started playing guitar in 1958 and formed a band, The Drifters, with his brother Ben. They later renamed the band Joe Dolan and the Drifters to avoid legal action from an American band with the same name.
The Irish musical landscape in the 1960s was dominated by showbands. Dolan's first single, "The Answer to Everything", was released in September 1964, reaching number four in the Irish charts. He and his band were managed by Seamus Casey.
In 1965, Dolan embarked on his first US tour, playing Irish-American venues in cities such as Chicago, New York, and Boston. This tour allowed him to discover American music, including the Jim Reeves song "(That's When I See the Blue in Your) Pretty Brown Eyes", which he released on the Pye label in 1966.
Dolan's energetic and charismatic stage performances earned him the advertising slogan "There's no show like the Joe show". He became the only Irish singer to reach number one in the 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s, with a persistent presence in the music charts in Ireland and overseas.
Throughout his career, Dolan was known for his innovative style, high-pitched singing voice, and energetic stage performances, which influenced his long-standing advertising slogan.
