Joseph Dolce, born October 13, 1947 in Painesville, Ohio, is an American-Australian singer and songwriter. He began his career as a musician after graduating from Thomas W. Harvey High School in 1965. While attending Ohio University, he formed various bands including Headstone Circus with Jonathan Edwards. In 1978, Dolce relocated to Melbourne, Australia, where he released his first single "Boat People" and performed his one-man show, Joe Dolce Music Theatre. His breakthrough came in 1980 with the release of "Shaddap You Face", which reached Number 1 in 15 countries and sold over six million copies worldwide. The song was featured on his single If You Want To Be Happy released in 1981, which he followed with holiday album Christmas in Australia the same year. Dolce received the Advance Australia Award in 1981 for his contributions to music. Throughout his career, he collaborated with various artists and formed performance groups including Skin the Wig and La Somnambule, releasing albums Freelovedays (2004) and The Wind Cries Mary. (2007) He also ventured into acting, appearing in the Australian film Blowing Hot and Cold (1988), continuing to perform solo and with Lin Van Hek as part of their music-literary cabaret Difficult Women.
