Homage to Chyort: Joyce!

Picture by Reverend Byrd.

It was a dark and stormy night. (But isn't it always?) As the lightning flashed, I could see the cat slinking on her belly across the floor trying to find someplace to hide from the inevitable crash of thunder she knew was coming.

I sat in the dark with my laptop open before me. What's this? An e-mail? Ten Worst Album Covers of All Time? Interesting... I open the e-mail.

#10 - 12 Top Hits - Hmm... Don't see what's too bad about this one. Maybe the fellow that compiled the list has a fear of Argyl socks.

#9 - Joyce - Middle-aged Caucasian lady with a 'fro and a rose. Again, not particularly bad.

#8 - The McKeithens - Oh my God! What is wrong with that woman's head?! That has got to be the biggest bun...

But wait! Joyce...

There was... something... that called me back to her. But what was it? I couldn't put my finger on it. Lightning flickered ominously outside the window as the cat made another slithering dash across the room.

I finished perusing the remaining album covers and shut the computer down for the night. The storm had let up enough that the thunder wouldn't keep me from falling asleep. But something... or someone... else did. Joyce. What was it about her? Sleep finally comes...

I discuss the list with a friend at work the next morning. He had also received the e-mail. He agreed with me that there was some elusive thing about Joyce that haunted the mind more than the photo on Millie Jackson's "E.S.P" album (#4 on the list) did. Hmm... I wonder...

Days and then weeks passed. Joyce was relegated to a little used broom closet in the back of my mind. Until...

My friend contacted me one day. He had found Joyce. She was no longer quite the enigma she had been. Instead, she was a preacher's wife. And... Ooo! Photos! Whoever had thrown this website together had taken Joyce's head and PhotoShopped her into other album covers. The gears started turning.

We discussed the information and decided to honor Joyce by creating a tribute page on MySpace, complete with more PhotoShopped photos and a back-story about how Joyce was one of the great, unknown character actresses/body doubles of the '60s and '70s. The MySpace page never materialized, but I set to working on photos, hoping they would help exorcise Joyce from my mind.

Nope...

Music Career