Bruce Joyner

A cult figure in American alternative rock, Bruce Joyner founded several bands, including The Unkowns, and found his most loyal audience in France. Born in Fitzgerald, Georgia, on August 9, 1952, he remained faithful to the rock'n'roll of his childhood, as well as to garage rock, which he later discovered at the height of the punk movement. From these influences, the musician drew his own style, which he cultivated in his successive adventures. After his first accident at the age of six, when he swallowed a liquid for photographic use, resulting in the loss of an eye and vocal problems, a car collision left him partially paralyzed and forced him to use crutches or play sitting down. This did little to alter his determination to persevere in music, and in 1978 he founded his first group with Don Fleming, The Stroke Band, which produced an album entitled Green and Yellow. The following year saw the birth of The Unknowns, who made a name for themselves with the Dream Sequence EP (1981) and a homonymous album released on Greg Shaw's cult label, Bomp! Leaving in 1982, Joyner formed a new band, Bruce Joyner & the Plantations, with whom he recorded three albums until 1986. Released in France by Le Havre-based Closer Records, they helped him build a loyal local following for his seven solo albums, from Hot Georgia Nights (1987) to The Devil Is Beating His Wife (2014) and Love and the Blood Vodou (2018). Retired from the stage for several years, Bruce Joyner died on March 9, 2025, at the age of 72.

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