Giovanna Carmella Babbo, known by the stage name Joni James, was born on 22
September 1930 in Chicago, Illinois. As a singer of traditional pop, she began
her career after studying drama and ballet during adolescence. Post-school, she
embarked on a tour with a local dance group in Canada before securing a job as a
chorus girl at the Edgewater Beach Hotel in Chicago. In 1952, she was signed by
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) after being discovered in a television commercial and
released her debut single that year, "Why Don't You Believe Me?", which pulled
in over two million copies. She...