Joan Marie Johnson Faust (right) with the other founding members of The Dixie Cups, Rosa Lee Hawkins (left) and Barbara Ann Hawkins (center).
The Dixie Cups were formed in New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S.A., in 1963.
The group consisted of sisters:
Barbara Ann Hawkins (b. 23rd October 1943, New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S.A.)
Rosa Lee Hawkins (b. 24th September 1946, New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S.A. (b. 24th September 1944. d. 11th January 2022.)
and their cousin:
Joan Marie Johnson (b. 15th January 1945, New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S.A. d. October 2016, New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S.A.)
The Dixie Cups are best known for their 1964 million-selling record 'Chapel of Love'.
chapel of love - 1964 / iko iko - 1965 / riding high - 1965 / teen anguish vol 1 - 1979
about Joan Marie Johnson and the Dixie Cups:
Together with her cousins Barbara Anne Hawkins and Rosa Lee Hawkins the trio formed the group in 1963.
Joan Marie Johnson was later to leave the group.
The Hawkins sisters left following battles with the illness sickle cell.
The Dixie Cups reached the top of the national charts with the songs ‘Chapel of Love’ and ‘Iko Iko’ in the Sixties.
They also knocked The Beatles out of the top spot on the recording charts in 1964 with ‘Chapel Of Love’.
The Hawkins sisters had never met Joan, however, they were cousins.
The group originally recorded under the name the Mel-Tones.
With the help of singer Sylvia Vanderpool Robinson of ‘Mickey and Sylvia’ fame) the group went searching for a record contract.
They performed for Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller, who recorded the song ’Chapel of Love’.
The song stayed at Number 1 for three weeks.‘Iko Iko’, climbed the charts in 1965, following the release of ‘People Say’ a year earlier.
Joan had been married but had no children.Joan Marie Johnson, died in 2016 at the age of 72.
She passed away from congestive heart failure.
Albums:
Chapel Of Love (Red Bird Records 1964)
Iko Iko (reissue of first album) (Red Bird Records 1965)
Ridin' High (ABC/Paramount Records 1965)
Teen Anguish Vol. 1 (Charly Records 1979)
