SHG: Joni James: "How Important Can It Be?"

Joni James: “How Important Can It Be?” Entered the chart on: 2/19/1955 Peaked on: 3/26/1955 Weeks at #2: 1 week Song at #1: “Sincerely” by the McGuire Sisters



It must have come as a breath of fresh air to the old guard to have a traditional female-sung ballad returning to the charts. That said, there’s a reason you remember, say, Doris Day or Connie Francis (to name two future artists I’ll be covering soon) and not Joni.

Joni is Italian-American, like Connie, and I guess you could say she’s her precursor. Definitely an old school singer of the “sing the notes on the right pitch but don’t get too excited” variety. I really can’t say much more about this than “it’s nice.” It’s professional and bland. Forgettable. I just listened to it and I already can’t remember how it goes. It sounds like a whole bunch of other songs just like this.

This is another artist I have a bit of a history with, as my grandparents owned a later single by her, “I Still Get a Thrill,” which was not a hit. I have a vague memory of the melody hook of that one but like this, it’s forgettable.

The Ray Charles Singers, who were on that Perry Como song, sang on this as well.

Rating: 2