JOE Simon is dead at the age of 85.
The Grammy-winning R&B singer was famous for his hit songs including Power of Love and The Chokin' Kind.
He died Monday in his hometown, which is near Chicago.
Joe was born in Simmesport, Louisiana in 1943.
According to Billboard, he hated picking cotton and chose to move to Los Angeles to pursue a career as a singer.
Joe spent his early years in LA homeless as he lived in a chicken coop.
Despite struggling to make ends meet, Joe wrote 20 to 30 each day while he worked on developing his singing voice.
He improved so much that a label owner paid him $1,100 to record four songs that were from other songwriters.
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Joe brought in local musicians including future funk greats Sly Stone and Larry Graham to play on 1964 song My Adorable One.
JOE'S BREAKTHROUGH
The song was well received and became Joe's breakthrough hit.
His career soon took off and he landed three No. 1s and 14 top 10s on what is now the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart.
Joe also scored a best R&B vocal performance, male Grammy for his 1969 hit The Chokin’ Kind.
The musician later collaborated with Philly Sound hitmakers Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff on the 1971 song Drowning In the Sea of Love, which was created as the theme for the 1973 film Cleopatra Jones.
As he continued to release hit songs, Joe began his own indie labels, Spring and Posse.
He signed on funk stars including Millie Jackson and Fatback Band.
Known as "The Mouth of the South," Joe was often compared to musicians Otis Redding, Sam Cooke and Jackie Wilson.
CAREER CHANGE
Despite his successful music career, Joe gave up performing to become an ordained minister in 1983.
He worked as a traveling pastor, while his first sermon was to an audience 4,000 people at the Rapides Coliseum near New Orleans.
According to Billboard, Joe changed his career following a dramatic onstage moment when he forgot the words of his hit songs in front of 10,000 fans.
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