Joe and Eddie – There’s a Meetin’ Here Tonite – With the help of their high-school choir professor, Dr. Earle Blakeslee, Joe Gilbert and Eddie Brown formed a partnership and became professional singers. Their first gigs were at college fraternity and sorority parties, where they performed a variety of numbers. Blakeslee advised them to audition for the Don Sherwood television show in San Francisco. They earned their spot and were asked back to the show several times. This led to engagements at the Purple Onion and the Hungry i nightclubs in San Francisco.

Through their television appearances, Joe and Eddie were introduced to Gene Norman, president of GNP Crescendo Records, and then co-owner of the Crescendo and Interlude nightclubs, who assisted in launching their career. It was through Norman that Joe and Eddie recorded their first single and, by 1962, their first album, Exciting Folk Duo: Joe & Eddie (re-released after Joe Gilbert’s death as Down to Earth). They began touring and for four years continued to record more albums with GNP/Crescendo Records.

After the release of their first album, Joe and Eddie appeared on more television shows, including The Tonight Show, The Lively Ones, Hootenanny, and The Jackie Gleason Show. During this time, they recorded their second album, There’s a Meetin’ Here Tonite, which peaked at No. 119 on the Billboard 200 and No. 68 on the Cash Box‘s Top 100 Albums. The title song, which is an adaptation of a Negro spiritual, became their signature tune. They performed this song in the film Hootenanny Hoot (1963). Their third album, Coast to Coast, charted at No. 140 on the Billboard 200 in 1964.

On August 6, 1966, Joe Gilbert was killed in an automobile accident while driving home after a performance in the Cosmos Club in Seal Beach, California. He was survived by his wife, Judy, and two sons. Eddie Brown continued to record as a solo act. As of 2007, Brown was continuing to work as a record producer and music arranger, most recently with the musical group Gravity 180.

There’s a Meetin’ Here Tonite • Joe and Eddie

Track 1 on There’s a Meetin’ Here Tonite (1963)

There’s a meetin’ here tonight
There’s a meetin’ here tonight
I know you by your friendly face
There’s a meetin’ here tonight

There’s a meetin’ here tonight
There’s a meetin’ here tonight
I know you by your friendly face
There’s a meetin’ here tonight

There’s a meetin’ here tonight, great God
I’m glad you came along
Hope all the brothers and the sisters here
Will help me sing this song

There’s a meetin’ here tonight
There’s a meetin’ here tonight
I know you by your friendly face
There’s a meetin’ here tonight

There’s a grin on every upturned face
And a smile in every eye
Borthers and sisters, let me hear you shout
Let me hear your joyful cry

There’s a meetin’ here tonight
There’s a meetin’ here tonight
I know you by your friendly face
There’s a meetin’ here tonight

There is a meetin’ here
There is a meetin’ here
I know you by your friendly face
There’s a meetin’ here tonight

There’s a meetin’ here tonight
There’s a meetin’ here tonight
I know you by your friendly face
There’s a meetin’ here tonight

There’s a meetin’ here tonight, great God
There’s a meetin’ here tonight, great God
I know you by your friendly face
There’s a meetin’ here tonight

Songwriter: Bob Gibson