Giovanna Carmella Babbo (September 22, 1930 – February 20, 2022), known professionally as Joni James, was an American singer of traditional pop.

Giovanna Carmella Babbo was born to an Italian-American family in Chicago, Illinois, on September 22, 1930,[1][2] as one of six children supported by her widowed mother.

[3] As an adolescent, she studied drama and ballet, and on graduating from Bowen High School, located in the South Chicago neighborhood, went with a local dance group on a tour of Canada.

[4] After doing a fill-in in Indiana, she decided to pursue a singing career, and picked the stage name Joni James at the urging of her managers.

[citation needed] Joni James had seven Top 10 hits on the various Billboard charts that existed before the Hot 100:[2] "Why Don't You Believe Me?"

[citation needed] James married composer-conductor Anthony "Tony" Acquaviva at St. Patrick's Cathedral, New York in 1956.

[8] Schulz was a fan and friend of James who had Snoopy featured on the cover of her Jukebox Joni 1999 compilation album.

The streets of the city were still lined with armed soldiers, and she was a guest of honor at the American Film Institute's Life Achievement Tribute to Barbra Streisand.