Every night, Josephine!

It’s quite puzzling why this catchy, bubblegumish song, released in 1964, has remained under the radar all these decades. Even today, a video of Every Night, Josephine is still nowhere to be found online. A quick Internet search turns up little nothing, so I had no choice but to make my own video of this seven-inch 45rpm record spinning on the turntable. The record label tells me the song was sung by someone named Ronnie Jackson—but like the song itself, next to nothing is known about the singer, and I’ve had to leave it at that.

However, the songwriting credits caught my attention. Although one name, Vic Thomas, didn’t ring any bells, the other did. Jacqueline Susann. The only Jacqueline Susann I’ve ever heard of was the one who wrote Valley of the Dolls, that scandalous novel that was all the rage among secondary school students back in the 1960s and 1970s. The book followed three young women navigating the highs and lows of fame, fortune and relationships in the American entertainment industry—complete with a heavy dose of pill-popping culture. But before Valley of the Dolls made her famous, Susann had actually written an earlier book called Every Night, Josephine! The exact same title as this song.

Her book, published in 1963, wasn’t about Hollywood starlets or scandalous affairs. It was a lighthearted, affectionate memoir about her beloved poodle, Josephine. A collection of amusing stories about life with her pampered pet. Which brings me to the big question: why would Susann’s name show up as a co-writer of this song? Why should the song’s title be exactly the same as her book? And to top it all off, the lyrics of the song reveal—right at the very end—that Every Night, Josephine was all about a poodle.

It can’t just be a coincidence, right? One possibility is that the song (released in 1964) was some sort of promotional tie-in for the book (published in 1963). Back then, it wasn’t unheard of for books, films and even brands to have an accompanying song, either as a marketing gimmick or just a fun add-on. Maybe Susann or her publisher wanted a song to help push the book. Or maybe the songwriters were inspired by it. As for Susann’s songwriting credit, could she have actually contributed something? Lyrics, ideas, or just the title? Or was her name added purely as part of a promotional deal? And here’s one more giveaway—every song has a publisher, and in this case, it was Poodle Music Inc. Now, if that isn’t a clue, I don’t know what is!

And then there’s the biggest mystery of all—Ronnie Jackson. Who was he? A session singer hired for the job? A pseudonym? A one-hit wonder who never even had a hit? The fact that Every Night, Josephine faded into obscurity along with its singer only deepens the mystery.

Whatever the real story is, one thing’s for sure: this is one of those strange, forgotten little pieces of music history that seems to have slipped through the cracks. And unless someone, somewhere, has more answers, I guess we’ll just have to leave it at that.

Lyrics: 
I told Susie I could not go out with her
Not go out with her
No no no, not go out with her
She got mad at me and made an awful scene
But I got no time to run around
Got no time to paint the town
Only got time with Josephine

Every night Josephine
Every night Josephine
She waits for my return and I must be true to her
If I fail to take her out
Josephine will puff and pout
Josephine is so demanding of me
Josephine Josephine

Folks all laugh at me and say that I'm a fool
They say that I'm a fool
Oh yes, they say that I'm a fool
Other guys have lots of women at their feet
But I got no time to run around
Got no time to paint the town
Only got time for Josephine

Every night Josephine
Every night Josephine
I'm afraid to come home late Josephine might misbehave
Guess I've got a dirty deal
She won't even cook the meals
Josephine is so demanding of me
Josephine Josephine

She takes everything I've got
While my love life goes goodbye
Every night I stay at home
Guess my soul is not my own
It belongs to a high strung
Temperamental blue blood poodle named Josephine
Jo Josephine