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Note: January 29, 2007 OBIT
January 27, 2007. Age 71. Loving husband and greatest life partner of Ilene Sue Haskin-Colovas. Father of Shannon (Gary) Marks, Tracey (Mark) Law, Jared (Jordan) Colovas and Barak Colovas. Papou of Mesa, Barak, Dominic, Matthew and Jeremy Pv2. Brother of William (Betty), Anthone (Athena-Deceased) and Denny (JoAnne). Former husband of Linda Martin Colovas. Owner of Metro Detroit's famous "Jamie's Nightclubs" Private Funeral Services were held by Howe-Peterson Funeral Home, 313 561-1500.
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Santiago Esparza / The Detroit News
Detroit area musician, bar owner dies
Musician and bar owner George Colovas, better known as Jamie Coe, died about 3 a.m. today on Newburgh Road in Livonia following a performance at his Garden City nightclub.
Colovas, 71, performed three times a week at his Jamie's Club, said his business partner Dennis Gibson. Colovas was in Livonia about 4 a.m. Saturday and on his way to his home on the Plymouth/Northville border when he suffered a suspected heart attack and his car swerved onto a lawn on Newburgh Road, Gibson said.
Livonia Police said preliminary reports indicate that Colovas suffered a heart attack.
Colovas' wife was following him home at the time, Gibson said.
"She saw the car swerve and run off the road and onto a lawn," he said.
Colovas was never a superstar, but still had a big following. His song "The Fool" was a hit in the early 1960s and he appeared on American Bandstand several times. At one point, Bobby Darin signed Colovas, who had performed as Jamie Coe and the Gigolos, to a management deal.
Colovas owned Jamie's on Ford road in Garden City.
Survivors include his wife and a son. (note - this part of the New report is not correct)
Funeral arrangements are pending.
FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER
BY KORIE WILKINS
Longtime singer, club owner dies
January 27, 2007
To his family, he was always George Colovas. But to rock music lovers, he was Jamie Coe.
Mr. Colovas, 71, of Plymouth, died Saturday morning in Livonia after he had a heart attack while driving home from his nightclub, Jamie’s, in Garden City, said his brother, Tony Colovas. He had performed earlier that night but wasn’t feeling well, family members said.
Livonia police officials declined to comment Saturday.
“He was a great, great man,” said Sue Colovas, his wife.
According to Tony Colovas, of Parma, Ohio, Mr. Colovas loved to sing and perform. Born and raised in Highland Park, he was also an outstanding basketball player who played at Wayne State University for two years.
He never graduated, though, Tony Colovas said. “He went into music instead,” he said.
Mr. Colovas sang with a few bands in the Detroit area, catching the eye of Bobby Darin in the late 1950s. Darin signed Mr. Colovas to his record label and renamed him Jamie Coe. Coe also got a band, the Gigolos.
“After that, his career blossomed,” Tony Colovas said.
Mr. Colovas appeared a few times on Dick Clark’s American Bandstand and had a couple of hits.
A fixture on Detroit’s budding rock scene in the early 1960s, Jamie Coe & the Gigolos were a sharp-dressed band with a tightly choreographed show. Performing at area teen clubs and nightspots such as Dearborn’s Club Gay Haven, Coe and his band played their own regional hits like “The Fool” and “Black & Blue” among slick cover versions of rock ’n’ roll standards.
David Les, 55, of Lake Orion, played bass with the Gigolos in the 1970s. He said Mr. Colovas didn’t have a mean bone in his body and had a great voice.
“He had a passion for music,” Les said. “We had a pretty large following at the time and George loved it. He loved what he did.”
In addition to his musical and athletic talent, Tony Colovas said his brother was a giving family man who didn’t hesitate to help out strangers who were down on their luck.
Mr. Colovas is survived by his wife, four children and two grandchildren. Funeral arrangements are still pending, but family members say they expect services to be private.
Copyright © 2006 Detroit Free Press Inc.
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