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Fort Lewis wife bursts onto music scene

Songs for My Soldier is proof of Dawn Joyner’s decision to dream

POSING MID-SONG: Taking a break from yet another song, Dawn Joyner smiles during her CD release, Monday in Kent. Photo by Melissa Renahan

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When American Idol's season nine debuts this January, they will have already missed out on a local rising star.

Dawn Joyner, who performs under the name "Elli" has been stationed out of Fort Lewis for the past two years with her soldier and family. Her husband, Sgt. Chris Joyner, is currently deployed on his second tour in two years to Afghanistan with the 8/1 CAV, 5/2 ID. Her roles seem endless - she is a mother, a grandmother, a military spouse, a reliable friend and a FRG leader - yet her desire to sing and perform has always been lurking.

"I've been singing all my life. My mom used to say I was humming before I could talk!" Joyner laughed. "But life happened and I had to put my dreams aside."

Luckily for her, others took notice of her talent and passion and stepped up to help. Kathy Fox, John Stiver and Hal and Sue Sawyer formed 4WayTopMusic this past summer with the intent of supporting talent that didn't have the finances to get into the music industry. When they discovered "Elli" singing karaoke in Roy, they immediately saw potential.

"She is the whole package," said Sue Sawyer. "Her voice is natural and I wanted to keep her personality involved without auto-tuning it away to perfection. She has been so easy to work with, always prepared, takes direction well and picks up on music very quickly."

"The theme of the CD is how a spouse feels when their soldier is gone," explained Joyner. Her own soldier supports her singing career wholeheartedly. According to her, when he received his copy right before Christmas he played it in the quiet Afghanistan desert and cried.

In true military spouse form, "Elli" also sent 100 copies to his fellow soldiers in the Dakota Troop and donates $2 from every CD sold to a cause close to her heart, the Army Emergency Relief Fund.

With their first collaboration complete, "Elli" and 4WayTopMusic are looking to the future, which will apparently stray from just cover songs. In fact, Songwriters of the Northwest Guild member Joey Stansell has already been approached to write some original songs for her next album.

Currently there is no specific distributor for Songs for My Soldier. If you would like to purchase one, email sue@4waytopmusic.com. Shipping and taxes are included in the flat rate of $10.

"Stay strong. Our husbands and wives are out there for a good cause. They fight for our rights to say what we want," Joyner advised other spouses. Though for her, it's more about what she sings. 

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