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Joy's first album, just released by Capitol, is slowly climbing the charts. Meanwhile, the group is getting ready for a nationwide tour. It has been a long wait for recognition. Terry and Toni formed their outfit in 1967, but for four years they played mainly pass-the-hat parties, high schools and local dives. "I guess we're not as aggressive as we would be if we were males," Toni explains. "We stuck together, though, partly because women have a lot to say and they're just not saying it in music."
At Mandrake's, the Berkeley nightclub where Joy got its real commercial start, male patrons would occasionally jump on the stage, grab the instruments from the girls and try to take over. In general, fees were lower than for comparable male groups too. For a while, it looked as if Joy of Cooking might remain one of America's thousands of unknown "party" bands. At one point, Terry and Toni were actually forced to revert to making and selling dresses to pay the rent.
Now the gigs are rolling in, along with good money and praise from critics. It remains to be seen, though, if the male-dominated world of rock music is really ready for Women's Lib.