R&B fanatic Southside Johnny (b. John Lyon, 4 December 1948, Neptune, New Jersey, USA) sang with the Blackberry Booze Band in the late 60s before teaming up with the Asbury Jukes with school friends Billy Rush (b. 26 August 1952; guitar), Kevin Kavanaugh (b. 27 August 1951; keyboards), Kenneth Pentifallo (b. 30 December 1940; bass) and Alan "Doc' Berger (b. 8 November 1949; drums). Popular in Upstage, Stone Poney and other parochial clubs, they sought a wider audience via a 1976 promotional album, Live At The Bottom Line, which helped facilitate a contract with Epic. Like another local lad, Bruce Springsteen, the outfit bolstered their reputation with practical demonstrations of credible influences by enlisting Ronnie Spector, Lee Dorsey, and black vocal groups of the 50s on I Wanna Go Home and its follow-up, This Time It's For Real. Both were weighted further with Springsteen sleeve notes and songs as well as songwriting input and production supervision by his guitarist (and ex-Juke) Steven Van Zandt. After Hearts Of Stone failed to reach a mass public, Epic let the band go with the valedictory Havin" A Party With Southside Johnny. Mitigating this setback were increasing touring fees that permitted sensational augmentation with a horn section including Carlo Novi (b. 7 August 1949, Mexico City, Mexico; tenor saxophone), Eddie Manion (b. 28 February 1952; baritone saxophone), Tony Palligrosi (b. 9 May 1954; trumpet), Ricky Gazda (b. 18 June 1952; trumpet), and ex-Diana Ross trombonist Richie "La Bamba" Rosenberg, as well as an additional guitarist in Joel Gramolini and replacement drummer Steve Becker.

Listen to Southside Johnny at Finetune.

• The Fever
• You Mean So Much to Me

• Bruce Springsteen
• Tom Petty
• Bob Seger
• Boz Scaggs
• J. Geils Band
• Billy Joel
• Elvis Costello
• Bon Jovi
• Bob Dylan
• Southside Johnny & The Asbury Jukes
• John Mellencamp
• Jackson Browne
• Tom Waits
• John Prine
• Rolling Stones
• Aerosmith
• Warren Zevon
• Elvis Presley
• U2
• Graham Parker

• tobytommy
• ericrdm