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Southside Johnny & the Asbury Jukes | |
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 Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes performing inLake Como, New Jersey in 2008 | |
| Background information | |
| Also known as | Southside Johnny & the Jukes |
| Origin | Asbury Park, New Jersey, U.S. |
| Genres | |
| Years active | 1975–present |
| Labels | Epic Records,Mercury Records, Mirage Records, Leroy Records |
| Members |
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| Past members |
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| Website | www |
Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes are an American musical group from theJersey Shore formerly led bySouthside Johnny. They have been recording albums since 1976 and are closely associated withBruce Springsteen and theE Street Band. They have recorded or performed several Springsteen songs, including "The Fever" (1973) and "Fade Away" (1980). Springsteen has also performed with the band on several occasions. In 1991, Springsteen and the E Street band appeared on Southside Johnny'sBetter Days album.
During the band's formative years,Steven Van Zandt was the band's co-leader, guitarist, songwriter, arranger, and producer, and other members of the E Street Band, includingClarence Clemons,Max Weinberg,Garry Tallent,Ernest Carter,Patti Scialfa, andSoozie Tyrell performed, toured, or recorded with the Jukes.
The band'shorn section, known asthe Miami Horns, has also toured and recorded with Springsteen. More than one hundred musicians can claim to have been members of the Asbury Jukes, includingJon Bon Jovi who toured with the band as a special guest during 1990.[2][3] Bon Jovi has also cited the band as an influence[4] and Jukes'Bobby Bandiera andJeff Kazee have also toured withBon Jovi. Other notable band members includeMark Pender and Richie "La Bamba" Rosenberg who have played regularly withthe Max Weinberg 7 onLate Night with Conan O'Brien andThe Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien.
Southside Johnny andSteven Van Zandt, the two prime movers behind the formation of the Jukes, began playing together in various bands during the early 1970s. These bands, initially based out ofThe Upstage Club at 702 Cookman Avenue inAsbury Park, New Jersey, were usually short lived and often includedBruce Springsteen and various future members ofThe E Street Band. Funky Dusty & The Soul Broom, a short-lived 1970 band includingGarry Tallent and Bobby Williams (drums), was among the first of these bands. The same quartet also acted as backing band for a local folksinger Jeannie Clark. Van Zandt was also a member ofSteel Mill at the time, and Southside had just left one of his formative bands, Maelstrom. Following this, Steve Van Zandt & Friends was formed in January 1971, including Springsteen, Tallent, Williams, andDanny Federici.
By February 1971, Van Zandt and Southside, together with Tallent andDavid Sancious, were playing as Steve Van Zandt & The Big Bad Bobby Williams Band. In March 1971, Van Zandt and Southside also featured in a short-lived Springsteen band, The Friendly Enemies. The highlight of their brief existence was opening forThe Allman Brothers. Other members of this band included Tallent, Sancious, Williams, andVini Lopez. In April 1971, Van Zandt and Southside also began co-leading The Sundance Blues Band, a group whose line-up would also feature Springsteen, Lopez, Tallent, and Sancious. In May 1971, Springsteen also recruited all the members of The Sundance Blues Band to play in his very short-lived band, Dr. Zoom & The Sonic Boom. Among the many musicians to play with this group was Kevin Kavanaugh, a future Juke.[5][6] Kavanaugh grew up inMiddletown, New Jersey and was a childhood friend of Van Zandt. They had also played together in a band called The Shadows.[7][8]
Beginning in July 1971, Van Zandt, Lopez, Tallent, and Sancious also began backing Springsteen as The Bruce Springsteen Band and they would eventually evolve intoThe E Street Band. Southside Johnny would also occasionally play with this band.[5] 1972 would prove to be another active year for Van Zandt and Southside Johnny. As well as playing with The Sundance Blues Band, backing Springsteen, and performing as a duo, Southside Johnny & The Kid, together with Kavanaugh, they also played in bands such as Albee & The Hired Hands and the Bank Street Blues Band.[8][9][10]
By 1974, Van Zandt was playing with Al Berger inThe Dovells backing band andSouthside Johnny began to play with the Blackberry Booze Band which Kenny Pentifallo had already been drumming for.[8] It was this band that eventually evolved into the Asbury Jukes. The original BBB had been playing together since 1968 and by 1974 featured a line-up of Paul Green (harmonica, vocals), Paul Dickler (guitar), David Meyers (bass) and Kenny Pentifallo (drums).[11][12]
They established themselves as the house band atThe Stone Pony inAsbury Park, New Jersey. Green was the band's lead singer but he preferred to play harmonica. Southside Johnny was playing harmonica with the Bank Street Blues Band but had few opportunities to sing lead. Green and Southside Johnny effectively swapped bands and Southside Johnny soon emerged as the leader of BBB, firing Dickler and Meyers but keeping Pentifallo on the drums. He subsequently recruited Kevin Kavanaugh and Van Zandt, who in turn recruited Al Berger, and in June 1975, inspired byLittle Walter & The Jukes they changed their name to the Asbury Jukes.
The original Jukes line-up was then completed with the addition ofMexican American Carlo Novi (tenor sax) and Billy Rush (guitar)[8][13][14][15]
In July 1975,Steven Van Zandt joinedBruce Springsteen'sE Street Band and subsequently accompanied him on theBorn to Run tour.[16] Meanwhile back inAsbury Park, the Jukes became Southside Johnny & the Asbury Jukes and continued to play as the house band atthe Stone Pony. However Van Zandt maintained his association with the Jukes and produced a four-song demo at theRecord Plant Studios that attracted the attention ofSteve Popovich ofEpic Records. This then led to Van Zandt producing their debut album,I Don't Want to Go Home, at the same studio. Van Zandt also wrote three songs for the album including "How Come You Treat Me So Bad?", which featured guest vocals fromLee Dorsey and the title track, which effectively became the band's signature tune. Other highlights on the album are two songs donated by Springsteen, "The Fever" and "You Mean So Much To Me".Clarence Clemons provided bass vocal on the former but is credited under the pseudonymSelmon T. Sachs while the latter was performed as a duet bySouthside Johnny andRonnie Spector.[8][17][18]
During the 1970s, Van Zandt went on to produce two further albums with the Jukes.This Time It's For Real, released in 1977, saw Van Zandt write eight of the album's ten songs, including three co-written by Springsteen. It also featured guest appearances fromThe Drifters,The Coasters andThe Five Satins. Their third album,Hearts Of Stone, released in 1978 was recorded without guest appearances and featured entirely original material. Van Zandt wrote seven of the nine songs including "Trapped Again", co-written with Southside Johnny and Springsteen. Springsteen also donated two further songs, the title track and "Talk to Me".[15][19]
The band was also featured in the 1977 filmBetween the Lines which starred then unknown actorsJeff Goldblum,John Heard,Lindsay Crouse,Jill Eikenberry, andStephen Collins. The band is shown performing "Sweeter Than Honey" and "Having a Party".
In 1979, Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes performed a homecoming concert in Asbury Park which was the subject of a documentary film directed and produced byNeal Marshad calledSouthside Johnny & the Asbury Jukes at the Asbury Park Convention Center. The film was first shown in January 1980 on Warner Cable's QUBE in Columbus, Ohio.
In August 1979, the band played atKnebworth Festival in England. The headline act at both their appearances at the festival, over two consecutive Saturdays on 4 and 11 August, wereLed Zeppelin.[20]
In 1979, Southside Johnny & the Asbury Jukes underwent several important changes. Their first three studio albums had only been moderate commercial successes, Lyon was injured and could not tour to support Hearts of Stone, and they were subsequently dropped byEpic Records. His commitments toBruce Springsteen occurred asSteven Van Zandt ended his affiliation with the Jukes, leadingBilly Rush to take over as the band's co-leader and principal songwriter. The next three Jukes albums were all released onMercury Records.[15]The Jukes was recorded atMuscle Shoals Sound Studio and produced byBarry Beckett.[21] This was then followed byLove is a Sacrifice and a double live albumReach Up and Touch the Sky. On the live album,Stephan Galfas helped out with engineering and production and also featured a trio of backing singers,Patti Scialfa,Soozie Kirschner, and Lisa Lowell.
In 1983,Trash It Up was released by Mirage Records and produced byNile Rodgers[22] while 1984'sIn the Heat sawAsbury dropped from the band's name.[23] It also marked the end of Billy Rush’s association with the Jukes. After leaving the band, Rush went on produce forTaka Boom,Serge Gainsbourg, andKacy Crowley.
In 1985, guitaristBobby Bandiera replaced Rush. The following year, in 1986, the band releasedAt Least We Got Shoes as Southside Johnny & the Jukes before becoming Southside Johnny & the Asbury Jukes again. In 1991 they releasedBetter Days which yielded minor hits with "It's Been a Long Time" and "I've Been Workin' Too Hard" and included vocal contributions fromBruce Springsteen andJon Bon Jovi. Bon Jovi even joined the band as a special guest on their 1990 tour.
The band released several more albums in the 1990s and 2000s and they changed membership several times. As of 2015[update] their lineup includes keyboardistJeff Kazee and bassist John Conte.
In 1987, the band was in the filmAdventures in Babysitting. They were featured in the college frat party scene singing two songs.
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In 2010, the band releasedPills and Ammo with songs written by Southside Johnny and Jeff Kazee. The Jukes continue to perform extensively throughout the northeast United States and annually in the UK and Europe.
In 2011, looking to expand his artistic opportunities, Southside Johnny and The Poor Fools were formed. Composed of musiciansJeff Kazee, John Conte, Tommy Brynes, and Soozie Tyrell, the ensemble plays largely an acoustic range of music fromBob Dylan,Mose Allison,Muddy Waters,NRBQ,Richard Thompson,Emmylou Harris,The Band,George Jones, and others, including some Asbury Jukes material in a stripped down format.
In February 2013, Southside Johnny and The Poor Fools released their debut studio album entitledSongs From the Barn, which was recorded inJon Bon Jovi's converted horse barn studio in New Jersey. The album features twelve tracks, including six original songs written by John Lyon and Jeff Kazee, and includes covers the band had been playing live.
In August 2015, Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes released their first new album in five years, calledSoultime![24] The album is described as a "collection of vintage-sounding contemporary soul",[25] garnered positive reviews[26] and the band began an extensive tour in fall 2015 in support of the album.[27]
On February 16 and 17, 2024, Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes played two sold out shows atThe Stone Pony to celebrate the venue's 50th anniversary. About an hour into the band's second show, Lyon told the crowd he wasn't feeling well but would try to go on. He then stumbled backwards, knocked over the mic stand and sat briefly on a bench on stage before being taken away for medical attention. The show continued with Kazee and Bandiera handling much of the vocals. It was later reported that Lyon suffered from dehydration.[28]
On December 20, 2024, Southside Johnny announced his retirement from touring for health reasons. The announcement on the band's website reads: "After a hugely successful 50-year run with his band Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes, touring non-stop throughout the U.S and overseas, 'Southside Johnny' Lyon has made the decision to retire from touring in order to manage ongoing health issues."[29][30]
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Only available in Vinyl 45 Tour and 33 Tour
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