Southside Johnny & The Asbury Jukes

Southside Johnny & The Asbury Jukes

Southside Johnny & The Asbury Jukes are an American group from New Jersey, United States, active since 1975. The band is led by Southside Johnny and is associated with the Jersey Shore music scene and the wider New Jersey sound. Their core style is rooted in rock and R&B, with strong blues influences.

Formation and early years

The group begins recording in 1976. During the formative period, Steve Van Zandt, also known as Little Steven, acts as co-leader, guitarist, songwriter, arranger and producer. The band develops a close association with Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band, and a number of E Street musicians perform, tour or record with the Jukes over time, including Clarence Clemons, Max Weinberg, Garry Tallent, Ernest Carter, Patti Scialfa and Soozie Tyrell. The horn section known as The Miami Horns also tours and records with Springsteen.

Band personnel

The Jukes have a long and changing membership, with more than one hundred musicians passing through the group. Named members include Little Steven, Kenny Pentifallo, Al Berger, Kevin Kavanaugh, Glenn Alexander, Bobby Bandiera, Steve Becker, John Conte, Frank Elmo, Joel Gramolini, Stan Harrison, David Hayes, John Isley, Neal Pawley, Shawn Pelton, Mark Pender, Richie “La Bamba” Rosenberg, Billy Rush, Southside Johnny, The Asbury Park All-Star Revue, Mike Spengler and Joey Stann. Jon Bon Jovi also tours with the band as a special guest.

Key albums and songs

The band’s early albums include I Don’t Want to Go Home, This Time It’s for Real and Hearts of Stone. These releases are shaped by Stax-influenced R&B and feature songs written by Van Zandt and/or Springsteen. The title track I Don’t Want to Go Home becomes Southside Johnny’s signature song, and other notable songs include “The Fever”, “Talk to Me”, “This Time It’s for Real”, “Love on the Wrong Side of Town” and Springsteen’s “Hearts of Stone”, which appears in a definitive version.

Hearts of Stone is later voted by Rolling Stone as one of the top 100 albums of the 1970s and 1980s. After being dropped by their record company in 1979, the band releases The Jukes and Love Is a Sacrifice without major commercial success. Their first official live album, Reach Up and Touch the Sky, appears in 1980.

1980s and later releases

Throughout the 1980s, Southside Johnny continues to record with shifting labels and personnel. Trash It Up is a disco-influenced album written by Billy Rush and produced by Nile Rodgers. In the Heat aims at adult-oriented radio, while At Least We Got Shoes returns the group toward its earlier sound under the songwriting and guitar lead of Bobby Bandiera, who is part of the New Jersey music scene. The album also includes a song co-written by Bandiera and Patti Scialfa.

Southside Johnny’s first solo album, Slow Dance, appears in 1988 and includes “Little Calcutta”, a song centred on homelessness in New York City. The band’s recording activity is renewed with Better Days, which features production by Van Zandt, songs by Springsteen and vocal contributions from Van Zandt, Springsteen and Jon Bon Jovi. Southside Johnny later launches his own label, Leroy Records, and releases Messin’ with the Blues, Going to Jukesville, Missing Pieces and Into the Harbour under his own control.

Live work and collaborations

The group maintains a strong live following in New Jersey, New York, northeast Ohio, the UK and continental Europe. A live DVD, Live at the Opera House, documents a sold-out show in Newcastle upon Tyne. Southside Johnny also performs the theme song for the sitcom Dave’s World, a cover of Billy Joel’s “You May Be Right”. Later, some former Jukes members join The Max Weinberg 7 on Late Night with Conan O’Brien, while others work with Jon Bon Jovi, Mink DeVille, Graham Parker and Robert Cray.

Southside Johnny remains a recurring presence at Bruce Springsteen’s Asbury Park holiday shows, where the group continues to attract large audiences.