The
Jersey Shore sound was a genre of
rock and rollRock and roll is a genre of popular music that evolved in the United States after World War II in the late 1940s, from a combination of the rhythms of the blues, from the African American culture, and from America's country music and gospel music scenes...
popularized at the
Jersey ShoreThe Jersey Shore is a term used in the mid-Atlantic region of the United States to refer to both the Atlantic coast of New Jersey and the adjacent resort and residential communities...
on the
Atlantic OceanThe Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about 106.4 million square kilometres , it covers approximately one-fifth of the Earth's surface and about one-quarter of its water surface area. The first part of its name refers to the Atlas of Greek...
coast of
New JerseyNew Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It is bordered on the north by New York, and to the east by the Hudson River, Upper New York Bay, the Kill Van Kull, Newark Bay, the Arthur Kill, Raritan Bay, Sandy Hook Bay, Westchester County, New York City, Long Island, and...
,
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, that went by a variety of names or, more often, was defined by its artists. A synthesis of pre-Beatles rock and roll and pre-Motown
Rhythm and BluesRhythm and blues is the name given to a wide-ranging genre of popular music created by African Americans in the late 1940s and early 1950s...
, the genre enjoyed a vogue from roughly the late 1960s through the mid-1980s.
The Jersey Shore sound evolved from the mixing of pre-Beatles rock and roll, rhythm and blues,
doo-wopDoo-wop is a style of vocal-based rhythm and blues music, which developed in African-American communities in the 1940s and which achieved mainstream popularity in the 1950s and 1960s. An African-American vocal style known as doo-wop emerged from the streets of northeastern and industrial midwest...
, and the urban culture of the
Mid-Atlantic statesThe Mid-Atlantic States form a region of the United States generally located between New England and the South...
, especially Philadelphia,
MarylandMaryland is a state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia and the District of Columbia to the south and west, Pennsylvania to the north, and Delaware to the east. It is comparable in size to the European country of Belgium. According to the U.S...
,
Rhode IslandRhode Island and Providence Plantations, more commonly referred to as Rhode Island , is a state in the New England region of the United States. It is the smallest U.S. state by area...
,
New YorkNew York is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States and is the nation's third most populous. The state is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, and, of course, New Jersey.
The
Jersey Shore sound was a genre of
rock and rollRock and roll is a genre of popular music that evolved in the United States after World War II in the late 1940s, from a combination of the rhythms of the blues, from the African American culture, and from America's country music and gospel music scenes...
popularized at the
Jersey ShoreThe Jersey Shore is a term used in the mid-Atlantic region of the United States to refer to both the Atlantic coast of New Jersey and the adjacent resort and residential communities...
on the
Atlantic OceanThe Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about 106.4 million square kilometres , it covers approximately one-fifth of the Earth's surface and about one-quarter of its water surface area. The first part of its name refers to the Atlas of Greek...
coast of
New JerseyNew Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It is bordered on the north by New York, and to the east by the Hudson River, Upper New York Bay, the Kill Van Kull, Newark Bay, the Arthur Kill, Raritan Bay, Sandy Hook Bay, Westchester County, New York City, Long Island, and...
,
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, that went by a variety of names or, more often, was defined by its artists. A synthesis of pre-Beatles rock and roll and pre-Motown
Rhythm and BluesRhythm and blues is the name given to a wide-ranging genre of popular music created by African Americans in the late 1940s and early 1950s...
, the genre enjoyed a vogue from roughly the late 1960s through the mid-1980s.
Origins
The Jersey Shore sound evolved from the mixing of pre-Beatles rock and roll, rhythm and blues,
doo-wopDoo-wop is a style of vocal-based rhythm and blues music, which developed in African-American communities in the 1940s and which achieved mainstream popularity in the 1950s and 1960s. An African-American vocal style known as doo-wop emerged from the streets of northeastern and industrial midwest...
, and the urban culture of the
Mid-Atlantic statesThe Mid-Atlantic States form a region of the United States generally located between New England and the South...
, especially Philadelphia,
MarylandMaryland is a state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia and the District of Columbia to the south and west, Pennsylvania to the north, and Delaware to the east. It is comparable in size to the European country of Belgium. According to the U.S...
,
Rhode IslandRhode Island and Providence Plantations, more commonly referred to as Rhode Island , is a state in the New England region of the United States. It is the smallest U.S. state by area...
,
New YorkNew York is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States and is the nation's third most populous. The state is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, and, of course, New Jersey. The form has a strong Italian-American influence, in as much as many of the form's key precursors and artists, from
Frankie ValliFrankie Valli is an American musician, most famous as frontman of The Four Seasons....
through
Bruce SpringsteenBruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen , nicknamed "The Boss", is an American singer-songwriter. He records and tours with the E Street Band...
, are of Italian ancestry and urban background.
Characteristics
Jersey Shore music shared two thematic elements with its contemporary (and in many respects related) genres of
Heartland rockHeartland rock is a genre of rock music that was very popular in the late 1970s and 1980s. It was characterized by a straightforward musical style, a concern with the average, blue collar American life, and a conviction that rock music has a social or communal purpose beyond just...
and
Roots rockRoots Rock is a term recently used to describe "a style of rock music that draws material from various American musical traditions including country, blues, and folk." The term is sometimes used in a broader sense to encompass other Americana, including early rock and roll, country rock, and other...
: a focus on the daily lives of people (in this case, those living in the stereotypically industrial society of
NorthernNorth Jersey is a name for the northern part of the U.S. State of New Jersey. Located between two major cities: New York City and Philadelphia, this relationship led Benjamin Franklin to describe the state as "a barrel tapped at both ends."...
and
Central JerseyCentral Jersey is the designation for the central region of the State of New Jersey in the United States of America. The two main portions of the region are separated by the Raritan River. The Raritan Valley makes up the northern portion of Central Jersey and includes Union, Somerset, and Hunterdon...
), and a sense of being the underdog (a theme in the genre from
The Four SeasonsThe Four Seasons is an American pop and rock group, with a sound somewhat reminiscent of doo-wop, although they were not thought of as actually being a doo-wop group. By the mid 1960s, they had become an internationally famous rock-and-roll act...
' "Rag Doll", "Walk Like a Man", and "Big Man in Town" through
Bruce SpringsteenBruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen , nicknamed "The Boss", is an American singer-songwriter. He records and tours with the E Street Band...
's "Darkness on the Edge of Town"). The New Jersey sound has also been heavily influenced by Italian accordion music. In the example of Bruce Springsteen’s E Street Band there are three musicians who are accordion players: organist Danny Federici (now replaced by Charles Giordano), guitarist Nils Lofgren, and pianist Roy Bittan. All three practiced accordion in its classical form and played in their younger years. This music has carried onto the stage and became an integral part of the music that shaped the NJ sound. Many piano and keyboard parts have a distinct sound of a call and answer reaction to the lyrics sung. Solidly thrumming guitar lines echo American V-8 engines so beloved by Jersey teenagers of the era. Piano, Hammond organ, glockenspiel emphasize the melody lines. The glockenspiel sounds were provided by a Jenco Celeste that Danny Federici owned. This combination is distinctly a New Jersey sound; some say that it is an extension of the calliope sounds heard on the carousels located on Jersey Shore boardwalks. Danny Federici was instrumental in creating this sound in Bruce Springsteen's music. Many New Jersey horn sections have used similar phrasing that the keyboards play. This is evident with Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes sound. There has been influence from Van Morrison in terms of some song structure and with keyboard parts as well.
There were other characteristics, however, that distinguished the "Jersey Shore" sound from its related genres:
- Danceable - In contrast with Heartland rock
Heartland rock is a genre of rock music that was very popular in the late 1970s and 1980s. It was characterized by a straightforward musical style, a concern with the average, blue collar American life, and a conviction that rock music has a social or communal purpose beyond just...
, Jersey Shore music lent itself to dancing.
- Instrumentation - Jersey Shore music tended to borrow more keyboard, brass, and horn-based arrangements from its R&B roots than did its related genres. Many bands incorporated horns as a part of the band (rather than sideman attachments), from Clarence Clemons
Clarence Clemons , affectionately known as The Big Man, is an American musician and actor. Since 1972 he has been a prominent member of Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band, playing the saxophone. He has also released several solo albums and in 1985 had a hit single with "You're a Friend of Mine", a...
' saxophone in the E Street BandThe E Street Band is a musical group that has periodically toured and recorded with rock musician Bruce Springsteen since 1972.The band has also recorded with a wide range of other artists including Bob Dylan, Meat Loaf, Bonnie Tyler, Air Supply, Dire Straits, David Bowie, Peter Gabriel, Sting,...
to the full brass and horns sections of Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes and Little Steven and the Disciples of Soul
- Romanticism - the genre exhibited a broad streak of romanticism
Romanticism is a complex artistic, literary, and intellectual movement that originated in the second half of the 18th century in Western Europe, and gained strength during the Industrial Revolution...
, adding outsized emotion to relationships, personal struggles, and life in general.
Precursors
- Stax Records
Stax Records is an American record label founded in 1957, originally based in Memphis, Tennessee. The label was a major factor in the creation of the Southern soul and Memphis soul music styles, also releasing gospel, funk, jazz, and blues recordings...
- The raw, horn-heavy, danceable soulSoul music is a music genre originating in the United States combining elements of gospel music and rhythm and blues. According to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, soul is "music that arose out of the black experience in America through the transmutation of gospel and rhythm & blues into a form of...
of Stax/Volt records contrasted with the more heavily produced soul of Motown, and was a key precursor to the Jersey Shore sound.
- The Four Seasons
The Four Seasons is an American pop and rock group, with a sound somewhat reminiscent of doo-wop, although they were not thought of as actually being a doo-wop group. By the mid 1960s, they had become an internationally famous rock-and-roll act...
- This North Jersey-based pop group, mostly Italian American in ancestry, was among the biggest American bands in pre-Beatles rock and roll. The Four Seasons established a number of the themes that would become associated with the Jersey Shore genre: the biggie-sized romanticism of "Big Man in Town", the "Bum...bum chik" beat of "Dawn" (recapped in countless other Jersey bands' songs, from
- Gary U.S. Bonds
Gary U.S. Bonds is an American rhythm and blues and rock and roll singer. He is also a prolific songwriter.-Career:...
- Most famous for his 1962 hit "Quarter To Three" (one of seven top-40 hits between 1960 and 1962), Bonds laid down one of the key precepts of the genre: it was fundamentally party music.
- Blues
Blues is the name given to both a musical form and a music genre created within the African-American communities in the Deep South of the United States at the end of the 19th century from spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads...
and soul musicSoul music is a music genre originating in the United States combining elements of gospel music and rhythm and blues. According to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, soul is "music that arose out of the black experience in America through the transmutation of gospel and rhythm & blues into a form of...
- White soul singers like Van MorrisonVan Morrison is a critically acclaimed singer and songwriter with a reputation for being at once stubborn, idiosyncratic, and sublime...
were key influences.
Major Artists
- Bruce Springsteen
Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen , nicknamed "The Boss", is an American singer-songwriter. He records and tours with the E Street Band...
- While Springsteen and the E Street BandThe E Street Band is a musical group that has periodically toured and recorded with rock musician Bruce Springsteen since 1972.The band has also recorded with a wide range of other artists including Bob Dylan, Meat Loaf, Bonnie Tyler, Air Supply, Dire Straits, David Bowie, Peter Gabriel, Sting,...
did more than anyone to popularize the genre, Jersey Shore rock is an influence on all of his studio albums, rather than a motif. The elements of the genre appear as accents on songs like "Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out"Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out" is the second song on Bruce Springsteen's breakthrough album Born to Run.The song loosely tells the story of the formation of the E Street Band. However, when asked, most Springsteen fans cannot answer the question, "What is a Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out?" The meaning of...
" (from Born to RunBorn to Run is the third album by the American rock singer-songwriter Bruce Springsteen. It was released on August 25, 1975 through Columbia Records. It captured the heaviness of Springsteen's earlier releases while displaying a more diverse range of influences.Born to Run was a critical and...
), "Racing in the Street"Racing in the Street" is a song by Bruce Springsteen from his 1978 album Darkness on the Edge of Town. In the original vinyl format, it was the last song of side one of the album...
" (from Darkness on the Edge of TownDarkness on the Edge of Town is the fourth album by Bruce Springsteen, released in 1978 .-History:Recovering from legal troubles and the stress of the breakthrough success of Born to Run, Springsteen released a somewhat less commercial album, Darkness on the Edge of Town...
) and "Incident on 57th Street" (from The Wild, the Innocent and the E Street ShuffleThe Wild, the Innocent & the E Street Shuffle is the second album by Bruce Springsteen and the as-yet-unnamed E Street Band, and is described by Allmusic as "one of the greatest albums in the history of rock & roll." It was released in 1973...
) among many others, mixed heavily with bits and pieces of Van MorrisonVan Morrison is a critically acclaimed singer and songwriter with a reputation for being at once stubborn, idiosyncratic, and sublime...
and Bob DylanBob Dylan is an American singer-songwriter, musician, poet and painter who has been a major figure in popular music for five decades. Much of his most celebrated work dates from the 1960s when he was, at first, an informal chronicler and then an apparently reluctant figurehead of social unrest...
early in his career, and evolving more into Heartland rockHeartland rock is a genre of rock music that was very popular in the late 1970s and 1980s. It was characterized by a straightforward musical style, a concern with the average, blue collar American life, and a conviction that rock music has a social or communal purpose beyond just...
later on. But it was in his live performances (captured on innumerable bootlegs and on his Live/1975-85Live/1975–85 is a live album by Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band. It consists of 40 tracks recorded at various concerts between 1975 and 1985. It was released as a box set with either five vinyl records, three cassettes, or three CDs...
album), as well as on songs and albums he wrote for other artists ("This Little Girl" by Gary U.S. Bonds, Hearts of StoneHearts of Stone was the third album by seminal New Jersey Rock/R&B band Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes. It has been called "the best album Bruce Springsteen never recorded", which is not quite accurate...
by Southside JohnnySouthside Johnny is an American singer-songwriter who usually fronts his band Southside Johnny & The Asbury Jukes.-Biography:...
) that he let his Jersey Shore roots show most frequently.
- The Drifters
The Drifters are a long-lived African-American doo wop/R&B vocal group with a peak in popularity from 1953 to 1962, though several splinter Drifters continue to perform today. They were originally formed by Clyde McPhatter in 1953...
- Though not exclusively Jersey Shore sound by any means, the Drifters performed Jersey Shore sound music on their hit song, "Under the Boardwalk."
- Willy DeVille
Willy DeVille was an American singer and songwriter. First with his band Mink DeVille and later on his own, DeVille in his 35-year career created songs that are wholly original yet rooted in traditional American musical styles...
- Mink DeVilleMink DeVille was a rock band known for its association with early punk rock bands at New York’s CBGB nightclub and for being a showcase for the music of Willy DeVille. The band recorded six albums in the years 1977 to 1985. Except for frontman Willy DeVille, the original members of the band played...
- The Willy DeVille bands of the early 1980s exhibited a pure Jersey Shore sound with accordions and a full-throated sax played by Louis Cortelezzi. Critics sometimes compared Mink DeVille's Coup de GrâceCoup de Grâce, issued in 1981, is the fourth album by the rock band Mink DeVille. The album represented a departure for the band, as frontman Willy DeVille dimissed the only other remaining original member of the band, guitarist Louis X. Erlanger, and hired Helen Schneider's backup band to record...
(1981) and Where Angels Fear to TreadWhere Angels Fear to Tread, issued in 1983, is the fifth album by the rock band Mink DeVille. It was the second album Mink DeVille recorded for Atlantic Records, and Atlantic brought in two in-house producers, Howard Albert and Ron Albert, to produce the album.Mink DeVille as a rock group had...
(1983) to Bruce Springsteen and South Side Johnny. Allmusic said about Coup de Grâce, "The band's sound combined with Nitzsche's timeless production style, which combined with that voice to create a purer rock & roll noise than even Bruce SpringsteenBruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen , nicknamed "The Boss", is an American singer-songwriter. He records and tours with the E Street Band...
's in 1981." Allmusic said about Where Angels Fear to Tread, "Why (Mink DeVille) didn't catch and George ThorogoodGeorge Thorogood is a blues rock performer from Wilmington, Delaware, known for his hit song "Bad to the Bone" as well as for covers of blues standards such as Hank Williams' "Move It On Over" and John Lee Hooker's "One Bourbon, One Scotch, One Beer"...
and Southside Johnny (briefly) did is a mystery that will be up to '80s historians to figure out."
- Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes - Immensely popular in the Mid-Atlantic States
The Mid-Atlantic States form a region of the United States generally located between New England and the South...
and in their native New Jersey, the Jukes never really broke out of the region. Their seminal album was Hearts of StoneHearts of Stone was the third album by seminal New Jersey Rock/R&B band Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes. It has been called "the best album Bruce Springsteen never recorded", which is not quite accurate...
.
- Little Steven and the Disciples of Soul - Although Van Zandt's solo career spanned five albums, only the first one - Men Without Women
Men Without Women, credited to Little Steven & The Disciples of Soul, was the debut solo album by Steven Van Zandt, a member of Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band and a songwriter / producer with the Jersey Shore band Southside Johnny & The Asbury Jukes...
- recorded in a day with members of the Asbury Jukes, The Miami HornsThe Miami Horns are a horn section best known for touring and/or recording with Southside Johnny, Bruce Springsteen, Little Steven and The Max Weinberg 7. They have also toured, performed and/or recorded with, among others, Diana Ross, Gary U.S...
and the E Street Band, The Young Rascals, and other Jersey shore bands, was a classic; Van Zandt's future efforts and live performances sans Springsteen failed to live up to the early promise in relation to the "Jersey Shore" sound, however, he produced a number of critically acclaimed albums in different styles. Classic Rock Magazine have rated his 1984 album "Voice of AmericaVoice of America is the official external radio and television broadcasting service of the United States federal government. Its oversight entity is the Broadcasting Board of Governors . VOA provides a wide range of programming for broadcast on radio, TV and the Internet around the world in...
" as being musically more viable than Paul SimonPaul Frederic Simon is an American singer-songwriter. He entered the public consciousness in 1965 as part of the duo Simon & Garfunkel, along with longtime artistic partner Art Garfunkel. Simon solely wrote most of duo's songs, including such memorable songs as "The Sound of Silence", "The Boxer",...
's classic "GracelandGraceland is a large white-columned mansion and estate that was home to Elvis Presley in Memphis. It is located at 3734 Elvis Presley Boulevard in the vast Whitehaven community about twelve miles from Downtown and less than four miles north of the Mississippi border. It currently serves as a...
" album from the same year, as it creates new sounds and styles with African music instead of merely placing it in his own work. 1986's "Freedom-No Compromise" and 1989's "Revolution" were heavily influenced by dance music, whilst his final solo album, 1999's "Born Again SavageBorn Again Savage, 1999, was the fifth solo album by Little Steven, following a forced ten-year gap from the previous Revolution due to loss of recording contract....
" was a masterful effort at his first love, Garage RockGarage rock is a raw form of rock and roll that was first popular in the United States and Canada from about 1963 to 1967. During the 1960s, it was not recognized as a separate music genre and had no specific name. In the early 1970s, some rock critics retroactively labelled it as punk rock...
.
- Bon Jovi
Bon Jovi is an American rock band from Sayreville, New Jersey. Fronted by lead singer and namesake Jon Bon Jovi , Bon Jovi formed in 1983 with guitarist Richie Sambora, keyboardist David Bryan, bassist Alec John Such and drummer Tico Torres. Other than the departure of Alec John Such in 1994 and...
- although achieving fame through glam metalGlam metal is a term used to describe the visual style or fashion of certain heavy metal music bands that arose in the late 1970s and early 1980s in the United States, particularly on the Los Angeles Sunset Strip music scene...
pop a decade later than the peak of the era, the band is still in the core tradition with evident R&B and heartland rockHeartland rock is a genre of rock music that was very popular in the late 1970s and 1980s. It was characterized by a straightforward musical style, a concern with the average, blue collar American life, and a conviction that rock music has a social or communal purpose beyond just...
influences; at the time, they were termed a rediscovery or evolution of the Jersey sound, sometimes the "New" Jersey sound.
Lesser-known Artists
- Salvation
- The legendary New Jersey band Salvation played a record 11 summers at the Osprey Hotel, Manasquan, New Jersey, home of the world's longest bar. Salvation had recordings with United Artists and Elektra Records. They packed New Jersey nightclubs for more than a decade from 1969-1981. They were perhaps the greatest show band in the history of New Jersey music scene. Salvation had a huge cult following which is still very strong today. (Chuck Guy, Denis Quilligan, Lenny Molinerri, Arnett Leib, Russ Hope, Bobby J and Louie Piez were the members. www.salvationsummer.com
- Sonny Kenn and the Wild Ideas
- The first, the original and still going strong. A legend on the Jersey Shore, credited with the beginning of the Jersey Shore Sound.
- James Deeley and the Valiants
- part of the second wave of the Jersey Shore scene, late 1980s and early 1990s. Members of the band went on to form other, label signed bands, to include The Churchills (featuring Ron Haney.)
- John Cafferty and the Beaver Brown Band
John Cafferty & The Beaver Brown Band is the name of an American rock band of the 1970s and 1980s, from Narragansett, Rhode Island. Originally known as simply Beaver Brown, the group John Cafferty & The Beaver Brown Band is the name of an American rock band of the 1970s and 1980s, from...
- A long-time staple in Mid-Atlantic bars, Cafferty's band had a brief flash of national stardom with their soundtrack to the movie Eddie and the Cruisers
Eddie and the Cruisers is a 1983 American film directed by Martin Davidson with the screenplay written by the director and Arlene Davidson, based on the novel by P. F. Kluge...
. Their follow-up album, Tough All Over, also had two modest hit singles, the title cut and "C-I-T-Y." (This band was actually based in Rhode Island, although its sound has much in common with the Jersey Shore rockers.)
- The Parlor Mob
The Parlor Mob, formerly known as What About Frank?, is an American rock band founded by Mark Melicia, David Rosen, Paul Ritchie, Nick Villapiano, and Sam Bey in 2004. -History:...
- Local band who recently signed to Roadrunner Records.
- Vinnie James
- Raised in Newark, New Jersey
Brick City redirects here. For the township in Ocean County, see Brick Township, New Jersey.Newark is the largest city in New Jersey, and the county seat of Essex County. Newark has a population of 281,402, making it the largest municipality in New Jersey and the 65th largest city in the U.S...
and the "inlet" ghetto of Atlantic City his critically acclaimed RCA debut, "All American Boy," and his 2007 follow-up, "Songs for the Long Journey," are both written and produced in the classic Jersey Shore Sound. Vinnie James worked with Southside Johnny in pre-production on "All American Boy," and provided backing vocals in the studio with Little Steven and Jon Bon JoviJohn Francis Bongiovi, Jr. , better known as Jon Bon Jovi, is an American musician, songwriter and actor, best known as the lead singer and founder of rock band Bon Jovi. He was also the owner of the Philadelphia Soul of the now suspended Arena Football League...
on Jon's first solo album. Vinnie James is the only African-American songwriter in this genre. His first band was called "Rumbletown" and was named after Pleasantville, New JerseyPleasantville is a city in Atlantic County, New Jersey, United States. As of the United States 2000 Census, the city population was 19,012.Pleasantville was originally incorporated as a borough by an Act of the New Jersey Legislature on January 10, 1889, from portions of Egg Harbor Township, based...
, a suburb of Atlantic City that was given the nickname "Rumbletown" by the news media, because of the intense race riots there in the mid-1970s.
- Looking Glass
Looking Glass was an American pop music group of the early 1970s that was part of the Jersey Shore sound. They are best remembered for their million selling 1972 song, "Brandy ".-Career:...
- A frat-party band from Rutgers University
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey , is the largest institution for higher education in the state of New Jersey. It was originally chartered as Queen's College in 1766 and is the eighth-oldest college in the United States...
, Looking Glass had one major hit, "Brandy (You're a Fine Girl)"Brandy " is a 1972 pop song written by Elliot Lurie and recorded by Lurie's band Looking Glass on their debut album Looking Glass. The single reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, remaining in the top position for one week. Horns and strings were arranged by Larry Fallon.The lyrics...
," which gets much airplay on the statewide radio station NJ101.5.
- Glen Burtnik
Glen Burtnik is a singer, songwriter, entertainer and multi-instrumentalist, best known as a former member of Styx.The spelling of his name has changed a few times over the years .Burtnik appeared in the Broadway production of Beatlemania as Paul McCartney,...
- From the Jersey Shore, released a pair of records on A&M and then joined Styx
Styx is an American rock band. Their hit songs have included "Come Sail Away", "Lady", "Mr. Roboto", "Renegade", "Babe", "Blue Collar Man" and "The Best of Times"...
. His songs have been covered by artists like Patty SmythPatty Smyth is an American rock and roll musician. She first enjoyed mainstream success in 1982 as lead singer of the band Scandal. That band's self-titled debut release became Columbia Records' biggest selling EP...
and Randy TravisRandy Travis is a Grammy Award- and Dove Award-winning American country singer. Active since 1985, he has recorded more than a dozen studio albums to date, in addition to charting more than thirty singles on the Billboard Hot Country Songs charts, of which sixteen have reached Number...
. Also was part of Slaves of New Brunswick.
- John Eddie
John Eddie is an American folk rock singer. Eddie moved to New Jersey in the 1970s and became a popular club circuit musician there, occasionally performing with Bruce Springsteen...
- A very popular artist from the Jersey Shore who released albums on Columbia Records and Lost Highways.
- Bobby Bandiera
Bobby Bandiera is an American rock guitarist and singer known in the Jersey Shore sound world.- Biography :Bandiera was originally in a band called Holme from Orange, New Jersey...
- Jersey Shore guitarist and singer, member of Southside Johnny & The Asbury Jukes
Southside Johnny & The Asbury Jukes are a Jersey Shore musical group led by Southside Johnny. They have been recording albums since 1976 and are closely associated with Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band. They have recorded and/or performed several Springsteen songs, including "The Fever" and...
.
- Cats on a Smooth Surface
Cats on a Smooth Surface is an American rock group, that starting in 1978 and throughout the 1980s was the house band at The Stone Pony in Asbury Park, New Jersey...
- House band for The Stone Pony
The Stone Pony, is a well-known pop and rock music venue located at the corner of 2nd and Ocean Avenues, across the street from the Boardwalk, in Asbury Park, New Jersey.-Mrs. Jay's:...
in the 1980s, featuring Glen BurtnikGlen Burtnik is a singer, songwriter, entertainer and multi-instrumentalist, best known as a former member of Styx.The spelling of his name has changed a few times over the years .Burtnik appeared in the Broadway production of Beatlemania as Paul McCartney,...
and Bobby BandieraBobby Bandiera is an American rock guitarist and singer known in the Jersey Shore sound world.- Biography :Bandiera was originally in a band called Holme from Orange, New Jersey...
in its original lineup.
- Garland Jeffreys
Garland Jeffreys is an African-American and Puerto Rican singer-songwriter. His music is a unique blend of rock and roll, reggae, blues, and soul....
- Joe Long
Joe Long is best known as the bass guitarist for The Four Seasons. In the words of Billy Joel, a longtime fan who grew up listening to them on Long Island, "The Four Seasons had wonderful chord progressions, beautiful writing, terrific production, fantastic harmony, records that really spoke to...
- A true "Jersey Boy." Bass guitar and backup vocal for The Four Seasons.
- Lance Larson http://www.lancelarsonmusic.com
- The Spartans, The Cahoots, Cold Blast & Steel, The Lord Gunner Group, Lance Larson and Heat - was one of the most popular unsigned acts on the East Coast in the 70's and 80's with opening acts including the The Smithereens
The Smithereens are a rock band from Carteret, New Jersey, United States. The group formed in 1980 with members Pat DiNizio , Jim Babjak , Mike Mesaros , and Dennis Diken...
and Jon Bon JoviJohn Francis Bongiovi, Jr. , better known as Jon Bon Jovi, is an American musician, songwriter and actor, best known as the lead singer and founder of rock band Bon Jovi. He was also the owner of the Philadelphia Soul of the now suspended Arena Football League...
and the Wild Ones. Larson's band toured with Sly and the Family Stone and David JohansenDavid Roger Johansen is an American rock, protopunk, blues and pop singer, as well as a songwriter and actor. He was a member of the seminal protopunk band The New York Dolls and also achieved commercial success under the pseudonym Buster Poindexter.-Early life:Johansen was born in the New York...
. As a composer, Larson rewrote music for Steve EarleStephen 'Steve' Fain Earle is an American singer-songwriter known for his rock and country music as well as his political views. He is also a published writer, a political activist and has written and directed a play...
's "The Devil's Right Hand" and Jimmy WebbJimmy Layne Webb is an American songwriter. His compositions include "Up, Up and Away", "By the Time I Get to Phoenix", "Wichita Lineman", "Galveston" and "MacArthur Park". His songs have been recorded or performed by Glen Campbell, The 5th Dimension, The Supremes, Richard Harris, Frank Sinatra,...
's "Still within the Sound of my VoiceStill within the Sound of My Voice is the 43rd album by American singer/guitarist Glen Campbell, released in 1987 .-Track listing:Side 1:# "I'm A One Woman Man" - 2:31...
". Larson's version would be recorded by Steve Earle and Johnny CashJohnny Cash , born J. R. Cash, was an American singer-songwriter and one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century...
. Glenn CampbellGlen Campbell may refer to:People:* Glen Campbell , American musician -- country, active in US* Glenn Ross Campbell , American musician -- rock, active in UK* Glenn Campbell , Scottish journalist...
recorded Larson's version of Jimmy Webb's song and in 1988. It would eventually reach number 5 on the US Country singles chart. Larson released two albums - To make a long story short produced by Garry TallentGarry Tallent , sometimes billed as Garry W. Tallent, is an American musician and record producer, best known for being the longtime bass player in Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band....
in the 1990s and Songs for the Soldier in 2008.
- The Trinity
- a power pop trio formed as a reaction to the Jersey Shore sound, were seen by some in the industry as America's answer to The Jam
The Jam were an English rock band active during the late 1970s and early 1980s. While they shared the "angry young men" outlook and fast tempos of their punk rock contemporaries, The Jam wore neatly tailored suits rather than ripped clothes and incorporated a number of mainstream 1960s rock...
. They disbanded after touring North America with Lords of the New ChurchLords of the New Church may refer to:*The Lords of the New Church, a 1980s post-punk band.*Lords of the New Church , a 1993 song by Tasmin Archer....
in 1983.
- Cozy Morley
- The essence of the Jersey Shore, was the original performer to sing the local classic "On The Way To Cape May
"On The Way To Cape May" is a song that has become a Jersey Shore sound summertime anthem for the Philadelphia/Delaware Valley and South Jersey Shore area. It was written by Maurice "Buddy" Nugent according to BMI and the The Philadelphia Inquirer...
" as well as many other notable songs.
- Christopher James
Christopher James may refer to:* Christopher James, 5th Baron Northbourne , British farmer and businessman* Chris James, American baseball player* Chris James , New Zealand soccer player...
- Pop artist song writer creating and performing at the Jersey Shore.
- Colie Brice
- Former lead singer and guitarist for Phantom's Opera and Gemini, former guitarist for Brian Saint and the Sinners, currently the owner/operator of AERIA Records in Asbury Park, NJ, a prolific recording artist with over two hundred songs on iTunes and the guitarist for Geena and Dragster who were nominated for best rock band in the 2007 Asbury Park Music Awards. In 2008 Colie Brice and the New Age Blues Experience won Top Avant-Guarde act at the Asbury Park Music Awards.
- The Hesh Inc.
- Singer, songwriter, and keyboard player whose music and lyrics are very influenced by the classic Jersey Shore sound, particularly on his most recent release, Soul In Exile II: Jersey Shore Baby, on AERIA Records; nominated for Top Jersey Roots Act in the 2007 Asbury Music Awards.
- The Tides (1967-Present)
- Staple at the Jersey Shore since the late 1960s.
- Sensational Soul Cruisers
- popular 11-man vocal harmony group under the tutelage of sax player Screamin' Steve Barlotta (Gary U.S. Bonds Musical Director 1987-98) While the group has been known as the Soul Cruisers since 1992, the rhythm section was known for many years prior to that, being the band behind Eddie Testa, as “Eddie and the Cruisers”.That band and its name inspired the somewhat popular (albeit entirely fictionally based) movie of the same name. Nominated for Top Jersey Roots Act in the 2005 Asbury Music Awards.
- Astronaut Jones
- Singer, songwriter, and guitarist described as having an atypical Jersey Shore sound. He has been featured on the Howard Stern Show
The Howard Stern Show is an American talk radio show hosted by Howard Stern, broadcasting on his two uncensored channels on satellite radio service Sirius XM since January 2006. The show developed while on terrestrial radio, when Stern became a morning disc jockey at WCCC in Hartford in 1979, two...
for his song parodies and was nominated in the 2007 Asbury Music Awards as Top Male Acoustic Act.
- The Baby Seal Club
- another influential band, part of the shore's second wave along with Eve's Plum, the Whirling Dervishes, Monster Magnet, I Kill Me, James Deeley and the Valiants and Bruce Wacker. Pop/punk influenced. Former bassist and singer Tom Richards is still active in the Jersey Shore music scene.
- LaBamba and The Hubcaps
- band fronted by Richie "La Bamba" Rosenberg that included members of the Miami Horns/Asbury Jukes and also Glen Burtnick and Lance Larson on occasion.
- Hot Romance
- part cover band, part original band. Short lived but highly influential on the Jersey Shore. The band included noted shore blues guitarist/singer Billy Hector and Steel Mill
Steel Mill was an early Bruce Springsteen band. Other members of the band included three future members of the E Street Band - Vini Lopez, Danny Federici and Steve Van Zandt. As well as playing on the Jersey Shore, Steel Mill also played regularly in Richmond, Virginia and played gigs in California...
bassist John Luraschi.
- Atlantic City Expressway
- Band originally fronted by Jon BonJovi in the late 1970s, this cover band featured a powerhouse horn section which featured Al Chez, currently with the David Letterman Band. Commonly known as ACE, the Expressway was featured primarily at the now defuncted Fast Lane in Asbury Park. Most members of ACE were in their late teens when they broke into the AP music scene. The band was influenced by Springsteen, Asbury Jukes, Stax, Motown, and blue eyed soul. Currently, the revived EXPRESSWAY, featuring some members of the original band, are playing the Jersey circuit.
- The Gaslight Anthem
The Gaslight Anthem is an American rock band from New Brunswick, New Jersey. They released their first album, Sink or Swim, on XOXO Records in May 2007, and their second album, The '59 Sound, on SideOneDummy Records in August 2008.-Pre-Gaslight:...
- A New Brunswick, New Jersey
New Brunswick is a city and the county seat of Middlesex County, New Jersey, USA. It is 31 miles southwest of New York City on the southern bank of the Raritan River about 15 miles from its mouth. The 2006 United States Census Bureau population estimate of New Brunswick was 50,172...
rock band that emcompasses punk rockPunk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed the perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
, bluesBlues is the name given to both a musical form and a music genre created within the African-American communities in the Deep South of the United States at the end of the 19th century from spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads...
, soulSoul music is a music genre originating in the United States combining elements of gospel music and rhythm and blues. According to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, soul is "music that arose out of the black experience in America through the transmutation of gospel and rhythm & blues into a form of...
, and AmericanaAmericana is an amalgam of roots music formed by the confluence of the shared and varied traditions that make up the American musical ethos; specifically those sounds that are merged from folk, country, rhythm & blues, rock & roll and other external influential styles...
as well as Jersey shore. They are well known within the underground and have achieved best album of 2008 awards from punknews.orgPunknews.org is a website founded by Aubin Paul which launched in 1999. The website publishes music news and album reviews relating to punk rock, hardcore punk, ska, indie rock and heavy metal...
and eMusiceMusic is an online music and audiobook store that operates by subscription. It is headquartered in New York City and owned by Dimensional Associates, LLC. As of September 2008 eMusic has over 400,000 subscribers....
as well as high ratings from multiple sites for their album The '59 SoundThe '59 Sound is the second studio album by The Gaslight Anthem, released on August 19, 2008 on SideOneDummy Records.In December 2008, eMusic named The '59 Sound the best album of 2008. NME rated it as the 47th best album of the year...
.
External links
- Beyond The Palace - the first book to chronicle Asbury Park's rock and roll history".
- Bruce Springsteen's performance of "Atlantic City", Bruce Springsteen Unplugged, MTV, (performed 1992, released 1993).
- Bruce Springsteen's performance of "The River", Milan, Italy, 2003.
- The 1991 Vinnie James "Black Money" video from his RCA debut, "All American Boy".
- Complete collection of lyrics from Vinnie James "All American Boy".
- Video of Vinnie James solo acoustic guest appearance at the Glasgow Songwriters Festival in Glasgow, Scotland, 2007. Scroll to the center of the page.
- Asbury Park music news and features".
- Astronaut Jones.