Jersey Shore sound

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The Jersey Shore sound was a genre of rock and roll popularized at the Jersey Shore on the Atlantic Ocean coast of New Jersey, 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 Blues, the genre enjoyed a brief vogue from the roughly the late 1960s through the mid-1980s.

1 Origins
2 Characteristics
3 Artists
4 See also
5 External links

[edit] Origins

The Jersey Shore sound evolved from the mixing of pre-Beatles rock and roll, Rhythm and Blues, and the white urban culture of the Mid-Atlantic states, especially Maryland, Rhode Island, Philadelphia, New York, and, of course, New Jersey. The form has a strong Italian American influence, inasmuch as many of the form's key precursors and artists, from Frankie Valli through Bruce Springsteen, are of Italian ancestry and urban background.

Starting in the late 1990's, the Italian-American link would double back on itself, as Jersey Shore fixture Steven Van Zandt became a star on the organized crime television show The Sopranos, which itself made frequent references to the Jersey Shore sound, notwithstanding the later appearance of Frankie Valli himself as an embattled mob captain. In interviews, van Zandt would say "growing up, everybody knew some of those guys," and on the 1999 E Street Re-United Tour Springsteen himself would introduce Van Zandt as "the star of the Sopranooos tel-ee-vision show" while the latter played the theme from The Godfather on guitar.

[edit] Characteristics

Jersey Shore music shared two thematic elements with its contemporary (and in many respects related) genres of Heartland rock and Roots rock: a focus on the daily lives of people (in this case, those living in the stereotypically industrial society of Northern and Central Jersey), and a sense of being the underdog (a theme in the genre from The Four Seasons' "Rag Doll", "Walk Like a Man", and "Big Man in Town" through Bruce Springsteen's "Darkness on the Edge of Town").

There were other characteristics, however, that distinguished the "Jersey Shore" sound from its related genres:

Danceable - In contrast with Heartland rock, 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' saxophone in the E Street Band 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, adding outsized emotion to relationships, personal struggles, and life in general.

[edit] Artists

[edit] Precursors

Stax Records - The raw, horn-heavy, danceable soul 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 - 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 - 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.
White soul - White soul singers like Van Morrison were key influences.

[edit] Major Artists

Bruce Springsteen - While Springsteen and the E Street Band 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" (from Born to Run), "Racing In The Streets" (from Darkness on the Edge of Town) and "Incident on 57th Street" (from The Wild, the Innocent and the E Street Shuffle) among many others, mixed heavily with bits and pieces of Van Morrison and Bob Dylan early in his career, and evolving more into Heartland rock later on. But it was in his live performances (captured on innumerable bootlegs and on his Live/1975-85 album), as well as on songs and albums he wrote for other artists ("This Little Girl" by Gary U.S. Bonds, Hearts of Stone by Southside Johnny) that he let his Jersey Shore roots show most frequently.
The Drifters - Though not exclusively Jersey Shore sound by any means, the Drifters performed Jersey Shore sound music on their hit song, "Under the Boardwalk."
Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes - Immensely popular in the Mid-Atlantic States and in their native New Jersey, the Jukes never really broke out of the region. Their seminal album was Hearts of Stone.
Little Steven and the Disciples of Soul - Although Van Zandt's solo career spanned five albums, only the first one - Men Without Women - recorded in a day with members of the Asbury Jukes, 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.
Bon Jovi - although achieving fame through hair metal pop a decade later than the peak of the era, the band is still in the core tradition with evident R&B and heartland rock influences; at the time, they were termed a rediscovery or evolution of the Jersey sound, sometimes the "New" Jersey sound.

[edit] Lesser-known Artists

John Cafferty and the Beaver Brown Band - 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. Their follow-up album, Tough All Over, also had two modest hit singles, the title cut and "C.I.T.Y."
Looking Glass - A frat-party band from Rutgers University, Looking Glass had one major hit, "Brandy (You're a Fine Girl)".
Glen Burtnik - From the Jersey Shore, released a pair of records on A&M and then joined Styx. His songs have been covered by artists like Patty Smythe and Randy Travis. Also was part of Slaves of New Brunswick.
John Eddie - A very popular artist from the Jersey Shore who released albums on Columbia Records and Lost Highways.
Bobby Bandiera - A true Jersey Shore staple guitarist and singer.
Cats on a Smooth Surface - House band for The Stone Pony in the 1980s.
Garland Jeffreys
Joe Long - A true "Jersey Boy". Bass guitar and backup vocal for The Four Seasons.
Lance Larson and his bands, The Spartans, (The?) Cohoots/Cold Blast Steel, The Lord Gunner Group, Lance Larson and Heat - never broke out of the Asbury Park market.
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. They disbanded after touring North America with Lords of the New Church 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" as well as many other notable songs.