John Cafferty

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John Cafferty and 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 (consisting of John Cafferty (born ca. 1950) on vocals and rhythm guitar, Gary Gramolini on guitar, Patrick Lupo on bass, Kenny Jo Silva on drums, Bobby Cotoia on piano, and Michael "Tunes" Antunes on saxophone) initially established a popular following throughout Rhode Island, Connecticut, and Massachusetts.

They achieved their greatest fame when they performed the music of a fictional band in the hit 1983 movie Eddie and the Cruisers. The soundtrack album from the film reached the top 10 on the Billboard 200 chart and produced a #7 hit single ("On the Dark Side") on the Billboard Hot 100.

The group's 1985 follow-up album Tough All Over made the top 50, getting some attention for "C.I.T.Y" and the title track. Another song from that album, "Voice of America's Sons", was the featured theme song on the official motion picture soundtrack of the movie Cobra (film), starring Sylvester Stallone.[[1]] Subsequent releases were mostly sequels to the Eddie and the Cruisers concept, and Cafferty and the band faded from popular consciousness.

Prior to Cobra (film), Cafferty's "Hearts on Fire" was featured in another Stallone film, Rocky IV [[2]], and has been used in several parodies. They have been referenced in the Sean Connery/French Stewart/Burt Reynolds edition of Celebrity Jeopardy! on Saturday Night Live.

They still tour sporadically. The band, minus Cafferty, will appear on the upcoming reality series, Loder's Run: The Quickening.

[edit] Discography

Eddie and the Cruisers Soundtrack (1983)
Tough All Over (1985)
Roadhouse (1988)
Eddie and the Cruisers II: Eddie Lives Soundtrack (1989)
Eddie and the Cruisers: The Unreleased Tapes (1991)
Eddie and the Cruisers: Live and In Concert (1992)
Light of Day: A Tribte to Bruce Springsteen (2003)
John Cafferty and the Beaver Brown Band:Extended Versions (2004)

[edit] Bibliography

Himes, Jeffrey (1984). "Beaver Brown: Maturity and Power." The Washington Post. October 24.
Strauss, Duncan (1987). "Cafferty Does Spooky Simulation of Springsteen." Los Angeles Times. October 20.
(2006). "Upcoming Events." New York Daily News. August 13.