Michael “Tunes” Antunes (born August 10, 1940) is a professional American saxophonist. He is most noted for playing the

tenor saxophone The tenor saxophone is a medium-sized member of the saxophone family, a group of instruments invented by Adolphe Sax in the 1840s. The tenor and the alto are the two most commonly used saxophones. The tenor is pitched in the key of B (whi ...

on hit songs with

John Cafferty and the Beaver Brown Band John Cafferty & the Beaver Brown Band is an American rock band from Rhode Island which began its career in 1972, and achieved mainstream success in the 1980s. Originally known as simply Beaver Brown, they got their name from a paint can. The cla ...

and for his acting role as the saxophonist in the 1983 movie ''

Eddie and the Cruisers ''Eddie and the Cruisers'' is a 1983 American musical drama film directed by Martin Davidson with the screenplay written by the director and Arlene Davidson, based on the novel by P. F. Kluge. The sequel '' Eddie and the Cruisers II: Eddie Lives ...

'' and its sequel, '' Eddie and the Cruisers II: Eddie Lives!''

Early life

Antunes is a second-generation American with a

Cape Verde Cape Verde or Cabo Verde, officially the Republic of Cabo Verde, is an island country and archipelagic state of West Africa in the central Atlantic Ocean, consisting of ten volcanic islands with a combined land area of about . These islands ...

heritage who was born into a musical family in

New Bedford, Massachusetts New Bedford is a city in Bristol County, Massachusetts, United States. It is located on the Acushnet River in what is known as the South Coast region. At the 2020 census, New Bedford had a population of 101,079, making it the state's ninth-l ...

. Antunes’ father Peter Antunes played upright bass, guitar and Hammond organ, performing throughout New England. Antunes began performing at age 13 while still attending Dartmouth High School, and most of his early shows were playing Cape Verde music with his guitarist brother David and a cousin in a band called Second Generation. Throughout the 1960s, Antunes performed in New England and upstate New York as a saxophone player in the Blazers, Bernie and the Cavaliers, the New Spices, Mike n’ Jenna, and Triumph. While with the Blazers, he recorded the songs "Grasshopper" with Mundo records (#864), and "A-Time" (#2002) and a remake of the Li’l Ray Armstrong song, "Boom Boom" (#2001) on Empire Records.

Mainstream success

In the 1970s Antunes joined

John Cafferty & The Beaver Brown Band John Cafferty & the Beaver Brown Band is an American rock band from Rhode Island which began its career in 1972, and achieved mainstream success in the 1980s. Originally known as simply Beaver Brown, they got their name from a paint can. The cla ...

, which is an American rock band from

Rhode Island Rhode Island ( ) is a state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Connecticut to its west; Massachusetts to its north and east; and the Atlantic Ocean to its south via Rhode Island Sound and Block Is ...

. The band's

soundtrack album A soundtrack album is any album that incorporates music directly recorded from the soundtrack of a particular feature film or television show. The first such album to be commercially released was Walt Disney's ''Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs ( ...

for the movie, ''

'' reached the top 10 on the

Billboard 200 The ''Billboard'' 200 is a record chart ranking the 200 most popular music albums and EPs in the United States. It is published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists. Sometimes, a rec ...

chart and produced a number 7 hit single, " On the Dark Side" on the

Billboard Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100, also known as simply the Hot 100, is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), ...

. Antunes performed in the movie as the band's saxophone player and also in the movie's sequel. In 2016, ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...

'' ranked the fictional Eddie and the Cruisers at #18 in their list of 25 Greatest Movie Bands. "On the Dark Side" held number-one on the Album Rock Tracks chart for five weeks. The album was eventually certified triple Platinum by the

RIAA The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...

. In addition to playing with

, from 2004 to 2011, Antunes played with

Ernie and the Automatics Ernie and the Automatics were an American blues rock band based in Boston. Guitarist Barry Goudreau and drummer Sib Hashian are both former members of Boston. Brian Maes (keyboards and lead vocals) and Tim Archibald (bass) are both former mem ...

, a blues band that included former members of

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

The J. Geils Band The J. Geils Band (formerly known as The J. Geils Blues Band) was an American rock band formed in 1967, in Worcester, Massachusetts, under the leadership of guitarist John "J." Geils. The original band members included vocalist Peter Wolf, h ...

, and

Peter Wolf Peter Wolf (born March 7, 1946) is an American musician best known as the lead vocalist of The J. Geils Band from 1967 to 1983 and as a solo artist. Early life and education Wolf was born Peter Walter Blankfield on March 7, 1946, in the Bronx ...

’s band.

Personal

Antunes has 11 children with his wife Jennifer, two of whom are involved in the music industry: sons Kevin (the musical director for

Madonna Madonna Louise Ciccone ( ; born August 16, 1958) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and actress. Referred to as the "Queen of Pop", she has been recognized for her continual reinvention and versatility in music production, ...

) and Matthew (the musical director for Tavares, who had a number of R&B hits in the 1970s, some with a

influence).

References

External links

John Cafferty and the Beaver Brown Band
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Antunes, Michael 1940 births Living people American saxophonists American musicians of Cape Verdean descent People from New Bedford, Massachusetts