John Lyon (born December 4, 1948),
known professionally as Southside Johnny, is an American retired singer-songwriter who fronted the band
Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes.
Southside Johnny has long been considered the Grandfather of "the
New Jersey Sound."
Jon Bon Jovi
John Francis Bongiovi Jr. (born March 2, 1962), known professionally as Jon Bon Jovi, is an American singer, songwriter, guitarist, and actor. He is best known as the founder and Lead vocalist, frontman of the rock band Bon Jovi, which was fo ...
has acknowledged Southside Johnny as his "reason for singing." He is a member of the
New Jersey Hall of Fame, Class of 2018.
Biography
Early days
John Lyon was born in
Neptune
Neptune is the eighth and farthest known planet from the Sun. It is the List of Solar System objects by size, fourth-largest planet in the Solar System by diameter, the third-most-massive planet, and the densest giant planet. It is 17 t ...
,
New Jersey
New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...
,
and grew up in
Ocean Grove, New Jersey. He grew up in a home full of music and with his parents' big record collection of blues and jazz; his father played bass in bands. "I grew up on music. We listened to Billie Holiday, T-Bone Walker, Muddy Waters and Big Joe Turner. My parents loved music, the louder the better. My father played in bands for years, and my mother went into labor with me at some seedy New Jersey club. I guess some things were just meant to be."
In 1967, Lyon graduated from
Neptune High School with
Garry Tallent and
Vini Lopez who would both go on to play with him in the future.
1975–1980
Southside Johnny first achieved prominence in the mid-1970s as the second act to emerge from the
Jersey Shore
The Jersey Shore, commonly called the Shore by locals, is the coast, coastal region of the U.S. state of New Jersey. The term encompasses about of shore, oceanfront bordering the Atlantic Ocean, from Perth Amboy, New Jersey, Perth Amboy in the n ...
music scene and be considered part of the
Jersey Shore sound, following
Bruce Springsteen
Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen (born September 23, 1949) is an American Rock music, rock singer, songwriter, and guitarist. Nicknamed "the Boss", Springsteen has released 21 studio albums spanning six decades; most of his albums feature th ...
. Southside Johnny's first three albums, ''
I Don't Want to Go Home'' (1976), ''
This Time It's for Real'' (1977), and ''
Hearts of Stone'' (1978), were
Stax Stax can refer to:
* StAX, (Computer Programming) Streaming API for reading and writing XML in Java
* Stax Ltd, a Japanese brand of electrostatic headphones
* Stax Records
Stax Records is an American record company, originally based in Memphis, ...
-influenced
R&B, arranged and produced by the co-founder of the band and Springsteen confederate
Steven Van Zandt
Steven Van Zandt (né Lento; born November 22, 1950), also known as Little Steven or Miami Steve, is an American musician and actor. He is a member of Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band, in which he plays guitar and mandolin. He has appeared i ...
, and largely featured songs written by Van Zandt and/or Springsteen. The Van Zandt-written "I Don't Want To Go Home" became Southside Johnny's
signature song
A signature (; from , "to sign") is a depiction of someone's name, nickname, or even a simple "X" or other mark that a person writes on documents as a proof of identity and intent. Signatures are often, but not always, handwritten or styliz ...
, an evocative mixture of
horn-based melodic riffs and sentimental lyrics. Other notable songs included "
The Fever", "
Talk to Me", "This Time It's For Real", "Love on the Wrong Side of Town", and a cover of Springsteen's "Hearts of Stone".
In 1977, Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes were featured as a bar band in the movie
''Grease''.
On August 8, 1979, days after going down a storm at the Knebworth Festival(on the same bill as Led Zeppelin’s homecoming first uk gig in 4 years) Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes performed a homecoming concert in Asbury Park which was the subject of a documentary film directed and produced by
Neal Marshad called ''Southside Johnny & The Asbury Jukes at the Asbury Park Convention Center''. The film was first shown in January 1980 on Warner Cable's
QUBE in Columbus, Ohio.
1980–1990
In 1979, the band was dropped by its record company. Now working without Van Zandt, they released ''The Jukes'' in 1979 and ''Love is a Sacrifice'' in 1980. Neither of these achieved much success. The band's first official live release also came out in 1980, the double live album ''
Reach Up and Touch the Sky''.
In 1981, Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes appeared on the Canadian sketch comedy television show SCTV, featured as a "wedding band". Johnny and the band played three full songs, including "The Fever", and performed many truncated versions of their other tunes. Johnny acted in one sketch, and the entire band was featured as a plot point in another.
In 1982 ''
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 ...
'' voted the album ''
Hearts of Stone'' among the top 100 albums of the 1970s and 1980s.
In 1983, Southside Johnny served as a technical advisor on the film ''
Eddie and the Cruisers''.
During the 1980s Southside Johnny's recording contracts continued to change almost by album, but he continued to release records: ''Trash It Up'' (1983), a
Latin freestyle
Freestyle, or Latin freestyleKlanten, Robert (1995). ''Die Gestalten Verlag: Localizer 1.0''. Die-Gestalten-Verlag. . Quote: "The other unavoidable influence n NYC hard housewas latin freestyle. A blend of hip hop, synth pop and salsa, latin ...
-influenced album written by Billy Rush and produced by
Nile Rodgers
Nile Gregory Rodgers Jr. (born September 19, 1952) is an American musician, songwriter, guitarist and record producer. The co-founder of Chic, he has written, produced, and performed on records that have sold more than 750 million albums and 1 ...
; ''In the Heat'' (1984) an album trying to reach out to "Adult Contemporary" radio; and ''At Least We Got Shoes'' (1986) where guitarist and Jersey shore fixture
Bobby Bandiera took over songwriting and guitar work from Billy Rush and led the Asbury Jukes back to their original sound. Songwriting credits on ''At Least We Got Shoes'' also contain a song co-written by Bandiera and singer
Patti Scialfa, who was known as a Jukes collaborator since the 1980 album ''Love is a Sacrifice'' and who became a member of Bruce Springsteen's
E Street Band
The E Street Band is an American rock band that has been the primary backing band for rock musician Bruce Springsteen since 1972. In 2014, the E Street Band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. For the bulk of Springsteen's recordin ...
in 1984.
In 1985, Southside Johnny contributed the title track to the film ''
Tuff Turf''.
In 1986, Southside contributed the track "Let Me at 'Em" to the soundtrack for the film ''
Karate Kid II''.
In 1987, Southside Johnny and the Jukes were featured in the film ''
Adventures in Babysitting'' performing at a college frat party. They performed the songs "Future in Your Eyes" and "Expressway to Your Heart".
In 1988, Southside Johnny released his first solo record ''
Slow Dance
A slow dance is a type of partner dance in which a couple dance slowly, swaying to the music. This is usually done to very slow-beat songs, namely sentimental ballads.
Slow dancing can refer to any slow couple dance (such as certain ballroom d ...
'' containing ballads and love songs like "On the Air", but also "Little Calcutta", a rare political song, describing the life of the homeless in New York City.
1990s
In the early 1990s, Johnny lived in Southern California in the beachside city of
San Clemente.
In 1990, Southside Johnny contributed the songs "Memories of You" and "Written in the Wind" to the film ''
Captain America
Captain America is a superhero created by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby who appears in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character first appeared in '' Captain America Comics'' #1, published on December 20, 1940, by Timely C ...
''. Additionally, he performed the song "Please Come Home for Christmas" for the 1990 film ''
Home Alone
''Home Alone'' is a 1990 American Christmas comedy film
The comedy film is a film genre that emphasizes humor. These films are designed to amuse audiences and make them laugh. Films in this genre typically have a happy ending, with dar ...
''.
His recording career was re-launched with the album ''
Better Days'' (1991), which featured production by Van Zandt, songs by Springsteen, and vocal performances from Van Zandt, Springsteen and Jon Bon Jovi. With
Bobby Bandiera driving the band, the Jukes were gaining new energy for a worldwide tour supporting the album. But once again, Southside Johnny's bad luck with the industry was shown when the record label went bankrupt while the tour was still rolling.
Southside Johnny performed the theme song for the 1990s television sitcom ''
Dave's World'', a cover of
Billy Joel
William Martin Joel (born May 9, 1949) is an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. Nicknamed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Piano Man" after his Signature song, signature 1973 song Piano Man (song), of the same name, Joel has ha ...
's "
You May Be Right."
In 1992, Johnny contributed the song "Shake 'Em Down" to the film ''
The Mighty Ducks''.
Southside Johnny eventually relocated to
Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...
, taking a break from the music business. A few members of the Asbury Jukes would end up being part of
The Max Weinberg 7 on the ''
Late Night with Conan O'Brien
''Late Night with Conan O'Brien'' is an American television talk show broadcast by NBC. The show is the second installment of the ''Late Night (franchise), Late Night'' franchise originally established by David Letterman. Hosted by Conan O'Brie ...
'' television show, while some others went on tour and into the recording studio with artists such as
Jon Bon Jovi
John Francis Bongiovi Jr. (born March 2, 1962), known professionally as Jon Bon Jovi, is an American singer, songwriter, guitarist, and actor. He is best known as the founder and Lead vocalist, frontman of the rock band Bon Jovi, which was fo ...
,
Mink DeVille
Mink DeVille was a Rock music, rock band founded in 1974, known for its association with early punk rock bands at New York City, New York's CBGB nightclub and for being a showcase for the music of Willy DeVille. The band recorded six albums in th ...
,
Graham Parker, and
Robert Cray.
In 1998, Johnny came back into the spotlight with an independent release titled ''Spittin' Fire'', a live record with a semi-acoustic Jukes lineup released in France containing a 20-song set recorded during a series of 10 shows at the Chesterfield Café in Paris, France.
2000s
Since 2001 Southside Johnny and the Jukes have toured the UK and Europe as an annual event, their first since the 1992 Better Days tour, although Southside and
Bobby Bandiera did some acoustic shows in 1995.
After a decade without a record contract Johnny finally founded his own record label in 2001 under the name of Leroy Records, and started releasing and distributing his new records fully under his own control: ''Messin' with the Blues'' (2000), ''Going to Jukesville'' (2002), ''Missing Pieces'' (2004), ''Into the Harbour'' (2005). Southside Johnny continued to perform, and maintains substantial audience followings as 2002's ''Live At The Opera House'' DVD, filmed at a sold-out performance in
Newcastle upon Tyne
Newcastle upon Tyne, or simply Newcastle ( , Received Pronunciation, RP: ), is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. It is England's northernmost metropolitan borough, located o ...
, demonstrated.
In 2007, Southside Johnny appeared in an episode of ''
The Sopranos
''The Sopranos'' is an American Crime film#Crime drama, crime drama television series created by David Chase. The series follows Tony Soprano (James Gandolfini), a New Jersey American Mafia, Mafia boss who suffers from panic attacks. He reluct ...
'' TV show entitled "
Chasing It", where he performed the song "Bossman" with
Nancy Sinatra.
In 2008, Southside Johnny collaborated with long-time Asbury Jukes trombone player Richie "La Bamba" Rosenberg, for a break from the classic Asbury Jukes sound to classic Big-Band Jazz. Together with a 20-piece big band they recorded a cover album of songs written by
Tom Waits
Thomas Alan Waits (born December 7, 1949) is an American musician, composer, songwriter, and actor. His lyrics often focus on society's underworld and are delivered in his trademark deep, gravelly voice. He began in the American folk music, fo ...
, arranged and conducted by Rosenberg.
As of 2009, Southside Johnny lives again in his original hometown Ocean Grove.
In June 2010 The Jukes' album ''Pills and Ammo'' was released and received the most critical acclaim since ''Better Days''. The songs were primarily written by Southside Johnny and Jukes keyboard player Jeff Kazee.
On September 24, 2010, Southside Johnny and the Jukes kicked off an international tour with a free performance at Overpeck Park in Ridgefield Park, New Jersey. Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes continue to be a fixture on the U.S. Northeast music scene including New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts and Maryland, as well as throughout the UK and Europe.
On July 2, 2011, Southside Johnny and the Jukes recorded a live performance of Stevie Van Zandt's ''
Men Without Women'' album at the Stone Pony in New Jersey for release on CD. The material on ''Men Without Women'' was composed almost entirely of unused material originally recorded by Southside Johnny during the ''Hearts of Stone'' sessions, later re-recorded by Van Zandt as his first solo album.
In October 2011, with his band The Poor Fools, he recorded a version of "
I'm Down" for ''The Beatles Complete on Ukulele''.
In January 2013, he released a CD called ''Songs from the Barn'' with his side project, The Poor Fools.
On May 4, 2014, Southside Johnny headlined at the
Hoboken Arts and Music Festival with 300 artists and 30 musicians in Hoboken, New Jersey.
Southside Johnny and the Jukes most recent album, called ''Soultime!'', was released in September 2015.
In 2017, Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes appeared as themselves in the "Sic Transit Imperium" episode of the Showtime TV series ''
Billions'', performing "I Don't Want to Go Home" and "Looking for a Good Time."
On October 27, 2019, Southside Johnny was inducted into the
New Jersey Hall of Fame at the
Paramount Theatre in
Asbury Park
Asbury Park () is a beachfront city located on the Jersey Shore in Monmouth County in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is part of the New York metropolitan area. As of the 2020 United States census, the city's population was 15,188, a dec ...
.
On July 11, 2020, Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes played the first major concert in New Jersey during the pandemic, playing a Drive-In Concert at Monmouth Racetrack in Oceanport, New Jersey. More than 1,000 vehicles attended, with patrons staying in their cars for the performance. In lieu of clapping, horns were honked in a show of appreciation of the music.
On December 20, 2024, Southside Johnny announced his retirement from touring for health reasons. The announcement on the band's website reads: "After a hugely successful 50-year run with his band Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes, touring non-stop throughout the U.S and overseas, 'Southside Johnny' Lyon has made the decision to retire from touring in order to manage ongoing health issues."
Discography
Source
* Southside Johnny & the Asbury Jukes
** ''
I Don't Want to Go Home'' (1976)
** ''Live at the Bottom Line'' (1976)
** ''
This Time It's for Real'' (1977)
** ''
Hearts of Stone'' (1978)
** ''The Jukes'' (1979)
** ''Havin’ a Party With Southside Johnny'' (1979)
** ''Love Is a Sacrifice'' (1980)
** ''
Live: Reach Up and Touch the Sky'' (1981)
** ''Trash It Up'' (1983)
** ''In the Heat'' (1984)
** ''At Least We Got Shoes'' (1986)
** ''
Better Days'' (1991)
** ''Ruff Stuff (EP)'' (1995)
** ''Live at the Paradise Theater'' (2000)
** ''Messin' With the Blues'' (2000)
** ''More Ruff Stuff (EP)'' (2000)
** ''Going to Jukesville'' (2002)
** ''Found in a Closet (EP)'' (2003)
** ''Missing Pieces'' (2004)
** ''Into the Harbour'' (2005)
** ''Jukebox'' (2007)
** ''Ruff Stuff 3 (EP)'' (2008)
** ''From Southside to Tyneside'' (2008)
** ''1978: Live in Boston'' (2008)
** ''Hearts of Stone LIVE'' (2009)
** ''Pills and Ammo'' (2010)
** ''Acoustic Ammo (EP)'' (2011)
** ''Men Without Women LIVE'' (2012)
** ''Soultime!'' (2015)
* Southside Johnny
** ''
Slow Dance
A slow dance is a type of partner dance in which a couple dance slowly, swaying to the music. This is usually done to very slow-beat songs, namely sentimental ballads.
Slow dancing can refer to any slow couple dance (such as certain ballroom d ...
'' (1988)
** ''Spittin' Fire'' (1997) (live)
* Southside Johnny with La Bamba's Big Band
** ''Grapefruit Moon: The Songs of Tom Waits'' (2008)
* Southside Johnny & the Poor Fools
** ''Songs from the Barn'' (2013)
*Selected others
**Jersey Artists for Mankind: "We Got the Love" / "Save Love, Save Life" (1986)
**Soundtrack: ''
Home Alone
''Home Alone'' is a 1990 American Christmas comedy film
The comedy film is a film genre that emphasizes humor. These films are designed to amuse audiences and make them laugh. Films in this genre typically have a happy ending, with dar ...
'' (1990)
**Killer Joe: ''Scene of the Crime'' (1991)
**Rusty Cloud: ''Walkin' the Night'' (1994)
**Rattlesnake Guitar, The Music of Peter Green: ''Baby When the Sun Goes Down'' (1997)
**
Gary U.S. Bonds: ''Back in 20'' (2004)
** ''
Southside Johnny & The Asbury Jukes - Live In England''
References
External links
SouthsideJohnny.com – Official websiteAsburyJukes.net – Fan websiteSouthside Johnny Imeem Fan Group website''Concert at Asbury Park Convention Hall''on
IMDb
IMDb, historically known as the Internet Movie Database, is an online database of information related to films, television series, podcasts, home videos, video games, and streaming content online – including cast, production crew and biograp ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Southside Johnny
1948 births
Living people
American male singers
American rock singers
Jersey Shore musicians
Singer-songwriters from New Jersey
Neptune High School alumni
Atco Records artists
Columbia Records artists
Mercury Records artists
Mirage Records artists
American blues singers
American soul singers
American blues harmonica players
American harmonica players