John Cafferty & The Beaver Brown Band is an American
rock
Rock most often refers to:
* Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids
* Rock music, a genre of popular music
Rock or Rocks may also refer to:
Places United Kingdom
* Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...
band
Band or BAND may refer to:
Places
*Bánd, a village in Hungary
*Band, Iran, a village in Urmia County, West Azerbaijan Province, Iran
* Band, MureÈ™, a commune in Romania
*Band-e Majid Khan, a village in Bukan County, West Azerbaijan Province, I ...
from
Rhode Island
Rhode Island (, like ''road'') is a state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is the smallest U.S. state by area and the seventh-least populous, with slightly fewer than 1.1 million residents as of 2020, but it ...
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 classic lineup of the group (consisting of John Cafferty on vocals and
guitar
The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected strin ...
, Gary Gramolini on
lead guitar
Lead guitar (also known as solo guitar) is a musical part for a guitar in which the guitarist plays melody lines, instrumental fill passages, guitar solos, and occasionally, some riffs and chords within a song structure. The lead is the featu ...
, Pat Lupo on bass, Kenny Jo Silva on
drums, Bobby Cotoia on
keyboards, and
Michael "Tunes" Antunes on
saxophone
The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of Single-reed instrument, single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of brass. As with all single-reed instruments, sound is produced when a reed (mouthpi ...
) started out as a
New England
New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York (state), New York to the west and by the Can ...
bar band based in Narragansett, Rhode Island and established a following up and down the Northeast corridor with strongholds in the
beach resort towns of Narragansett and Misquamicut, Rhode Island; New York City; New Haven, Connecticut; Boston, Massachusetts; and Asbury Park, New Jersey.
History
They first achieved success with a 1980 self-released single pairing two of their songs, "Wild Summer Nights" and "Tender Years", which sold over 10,000 copies and had radio play up and down the Atlantic seaboard.
Despite their success, the act was ignored by the major labels due to persistent critical comparisons to Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band. They finally achieved international success when producer
Kenny Vance
Kenny Vance (born Kenneth Rosenberg, December 9, 1943) is an American singer, songwriter, and music producer who was a founding member of Jay and the Americans. His career spans from the 1950s to today, with projects ranging from starting doo-wo ...
, a longtime fan, offered them the score to a movie soundtrack he was helming based on a best-selling novel about a legendary bar band, ''
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! ...
''. Thanks to frequent airings of the film on HBO and the purchase of the soundtrack album by their established fanbase, as well as hundreds of thousands of new converts, ''Eddie and the Cruisers: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack'' reached the top 10 on the
''Billboard'' 200 chart,
and produced a number 7 hit single ("
On the Dark Side
"On the Dark Side" is a song by fictional American rock band Eddie and the Cruisers, released as a tie-in to the 1983 film of the same name. When initially released in September 1983, the song peaked at No. 64 on the ''Billboard'', while the fi ...
") on the
''Billboard'' Hot 100.
"On the Dark Side" also held number-one on the
Album Rock Tracks chart for five weeks. The album was eventually certified triple platinum by the
RIAA.
The group's follow-up album ''
Tough All Over'' (1985) made the top 40,
enjoying great sales for "
C-I-T-Y
"C-I-T-Y" is a song by American rock band John Cafferty and the Beaver Brown Band. Written by frontman John Cafferty, it was released in 1985 as the second single from their second studio album '' Tough All Over''. Following the success of the t ...
" and the
title track
A title track is a song that has the same name as the album or film in which it appears. In the Korean music industry, the term is used to describe a promoted song on an album, akin to a single, regardless of the song's title.
Title track may a ...
, which became their second number-one single on the Mainstream Rock Tracks chart. Another song from that album, "Voice of America's Sons", was the featured theme song on the official soundtrack of the action movie ''
Cobra'' (1986),
starring
Sylvester Stallone, and Cafferty's solo track "
Heart's on Fire" was featured in another Stallone movie, ''
Rocky IV
''Rocky IV'' is a 1985 American sports drama film written, directed by and starring Sylvester Stallone. It is the sequel to ''Rocky III'' (1982) and is the fourth installment in the ''Rocky'' franchise. It also stars Talia Shire, Burt Young, Ca ...
'' (1985).
The band's next album, the self-produced ''Roadhouse'', sold well to their fan base but did not reach the sales heights of ''Tough All Over''.
In 1989, they followed it with the score to an "Eddie" sequel, ''
Eddie and the Cruisers II: Eddie Lives!'' which became their last major label release of new material.
Several personnel changes occurred over the next few years with Kenny Jo Silva departing in 1992 and Pat Lupo in 1994 to be replaced, respectively, by Jackie Santos, formerly of Tavares, and Dean Cassell. Bobby Cotoia had been forced to retire from the road during the 1990s due to illness, but remained an active member of the group in the studio. His on-stage replacement was Steve Burke who remains in the line-up. Cotoia died from liver disease on September 3, 2004, leaving behind a wife and two children.
[Gulla, Bob (2004). "Brothers in arms: Remembering Beaver Brown's Bobby Cotoia." ''The Providence Phoenix'', 17-23 September 2004.](_blank)
Retrieved November 6, 2021. On many of the band's shows over the past decade, drummer Don "DC" Culp has filled the role when Santos is not available.
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. It was first known for its ...
'' ranked the fictional Eddie and the Cruisers at No. 18 in their list of 25 Greatest Movie Bands.
John Cafferty & The Beaver Brown Band continue to tour. Their music has appeared on the soundtracks of several major motion pictures including ''
There's Something About Mary
''There's Something About Mary'' is a 1998 American romantic comedy film directed by Peter Farrelly and Bobby Farrelly. It stars Cameron Diaz as the title character with Ben Stiller, Matt Dillon, Lee Evans, and Chris Elliott all playing men w ...
'' (1998) and ''
Dumb and Dumber To'' (2014).
Original bassist Pat Lupo died on June 21, 2021 at the age of 66.
In August 2021, the band were the headline performers at the
Providence Performing Arts Center
The Providence Performing Arts Center (PPAC), formerly Loew's State Theatre and Palace Concert Theater, is a multi-use not-for-profit theater located at 220 Weybosset Street in downtown Providence, Rhode Island. It was built in 1928 as a movie p ...
's first in-person event since the beginning of the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...
the previous year, sharing the bill with
Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes
Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes are an American musical group from the Jersey Shore led by Southside Johnny. They have been recording albums since 1976 and are closely associated with Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band. They have recor ...
.
In September 2022, the band celebrated its 50th anniversary with the release of its first Greatest Hits album.
Discography
Studio albums
Compilation albums
Singles
Members
; Current members
* John Cafferty - lead vocals, rhythm guitar (1972–present)
* Gary Gramolini - backing vocals, lead guitar
* Michael "Tunes" Antunes - backing vocals, saxophone (197?-present)
* Dean Cassell - bass (1994–present)
* Steve Burke - keyboards (199?–present)
* Jackie Santos - drums (1992–present)
; Former members
* Bobby Cotoia - piano, synthesizer, keyboards (1972
–2004; died September 3, 2004)
* Paul "Cozy" Jackson - saxophone, keyboards
* Fred Macari - saxophone
* Thom Enright - bass, guitar
* Patrick Lupo - bass (1972–1994; died June 21, 2021)
* Kenny Jo Silva - drums (1972–1992)
References
Bibliography
* Himes, Jeffrey (October 24, 1984). "Beaver Brown: Maturity and Power". ''
The Washington Post
''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...
''.
External links
Official websiteHistorical Archive Full Biography/Complete Discography€”Rhode Island Music Hall of Fame (RIMHOF)
John Cafferty & The Beaver Brown Band Booking Information - GigMastersJohn Cafferty and the Beaver Brown Bandat
AllMusic
AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databa ...
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cafferty and The Beaver Brown Band, John
People from Narragansett, Rhode Island
Rock music groups from Rhode Island
Scotti Brothers Records artists