Southside Johnny And The Asbury Jukes

Bruce Springsteen was the man who took the sound of the Jersey Shore music scene to the world, but it was Southside Johnny (aka John Lyon) who was the early focal point of the scene that produced many of the major figures of the Garden State's rock & roll community. A powerful vocalist whose style is steeped in vintage blues, R&B, and soul, Johnny was the leader and frontman for the group the Asbury Jukes, whose tough bar band sound married the impact of hard rock with the swing and horn-fueled punch of blues and deep soul. While the group's membership has gone through dozens of changes since the mid-'70s, with Southside at the vocal mike their sound has remained remarkably consistent from their '70s efforts (1976's I Don't Want to Go Home, 1978's Hearts of Stone) to their 21st century sessions (2002's Going to Jukesville, 2010's Pills and Ammo), though the group did detour into dance music on 1983's Trash It Up (produced by Nile Rodgers). Southside Johnny's rare solo efforts gave him a chance to explore other musical directions, as he embraced adult contemporary pop on 1988's Slow Dance and jazz on 2008's Grapefruit Moon: The Songs of Tom Waits and 2017's Detour Ahead: The Music of Billie Holiday.