John Eddie Almost Hit it Big in 1986

1986 was a good year for John Eddie. 

He signed with a major recording label. Released his first album. The first song released was Jungle Boy. It was a national hit and got airtime on Mtv. 

The song opens with a pounding drum that sets a heartbeat of a beat. A few seconds in, you get a guitar riff. Now a big keyboard splash. Follow this build up with a group of male vocals singing whoah whoah whoah like they came out of West Side Story. 

The first word from Eddie is Hey. "Well my Mama sheds tears and my daddy just spits." That's a grabbing opening hook ranking up there with "Trouble' by Elvis Presley (written by Leiber and Stoller). The song paints images of a tough guy hanging out at the Burger King lot. Police. A lothario that your daughter will fall in love with. 

That was supposed to be Eddie's career trajectory. A bit by bit build up and explosion. He was from New Jersey so naturally music critics compared him to Bruce Springsteen. He got compared in a good way, not calling him a posuer. He played muscular rock, but not metal or frat rock. The flip side of the 45 single release was "Mary's Ghost," a piano ballad. One 45 single showed his range.

Such a strong start, but nationally, that was it. He never rivaled Springsteen or Presley. Don't know if many of you have his small label records. Honestly I had to look up his website to see what he's been up to. 

You can catch John Eddie on tour. He's not playing arenas, but he's been steady and tours all the time. He's got a following that keeps his shows sold out. 

Sea Bright, New Jersey was home to a music venue called Tradewinds. Even though it was on the shore, it was open year round. It was a large place but in summer the back wall opened up and there was a separate beach section. In winter they closed off the back beach area, but you still had plenty of bar area inside. You have two bars, plenty of bathrooms, lots of room to move around. I went to some fun music shows in winter months. The big names of the 1990s were there, Del Amitri, Matthew Sweet, The Wallflowers. 

John Eddie did a show in June one year and I went to see him. It had been oven ten years since "Jungle Boy" so I wasn't sure if he'd play it. He didn't. 

I didn't know any of the songs. What I do remember is how he sweat through the show. He wasn't out of shape. It wasn’t one of those choreographed dance shows where the singer has the headpiece microphone. He just poured himself out on that stage. His band was tight and on cue. His ballads were powerful. The crowd loved him. They cheered, sang, and didn't leave early. 

John Eddie had towels at the side to wipe off sweat during his set. He poured water on himself to cool down. The guy just gave his all during this show. He looked drained at the end of the show. Just watching him, it was easy to feel just as exhausted. 

John Eddie is still on tour. Bet he still gives it everything. 

Check out his website. johneddie.com