Eddie & The Cruisers
* * * * S P O L I E R A L E R T * * * *
If you have not seen this movie, read no further. This will give away major plot points!! You have been warned!
Frank Ridgeway: Can I help you guys?
Sal Amato: Yeah, tell Tony, Eddie and the Cruisers are here.
I was 5 years old when I learned how to work my first VCR. All because I HAD to watch my favorite movie. HBO began running a movie that my father taped. It was a movie that made a huge impact on my life: “Eddie And The Cruisers”.
In this movie, a bar band sees success in bars after recording their debt album. During the recording sessions for what was to be their second album, lead singer, Eddie Wilson, walked out after having creative differences with the producer. He drove his 1957 Chevy off a bridge. The car was recovered but his body was never found. Set in 1983, a news reporter picks up the story of the disappearance of Eddie Wilson and the impact the band made, leaving viewers wondering if Eddie is still alive. The movie stared Michael Paré, Matthew Laurance and very young versions of Tom Berenger, Ellen Barkin, and Joe Pantoliano.
Eddie & The Cruisers featured and exposed the world to the music of John Cafferty And The Beaver Brown Band. Songs like “Wild Summer Nights”, “Tender Years”, and “On The Dark Side” became huge hits. “On The Dark Side” still gets radio air play from time to time.
I would sit in front of the TV and watch this movie (which was on the same VHS tape with “Mr. Mom”) over and over again. I must have watched it at least 5 times a day. I knew the dialogue, I knew the lyrics and to this day could recite them both. Michael Paré wore a black sleeveless shirt which made him look so cool while strumming a guitar and lip syncing to the music. Every time I wore a black sleeveless shirt, I always called it my Eddie Willson Shirt. I grew up listening to this soundtrack over and over again. Eddie And The Cruisers were my favorite band.
Although it was a box office failure, HBO was responsible for its success. When HBO began running it in heavy rotation, it became a cult-classic. As I grew up, I would learn just how forgotten the movie was. Whenever anyone asked me what my favorite movie was, they would give me a puzzled look when I said “Eddie And The Cruisers”. No one ever heard of it and unless you were a Rock N’ Roll fanatic, you could not be persuaded into watching it.
The movie was based on a novel by P.F. Kluge. When I got into high school, I decided to try and search out this book thinking that it had to be the holy grail based on how much love I had for the movie. There was no Google back then. I had to search it out the old-fashioned way. I had to go through the Yellow Pages to find the phone numbers for book stores. I called every single one I could find. Being a young naive kid, I even called a store called Fantasy Books. When I asked the guy about the book and explained that it was a novel, he asked me if I knew that I was calling an ADULT book store. I had no idea! When recounting the story to my family, my sister was quick to comeback with “Eddie DOES The Cruisers”. It didn’t matter though, no one carried the book. Later in life, I found out that the movie was only loosely based on the novel. The novel had a darker theme to it and was more of a mystery novel rather than focusing on the musical aspect of it.
One major theme through the movie was how important words and music are when writing songs. I remember Eddie Wilson crossing his fingers to show how words and music must go together. When I began writing, I tried so hard to write the words, but I could not write the music. I would write anyway hoping that one day, someone would put music to my words. That never happened but it was a springboard for me to becoming the writer I am today.
One day, I remember sitting in a movie theater and watching the coming attractions. All of a sudden, a movie trailer came on for “Eddie And The Cruisers II: Eddie Lives”. I could not believe my eyes! They were making a sequel?!?! I waited and waited for the movie to be released so I could have the opportunity to see Eddie Wilson on the big screen. It didn’t' happen. The movie did not last that long in the theaters before being yanked out. I had to wait for it to be released on video cassette to finally see it. Although not as good as the first movie, I loved it and felt the soundtrack was actually musically better than the first. It goes without saying that I watched the movie and listened to the album way past the point of memorizing both. When I looked at the back cover of the soundtrack, it had a photo of the band. Imagine my surprise when I learned that the saxophone player, Michael “Tunes” Antunes was the one who played the sax player in both movies, Wendell Newton. That’s when I began collecting the bands albums. I got them all. I studied them all. I was hooked.
In 1993, I was a sophomore in high school. My uncle Roy (who has always been a huge musical force in my life), found out that John Cafferty and The Beaver Brown Band were playing a small club here in Philadelphia. He made sure that I got to see that show. Knowing that my father (his brother) had to work, he bought tickets, picked me up and got me down there. I could not believe I was finally going to see this band in person! I would see Wendell Newton play in person! It was amazing. I met bassist, Pat Lupo, and lead guitarist, Gary "Guitar" Gramolini, before the show. They were kind enough to sign all my albums and take photos with me. Before the show began, a follower of the band told us that Michael “Tunes” Antunes was not with them on this tour. I was so disappointed. The band came out, played for about an hour and played all the songs I came to see. It was an amazing show. I wanted to see them as much as I could. Sadly, they didn’t tour much. Most of their shows were based around their home state of Rhode Island.
As a tradition, I would always try to get concert tickets for my father for Father’s Day. The love of music was one thing my father passed down to me and it is the thing we bond over most. With Father’s Day concert tickets, we have seen Pomplamoose and Squeeze just to name a few. This year ‘s concert, John Caffery And The Beaver Brown Band. After 28 years, they were finally returning to the area. I was sad to hear about the passing of bassist Pat Lupo in 2021. The good news was that this time they were bringing Michael “Tunes” Antunes! At the age of 44, I would finally get to see Wendell Newton perform the songs that have been ingrained in me all these years.
As my father and I were waiting for the doors to open, this man walks past us and rounds the corner. I thought for a second this could be a band member but it has been so long, since the last time I saw them that I was not sure. As I kept my eye on him from a distance, a fan behind me in line says “Tunes is right there”. Wendell Newton just walked past me?! As he came back, I approached him and he got a kick out of me calling him Mr. Antunes. I told him to be honest I knew him better as Wendell Newton which sparked a huge laugh. He was the kindest, sweetest man. He told me he was selling his first ever book of poetry at the show that night. He asked my name, shook my hand and he went on his way with a promise to sign things for me after the show.
The show itself did not disappoint. The band came out and played every song I came to hear. Towards the end of the show, they played “Tender Years”, a song that is known for its sax solo. Tunes played it just as I remembered it and brought back a flood of memories. All I could see was Wendell Newton blowing his horn like he had done so many times as I watched the movies for the last 39 years. Towards the end of the song, the band lowered the volume and Tunes took the microphone. He explained how much that song meant to the band and himself. He told us that we have all had those Tender Years. As he went on, he brought a tear to my eye with his speech. He had been away from the stage for a while. If it wasn’t that night, he made us feel like that night was his first time back on stage after so long. The band played for 2 ½ hours. They played new songs, they played old songs, they played the hits and they played to our hearts. They reminded us why we love them so much, how timeless their music really is. As they were wrapping up their encore, John spoke to Tunes and told him that the rumor was that he had a birthday the day before. They brought him a cake on stage to help Tunes celebrate his 82nd birthday. I don’t know if I will ever get the chance to see Tunes perform again but it was everything I dreamed of.
After the show, I purchased Tunes’ book of poems. True to his word, he stuck around after the show to sign autographs and take photos with anyone that asked. He didn't rush anyone along. He took the time to speak to every single person on a one-on-one basis and told different stories to different people. That night, a life-ling dream of meeting Wendle Newton, the only real musician in Eddie And The Cruisers, was fulfilled.
If you are a Rock N’ Roll fan, you need to watch these movies. You need to know this band.
Until next time,
Thank you for reading!
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©2022 Grazie Santangelo. All Rights Reserved
Gary Guitar Gramolini
Lead Guitar
Photo by Mike Fisher
Michael “Tunes” Antunes aka Wendell Newton
Saxophone
Photo by Mike Fisher
