Back in 1983, John Cafferty and the Beaver Brown Band supplied the music that helped make a hit movie out of the good-natured ”Eddie and the Cruisers.”
For Cafferty, an East Coast bar-band legend who had worked 10 years for a breakthrough, this was a calculated risk. His music would be lip-synched by an imaginary band-but still, it would be out there.
More Top Picks Best Beginner Acoustic Guitar Kit
”I hope people realize we`re a real band,” Cafferty said.
When the soundtrack went platinum, the gamble paid off: BB got a deal with Epic`s Scotti Brothers label, under their own name.
Those subsequent recordings, which moved away from their bar roots to a more polished sound, sold OK, not great.
There are better lives. There are also worse lives. Now Scotti Bros. has issued a live CD of tunes like ”Dixieland” and ”Wild Summer Nights” that confirms what fans knew 15 years ago: Beaver Brown can be a great band, hard- rocking and pure fun. Perfect for wild summer nights.
Only two problems with the record. First, no promotion. Second, the outside packaging never mentions Beaver Brown. It`s titled ”Eddie and the Cruisers” and features a picture of Michael Pare, who played Eddie in the movie.