cousin-brucie-article-joey-dee
ROCK & ROLL CALL
In the early 60’s, 45th Street in Manhattan was jammed with people waiting in line or just there to watch the action. The Peppermint Lounge was alive with celebrity, royalty and everyday Twisters. Joey Dee and the Starliters packed them in and caused a sensation. The band’s mega-hit recording “Peppermint Twist” topped the charts in 1962 and sold more than a million copies.
Joey Dee’s background significantly influenced his music style. Growing up as the youngest of ten children in a musical family in Passaic, New Jersey, he taught himself to play the harmonica and later mastered the clarinet and saxophone. His early involvement in a church choir and local bands helped shape his musical foundation.
The group starred in the movies “Hey, Let’s Twist” (1961) and “Two Tickets to Paris” (1962), with Joey often recruiting other musicians like Jimi Hendrix and Joe Pesci to perform with them and Eddie and David Bragati and Felix Cavaliere was a keyboardist for Joey Dee and the Starliters before leaving to form The Rascals. Joey’s best selling book “The Peppermint Twist Chronicles“ captures this historical period.
Joey Dee is dropping by to say Hello this Saturday, November 2, 2024.
Listen on Saturday from 6PM-10PM EST on wabcmusicradio.com or on the 77 WABC app!
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