Joey Dee and the Starlighters One Big Hit

A lot of blogs came from extra research I did while writing the Mix Tape series of books. Tffhis week’s blog is about an artist that I don’t mention in the book, but he is important to some New Jersey bands mentioned. I’m writing about him because he would have band members that would go onto form The Rascals. The Rascals were name-dropped in Mix Tapes and Empty Buildings.

For the average music fan, Joey Dee was a one hit wonder. The story of that one hit is a good one. 

The legend I heard was that there was this little club called the Peppermint Lounge located at 128 West 45th Street in Manhattan.  It was a hang out for adults and some types who skirted the law. The club got by but it wasn’t a popular spot. And that’s the why they wanted it. I read one site that gave the Peppermint Lounge credit for starting go-go dancing. The management gave local boy, Joey Dee a chance to perform. The patrons weren’t really there for the music so he wouldn’t get in the way. It made business look more legit. It turned out that his band was good. Word got out about this little band that could jam. This out of the way lounge for adults that thrived because of its secretive crowd became a popular place for a lot of people. 

First came celebrities. Then came younger crowds looking for that hot band. So much for that little place to hide. 

Joey Dee wrote a song called “The Peppermint Twist” to pay homage to the club that gave him a chance and to cash in on a popular dance of the time called the twist. It became a national site. Sam Cooke had the hit song, “Twisting the Night Away,” where he mentions “a little place-somewhere up a New York way” Was he talking about the Peppermint Lounge?

The Ronettes debuted there. 

Some fifty years later, I know the name. The dance craze known as the twist faded out by the mid-1960s. The lounge itself closed in 1965. 

Joey Dee still tours today. His web page is really well done so take a look. JoeyDee.com.

One of the first members of The Starlighters was David Briganti. His brother, Eddie, was join later on and then later would form the Rascals with Felix Cavaliere and Gene Cornish.