Here's my story, or at least a part of it.

This summer I will celebrate my 25th anniversary as a loyal Southside Johnny fan. It was the spring of 1978, a few weeks before my 18th birthday when a friend asked if I wanted to go see a really hot Jersey Shore band at the Community Theatre in Morristown. I had never heard of SSJ, and I was curious because I lived in southern Monmouth County and thought I knew most of what was going on there. Since I was a senior at a high school in Morristown I
said sure, I'll go. That night, sitting in about the third row from the stage, was one of the most memorable in my life. Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes opened with "This Time It's For Real," and provided more heart-pounding music than I had ever experienced until that night. Each Juke was dressed in what looked like a zoot suit, and each played the raging horn background that has become my measure of what really good Jersey Shore R&B should be. That night, I was hooked. As I've gotten older, my enthusiasm for the band has never wavered. When I tell friends that I've seen SSJ at least 30 times most of them look at me the same way they would look at a traveling Dead Head. But a few truly understand because they know that this is the music of our youth at the Shore, and all the great times that we had together. When I got married, our wedding songs were "We're Havin' a Party" at the beginning and "I Don't Want To Go Home" at the end. I've been very fortunate to see shows at the Paramount (at least 10 times), Pt. Pleasant, New York City, Pittsburgh, Atlanta, Atlantic City, The Meadowlands, among others. Last year I even saw the Community Theatre show, which brought all those memories of that first outrageous SSJ experience cascading back. It's been a great quarter of a century, more than half my life, as a solid Jukes fan. And as I begin celebrating my Silver Anniversary as a Southside Johnny devotee, all I can say is thanks for all the great music and great times.

Rich Brooks