Beaver Brown Band, coming to the Stone Pony, has jamming history with Springsteen

There was a time, in the late 1970s and early 1980s, when Rhode Island's Beaver Brown Band was one of Bruce Springsteen's favorite groups to jam with.

From the Fast Lane in Asbury Park to Big Man's West in Red Bank, Springsteen played with the band 12 times from 1978 to 1982, cementing a connection that seemed natural given Beaver Brown's bar band origins. Not to mention the fact that lead singer John Cafferty sounds more than a bit like Bruce, and the band also had a Black saxophone player, Michael "Tunes" Antunes, reminiscent of Clarence "Big Man" Clemons.

Beaver Brown was formed in Narragansett, Rhode Island, and reached fame when their soundtrack for the cult classic film, "Eddie and the Cruisers," went platinum in 1983. That album includes such Beaver Brown standards as "Tender Years," "On the Dark Side" and "Wild Summer Nights," songs you'll likely hear the band play as they help The Stone Pony celebrate its 50th anniversary on Saturday, July 27, with special guest Bobby Bandiera.

In a 2023 interview in The Aquarian, Cafferty remembered that it was Springsteen's "first fan" and long-time friend and assistant, Obie Dziedzic, who helped get all the musicians together.

"Obie, Bruce’s assistant, was very good about letting people know about us," Cafferty said. "She was very good about putting us all in the same room to talk about all the things we had in common, and we became friends. She was very instrumental in us becoming a part of that scene. Bruce was coming around quite a bit in those days. I know that he’d be up at his house writing, working all day and wanted to go out and play some rock ‘n roll. He knew we knew a bunch of good songs from the '50s and '60s, so he’d come down and we’d raise the roof."

Memorable shows

Here are just a few of the Springsteen guest appearances with John Cafferty and Beaver Brown from the long-ago years when Bruce was a frequent guest.

Springsteen first played with Beaver Brown not at the Jersey Shore, but in Connecticut, at Toad's Place in New Haven, way back on Aug. 25, 1978. Springsteen and the E Streeters were in the midst of the "Darkness on the Edge of Town" tour, and on that August night, Bruce and Clarence Clemons joined Beaver Brown for a set that included "Rosalita (Come Out Tonight)," The Dovells' "You Can't Sit Down" and "Double Shot (Of My Baby's Love)" by The Swingin' Medallions.

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Beaver Brown played at the Fast Lane nightclub in Asbury Park on Easter weekend, April 13 and 15, 1979. Springsteen joined the band both nights at the Fourth Avenue venue.

On April 15, the band was also joined by four members of the Asbury Jukes, including keyboard player Kevin Kavanaugh, trombonist Richie "La Bamba" Rosenberg, saxophone player Eddie "Kingfish" Manion, and Joel Gramolini on guitar (his brother, Gary, was Beaver Brown's lead guitar player). The expanded band romped through a set that included "You Can't Sit Down," "Having a Party," "Ain't That a Shame" and "Rosalita."

Flash forward three years, to Springsteen's club-hopping summer of 1982. From February to September, Springsteen joined Beaver Brown on stage eight times, mostly at Clarence Clemons' club, Big Man's West, but also at the Fast Lane.

The first Big Man's West appearance came on Feb. 20, when Bruce joined Cafferty's group for a set that included, "Money (That's What I Want)," "Ain't That a Shame," and "You Can't Sit Down."

On Aug. 6 and 7, Beaver Brown played at Big Man's, and Bruce joined them both nights. Aug. 7 was one of the longer jams of Springsteen's dozens of summer club appearances, with a set of six songs, including "Ready Teddy," "From Small Things (Big Things One Day Come)," "Jersey Girl," "Do You Want to Dance," "Lucille" and "Twist and Shout." Lucille included a bit of a brand-new song — "Downbound Train" — that would be included on the smash album, "Born in the U.S.A."

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The last jam with Beaver Brown of the season came on Sept. 4, 1982, when both Springsteen and Clemons joined John Cafferty and the boys for "From Small Things," "Lucille" and Ritchie Valens' "Come On, Let's Go."

That also marks the last time Springsteen would join Beaver Brown on stage, but the band has continued to perform regularly at the Shore, usually making a summer stop at the Stone Pony (and appearing occasionally at other Jersey spots, like Club Bene and Six Flags Great Adventure). Last year, Beaver Brown celebrated their 50th anniversary, one year before the Stone Pony, where the band has celebrated many memorable nights.

Thanks as always to the indispensable Brucebase for the setlist info.

Jean Mikle covers Toms River, Seaside Heights and several other Ocean County towns. She's also passionate about the Shore's storied music scene. Contact her: @jeanmikle, jmikle@gannettnj.com.

This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Beaver Brown Band, coming to the Stone Pony, has jamming history with Springsteen