Joey Dee: Back In Action

Written By Mike Greenblatt

Everybody was doing The Twist in 1962. For the inaugural entry in the new Bear Family Records series, “On The Dancefloor With,” who better than Joey Dee & The Starliters? They held court in midtown Manhattan at The Peppermint Lounge while their song, “The Peppermint Twist,” knocked Chubby Checker’s “The Twist” out of the #1 slot on the pop charts. These 30 tracks include their torrid Isley Brothers cover of “Shout,” in-concert insanity, a kick-ass version of “What Kind Of Love Is This” by Johnny Nash, and even their pre-Roulette Records singles on the Little and Sceptor labels. Dee, 82, originally from Passaic, now lives in Florida and plays the occasional gig. His tell-all auto-biography, Peppermint Twist Chronicles, was one of the best rock’n’roll books of last year.

Mike Greenblatt

MIKE GREENBLATT has been writing for Goldmine magazine and New Jersey's Aquarian Weekly for more than 35 years. His writing subjects fill the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

He's interviewed Joe Cocker, Graham Nash, David Crosby, Carlos Santana, Bruce Springsteen, Paul McCartney, Johnny Cash, and members of The Rolling Stones and The Beatles. He was 18 when he attended Woodstock in 1969.

In addition to writing about music, Greenblatt has worked on publicity campaigns for The Animals, Pat Benatar, Johnny Winter, Tommy James and Richard Branson, among others. He is currently the editor of The Jersey Sound.

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