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Joe Esposito (singer)

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Joe Esposito (born May 5, 1948) is a Grammy-nominated American singer/songwriter whose career spans from the 1970s to the present day. Esposito's songs have been recorded by Donna Summer, Aretha Franklin, Labelle, Stephen Stills and others.

Biography

Esposito was a member of the band Brooklyn Dreams, best known for their collaboration with Donna Summer on "Heaven Knows" and "Bad Girls." Giorgio Moroder asked Esposito to collaborate on his 1982 "Solitary Man" project, which became Esposito's first solo album. In the 1980s, he's best known for his performances of the hit songs "Lady, Lady, Lady" from the "Solitary Man" album and 1983 film Flashdance. Esposito had originally recorded the title track "Flashdance... What a Feeling"; then Irene Cara was brought in to record it since it would be from a woman's perspective. "You're the Best" is from the 1984 film The Karate Kid. Esposito also supplied vocals on Brenda Russell's 1988 "Piano in the Dark," as well as a duet with Laura Branigan on "Come Into My Life" from the Coming to America soundtrack (1988). Esposito released his solo debut in 1982. Flashdance: Original Soundtrack from the Motion Picture is the soundtrack to the 1983 American musical and romance film Flashdance, produced by Don Simpson and Jerry Bruckheimer and starring Jennifer Beals and Michael Nouri. It sold more than 20 million copies worldwide. The film is set in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and follows Alex, a welder and exotic dancer and her dreams of becoming a professional ballet dancer. In 1984, the album received a Grammy nomination for Album of the Year and won for Best Album of Original Score Written for a Motion Picture or a Television Special The film's three singles feature on the album. Two of these singles, "Flashdance...What a Feeling" by Irene Cara and "Maniac" by Michael Sembello, peaked at #1 in the U.S. Billboard Hot 100. The third single, "Lady, Lady, Lady" by Joe Esposito, peaked at #86 in the U.S. on radio play alone since it was not released as a single in the U.S. due to reorganization at Casablanca, and conflicts concerning distribution between Casablanca and Millennium Records.[3][4] The track "Romeo" by Donna Summer was released as a promo video to MTV prior to the film's release, composed only of outtakes from the film. However, the song was not released to radio as Summer was on the verge of releasing her 1983 album She Works Hard for the Money, and the title track was already becoming a major hit. ("She Works Hard for the Money" was actually in the top 10 on Billboard's Hot 100 consecutively with both "Flashdance...What a Feeling" and "Maniac".) The Flashdance LP was massively successful, selling over 6 million copies in the U.S. and 1 million in Japan. It was certified gold by RIAA on June 17, 1983, and became multi-platinum on October 12, 1984 and again on June 21, 1996.[5] In Japan, the album topped the chart for 11 weeks in total, and became the biggest-selling album of 1983.[6] The music in Flashdance was supervised by Phil Ramone. There are several pieces of music used in the film that do not appear on the soundtrack album, including "Gloria" by Laura Branigan; "I Love Rock and Roll" by Joan Jett and the Blackhearts; and the "Adagio in G Minor" by Tommaso Albinoni. The title track "Flashdance... What a Feeling" was originally recorded by Joe Esposito before Irene Cara was asked to re-record, since it would be from a woman's perspective.

Esposito is the father of Mike Esposito, who pitched in 2005 for Major League Baseball's Colorado Rockies.[1]

Grammy nominations

Soundtrack discography

Discography

Appears on

Current work

Esposito lives in Las Vegas where he performs as a vocalist at various casino hotels. Esposito is currently writing for film and television. Esposito is still in demand for studio vocal work. During the early 1990s he and Eddy Hokenson (of Brooklyn Dreams) toured with Kenny Vance and the Planotones, a vocal group created for the movie, American Hot Wax. In May 2013, Esposito became the lead singer for The Brooklyn Bridge band, formerly known as Johnny Maestro & The Brooklyn Bridge.

See also

References

  1. ^ "http://thesundevils.cstv.com/sports/m-basebl/mtt/esposito_mike00.html". Thesundevils.cstv.com. 1981-09-27. Retrieved 2013-01-16. {{cite web}}: External link in |title= (help)

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