The rain has stopped and a crowd of music lovers has gathered on the boardwalk in Seaside Heights, NJ this Monday, August 22, 2022 evening for a concert of classic hits by The Jukebox Legends.
The Jukebox Legends is a New Jersey-based vocal group that performs popular songs from the ’60s, ’70s, and ’80s. Founded by Bill Sagarese and Joe Leo, the group has shared the stage with such well-known recording artists as Joey Dee and the Starlighters, The Duprees, Kenny Vance and the Planotones, The Brooklyn Bridge, Larry Chance and the Earls, The 1910 Fruitgum Company, Dennis Tufano of the Buckinghams, Emil Stucchio, The Blues Brothers, and Huey Lewis.
Co-founder Bill Sagarese welcomes the audience to the boardwalk’s Franklin Avenue Stage and introduces the members of the group — co-founder Joe Leo, singer Tommy “Smooth” Siconolfi, and female vocalist Jodi Josephson — to the crowd.
Opening with “The Love I Lost,” vocal harmonies ring out over the boardwalk as the quartet sings, “The love I lost/I will never/No, no, never/Love again,” on this 1973 jukebox classic from Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes.
Jodi Josephson gets the audience clapping along on “Makin’ It,” a bouncy David Naughton hit performed with four-part vocal harmonies that has music lovers dancing to the electronic beat of the group’s prerecorded backup tracks.
The crowd on the boardwalk grows exponentially as passers-by are attracted to Josephson’s rendition of Aretha Franklin’s “Respect,” and Joe Leo sings lead while Bill Sagarese sings in a high falsetto voice on The Diamonds’ “Little Darlin’.”
Looking dapper in their matching black and white shirts graced with music symbols, Leo, Sagarese, and Tommy Siconolfi are featured on their smooth rendition of The Vogues’ “Turn Around, Look At Me” which has audience members singing along in time.
Josephson sings lead on A Taste of Honey’s funky “Boogie Oogie Oogie,” and Gina, Melissa, Kim and Vittoria — “Supafly Fitness” dancers from the local LA Fitness studio in Toms River — perform a choreographed routine to the quartet’s version of Dion and the Belmont’s “Runaround Sue.”
Siconolfi is the featured singer on Kool and the Gang’s rhythmic “Ladies Night,” and The Jukebox Legends follow up with their interpretations of Frankie Valli’s “Come Si Bella” and the Mark Ronson/Bruno Mars hit “Uptown Funk” where audience members dance while the boardwalk crowd claps along to the funky beat.
Following The Duprees’ “Why Don’t You Believe Me,” the quartet continues its run of jukebox dance hits with Tavares’ “Heaven Must Be Missing an Angel” and Earth, Wind and Fire’s “September” before Josephson is the featured soloist on the Barbra Streisand ballad, “The Way We Were.”
Audience members clap along to the rhythm of Barry Manilow’s Latin-influenced “Copacabana” and dancers in the crowd move to the edge of the stage to do the stroll accompanied by the doo-wop vocal harmonies of Dion’s “The Wanderer.”
Jodi Josephson handles the lead on “Turn the Beat Around,” a 1976 disco hit for Vicki Sue Robinson as well as a 1994 #1 hit on Billboard’s Hot Dance Club Chart for Gloria Estefan.
Leo sings lead on Elvis Presley’s ballad, “The Wonder of You,” and following an upbeat rendition of Donna Summer’s “Bad Girls,” Siconolfi is featured on Michael Jackson’s 1979 breakout hit, “Rock with You.”
A highlight of tonight’s show is Joe Leo’s tribute to Louis Armstrong on “What a Wonderful World,” and the entire audience stands as the group dedicates its final number, Lee Greenwood’s “God Bless the USA,” to members of the military, police, firefighters, and more. While enthusiastically waving small American flags, the crowd sings along with the vocalists before rewarding them with cheers and applause, clearly looking forward to the next Jukebox Legends’ performance in Seaside Heights.
To learn more about The Jukebox Legends, please go to thejukeboxlegends.com. For information on future concerts and other events in Seaside Heights, NJ please click on exit82.com.
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