Biography

I was born and raised in Lyndhurst, Ohio, and was singing before most kids could talk. Sensing I had some talent, my parents enrolled me at the Cleveland Institute of Music at just two and a half. By twelve, I was writing my own songs. Then the Beatles happened and nothing would ever be the same again.

I bounced from band to band until I joined three of my heroes in Raspberries. We had hits like “Go All The Way” and “I Wanna Be With You,” but alas, we collapsed under the pressure. In 1975, I recorded my first solo album, and “All By Myself” became an international top-five hit. I released more solo albums and then got the call to write for Footloose, and “Almost Paradise” became a big hit. A few years later, I was asked to produce and sing a little song called “Hungry Eyes” for Dirty Dancing.

In 2000, I joined Ringo Starr’s All Star Band and had to pinch myself, notably, when we played on the same stage where I first saw the Beatles. Not long after, Raspberries reunited for the first time in over thirty years. We rehearsed the band, sold out our first show in four minutes, and blew the roof off the place.