Spotlight Central: Weren’t you a big fan of Elvis, too?

When I was a little kid, I used to love The Flamingos, The Dubs, and The Danleers, but then when The Beatles and Motown hit, that just took it to a whole other direction.

And, of course, a lot of this came out of the doo-wop era. I was jumping up and down, and I started hanging out with them I must have been around 14 years old.įrom there, we just kept honing our craft on the street corners and eventually started playing in clubs. After I heard him and his brother and a couple of other guys sing, that was it for me. I’ll never forget this: It was first period, and we were standing in the doorway and we happened to start talking and he then told me he sang. Growing up in Brooklyn, in ninth grade, I met my friend Eddie Hokenson. And although no one in my family ever played an instrument or anything like that, I knew at a young age that I could sing.Īdvertise with New Jersey Stage for $50-$100 per month, click here for info

So I guess it does come from my father’s side. I had an older brother who said to me, “You know where you got your talent from, right?” and I said, “What do you mean?” and he said, “It’s from our father’s side, not our mother’s side” - because I have a half-sister who also sang. So, other than that, my whole life has been Brooklyn.īut as far as the music is concerned, I did hear my father once fooling around singing - and he could sing. My mother was from the Bronx, but I can’t remember the Bronx at all, except taking the train from Brooklyn to the Bronx. And on my birth certificate, even though it says Royal Hospital, Bronx, NY, all I can remember is Brooklyn. Spotlight Central: We understand you were born in the Bronx but raised in Brooklyn. Spotlight Central recently caught up with Esposito and asked him about his musical youth, his work with Eddie Hokenson and Bruce Sudano in The Brooklyn Dreams, his rise to fame as a singer/songwriter, singing lead with The Brooklyn Bridge, in addition to what he’s been up to lately.

His voice can be heard on hit recordings with Donna Summer and Brenda Russell, as well as in blockbuster movies including Flashdance and The Karate Kid. His original songs have been recorded by such artists as Aretha Franklin, Stephen Stills, and Diana Ross. Singer/songwriter Joe “Bean” Esposito is currently the lead singer of The Brooklyn Bridge and a former member of The Brooklyn Dreams.