Top 10 John Eddie Songs

Photo by Alexandre St-Louis

Our top 10 John Eddie songs look back at the career of another New Jersey rocker who arrived on the scene in the eighties but never became as big of a star as Columbia Records thought he might become. The man did have a legitimate chance at stardom. He was signed to Columbia Records, one of music history’s biggest labels. The label of Bruce Springsteen, Bob Dylan, Johnny Cash, Miles Davis, Simon and Garfunkel, and hundreds of other legendary artists. If you were a big Bruce Springsteen fan, especially in the 1980s, chances are you heard about John Eddie and maybe even bought one of his albums.

So why do we keep mentioning Bruce Springsteen in the same breath as John Eddie? Well, when Bruce Springsteen became the biggest rock star in the world in 1984, his stardom would fuel an onslaught of so many more aspiring artists who were heavily influenced by Springsteen Artists like Billie Falcon and Johnny Cougar were in many ways marketed as the next Bruce Springsteen very unfairy to them. We love Billy Falcon and John Mellencamp. But record companies were looking to capitalize on the Springsteen phenomenon, and they went after similar artists. Many others were inspired by the work of Bruce Springsteen, in the same way Bruce was inspired by Roy Orbison, Van Morrison, and The Animals. All rock stars are inspired by their heroes. Billy Joel by The Beatles, The Beatles by Elvis Presley and so on….

The 1980s Bruce Springsteen was a far different character from the 1975 Bruce Springsteen. That brought out a new series of artists who were inspired differently. It brought out artists like John Eddie, Mink Deville, and many others. It must be remembered that hardcore Bruce Springsteen fans were nuts over the singer’s music. They wanted as much as they could get. Bruce did not release that much new music. The Born in the U.S.A. album was his first new album of rock and roll music with the E Street Band in four years. Sadly it would become his last new rock roll album E Street Band for another 16 years until The Rising came out in 2001.

During those lean years when Bruce Springsteen did not release much music, fans looked elsewhere for similar artists. This is probably why the film Eddie & The Cruisers was so successful. It was a film with songs written by the Beaver Brown Band, who had also been a Bruce Springsteen covers band. The music and even the story behind the original movie were so closely tied to Bruce Springsteen’s persona.

We understand that the title of this article is The Top 10 John Eddie Songs. However, to really understand the persona and music of John Eddie, it’s crucially important to make the connections to Bruce Springsteen and the time period when John Eddie was signed to Columbia Records. Bruce Springsteen made Columbia Records millions of dollars with the Born in the U.S.A album. John Eddie had a similar look and sound to Bruce Springsteen. Yet there was also an Elvis Presley rockabilly swagger to John Eddie. Women also seemed to really enjoy watching John Eddie on stage.

John Eddie was signed to Columbia Records and released two albums for the label, John Eddie in 1986 and The Cold Hard Truth in 1989. In 1991, John Eddie signed a new record deal with Elektra Records but had the album he recorded for the label shelved. The next studio album fans would see from John Eddie would be released in 2003, entitled Who the Hell is John Eddie? The album was released on Lost Highway Records. Almost ten years later in 2012, John Eddie released his fourth studio album called Same Old Brand New Me. John Eddie would eventually find great financial success as a songwriter when Kid Rock recorded a handful of John Eddie’s songs.

I enjoyed John Eddie’s music when he released his first album. I thought it had a lot of spirit. I remember when he opened a big Giants Stadium Music Festival concert in 1986. The guitar player in my band, Tommy M, was asked to be the band leader for his group for the concert. He declined because we had gigs of our own at the time. They wound up getting G.E. Smith instead. So, in tribute to an old-school New Jersey artist who was actually not from Jersey, here are ten great John Eddie songs from an artist we greatly respect.

# 10 – Jungle Boy

We open our top 10 songs list with the popular, energetic, Elvis Presley-inspired “Jungle Boy. “This was the big lead single from John Eddie’s debut album, John Eddie. We figured we might as well open up with a big one to grab your attention immediately.

# 9 – Stranded

Continuing with our top 10 songs list, we take a listen to the great song “Stranded.” The song was released on the album John Eddie, which was released in 1986. This one has a very heavy E Street Band feel to it, probably because members of the E Street Band played on the album.

# 8 – Swear

We present “Swear” in the eighth spot on our top 10 songs list. The song was released on The Cold Hard Truth, John Eddie’s second album on Columbia Records, released in 1989. The album was more keyboard-dominated than his first record, as the sound of 80s keyboards overtook so much back then.

# 7 – If Your Here When I Get Back

In the number seven position on our top 10 songs list is the song entitled “If Your Here When I Get Back.” This was the opening song on John Eddie’s album entitled Who the Hell is John Eddie? The album was released in 2003. This is a very different sounding John Eddie on this track as there is a country influence that we had not heard on his 1980s albums.

# 6 – Shake My Faith

Landing in the number six spot on our top 10 songs list we present another keyboard dominated song entitled “Shake My Faith.” This is a great song, but the arrangement just kind of missed the point as to who John Eddie was. Nonetheless, it’s a great song, we just wish it had been done differently. John Eddie delivers a great vocal as usual. The song “Shake My Faith,” opened up the Hard Cold Truth album released in 1989.

# 5 – Your Love

Like many rock stars and musicians from the 70s and 80s, John Eddie would turn country in the 2010s. And in this case, it’s awesome, because this is a stunningly beautiful song. This tender, heartwarming John Eddie song was released on his Same Old Brand New Me album. Nice job, Eddie; this one is exceptional.

# 4 -More Than Miles

Continuing with the John Eddie county theme we thought it was important to present one of the most successful songs John Eddie has ever written At the number four spot on our top 10 songs list we present the song entitled “More Than Miles.” The single was written by John Eddie and Brantley Gilbert. The song was released on the Brantley Gilbert album entitled Halfway to Heaven. The song became a top 10 hit for Brantley Gilbert and John Eddie. This one probably paid some bills.

# 3 – Living Doll

Moving along on our top 10 songs list, we present the song “Living Doll.” This great ballad was released on John Eddie’s first album. With just a piano and vocals, this is as genuine as it gets. Maybe there is a little less reverb on the vocals, but that was 80s production techniques. The song served as the perfect album closer.

# 2 – Pretty Little Rebel

Just off the top spot on our top 10 songs list, we celebrate the southern-style boogie rock and roll song “Pretty Little Rebel.” This is the rocking John Eddie we loved. The song was originally released on his debut album. The recording below was taken from his live album, Guy Walks Into a Bar… John Eddie Live, released in 2001. The band sounds like Lynyrd Skynyrd on this one.

# 1 – Dream House

We close out our top 10 songs list with the rocking song entitled “Dream House.” This has always been our favorite John Eddie song. The melody and chord changes always reminded us of a sped up version of Bruce Springsteen’s “Nebraska.” But that being said, this is just an awesome piece of rock and roll from the 1980s. The E Street Band rocks out on this one. Listen to Max Weinberg play those drums. This is the type of music John Eddie should have released on his second album. It may have led to a third Columbia Records album.