What the Franke? Friday Music Prepares for a Knockout

May 19, 2011 By Mike Duquette — No Comments

If you’re a voracious reader of pop liner notes, there’s a good chance you might have come across the name Franke Previte. If not, you’re about to have a chance to reconnect with the man and his music.

Previte was the lead singer of Franke & The Knockouts, a New Jersey band whose best-known song, “Sweetheart,” went to No. 10 in 1981. Of course, like so many other bands, they’re probably best known for what they did after splitting up; the band’s second drummer, Tico Torres, went on to sit behind a drum kit for another Jersey band named Bon Jovi. And Previte, who co-wrote “Sweetheart” with guitarist Billy Elworthy, went on to write two massive hits for the Dirty Dancing soundtrack in 1987. “(I’ve Had) The Time of My Life,” performed by Bill Medley and Jennifer Warnes, and “Hungry Eyes,” sung by Eric Carmen, were both co-written by Previte and dominated the airwaves that year. “Hungry Eyes” hit No. 4 in the U.S., while “Time of My Life” topped the charts and won an Oscar.

To commemorate the three decades since “Sweetheart” peaked on the Billboard charts, Friday Music is working on the band’s catalogue, releasing all three of The Knockouts’ LPs in digital format. They’re also releasing a new CD compilation of their hit singles, augmented by two bonus tracks, the original demo of “Hungry Eyes” (which was digitally reissued last year) and another bonus track apparently written and recorded for the forgotten sequel, 2004’s Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights. And best of all, for the charitably-minded, Previte is donating proceeds from the compilation to the Patrick Swayze Pancreas Cancer Research Fund at Stanford Cancer Center.

All titles are out next Tuesday, May 24. Hit the jump for a look at the track list for the new compilation!

Franke & The Knockouts, The Best of Franke & The Knockouts (Friday Music, 2011)

  1. Sweetheart
  2. She’s a Runner
  3. Runnin’ Into the Night
  4. Come Back
  5. You’re My Girl
  6. One for All
  7. Annie Goes Hollywood
  8. Never Had It Better
  9. Without You (Not Another Lonely Night)
  10. Just What I Want
  11. Morning Sun (Dream On)
  12. You Don’t Want Me (Like I Want You)
  13. Outrageous
  14. Come Rain or Shine
  15. You’re All That Really Matters
  16. One Good Reason
  17. Blame It on My Heart
  18. Hungry Eyes (Original Demo)
  19. Beat of a Broken Heart
Tracks 1-7 from Franke & The Knockouts (Millennium, 1981)
Tracks 8-11 from Below the Belt (Millennium, 1982)
Tracks 12-17 from Makin’ the Point (MCA, 1984)
Track 18 previously released on The Sweetheart Collection (Razor & Tie, 1999)
Track 19 previously unreleased
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Mike Duquette
Mike Duquette

Mike Duquette (Founder) was fascinated with catalog music ever since he was a teenager. A 2009 graduate of Seton Hall University with a B.A. in journalism, Mike paired his profession with his passion through The Second Disc, one of the first sites to focus on all reissue labels great and small. His passion for reissues turned into a career, having written at and worked for all three major catalogue music labels and contributing to Allmusic, Billboard, Discogs, City Pages and Ultimate Classic Rock. He's penned liner notes for Verve, Chess, Mondo and Soul Music Records.

Born and raised in New Jersey, Mike lives in Astoria, Queens with his wife, a cat named Ravioli, twin daughters and a large yet tasteful collection of music.

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0 thoughts on “What the Franke? Friday Music Prepares for a Knockout”

  1. Galley

    Looks like a nice collection. It seems to have nearly every track from the long OOP “Sweetheart Collection”, and a few extras.

    Reply

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