The Dark

Today over at Song Lyric Sunday, Jim Adams has asked us to choose a song that uses clear/light/dark in the title or lyrics. I chose one of my favorites, “On the Dark Side” by John Cafferty & the Beaver Brown Band.

Lyrics

The dark side’s calling now
Nothing is real
She’ll never know just how I feel
From out of the shadows
She walks like a dream
Makes me feel crazy
Makes me feel so mean

Ain’t nothing gonna save you
From a love that’s blind
Slip to the dark side
You cross that line
On the dark side, oh yeah
On the dark side, oh yeah

Dark side’s calling now
Nothing is real
She’ll never know just how I feel
From out of the shadows
She walks like a dream
Makes me feel crazy
Makes me feel so mean

Ain’t nothing gonna save you
From a love that’s blind
Slip to the dark side
You cross that line

On the dark side, oh yeah
On the dark side, oh yeah

Ain’t nothing gonna save you
From a love that’s blind
Slip to the dark side
You cross that line

On the dark side, oh yeah
On the dark side, oh yeah
On the dark side, oh yeah
On the dark side, oh yeah

Writer(s): John Cafferty
“On the Dark Side” is a song by American rock band John Cafferty & The Beaver Brown Band, though they were credited as Eddie & the Cruisers. The song was written and recorded for the 1983 film Eddie and the Cruisers, and appeared on the film’s soundtrack album. When initially released in September 1983, the song peaked at No. 64 on the Billboard, while the film itself was pulled after three weeks in the theaters. When the film was released to home video and pay cable outlets in early 1984, the film as well as the song received renewed interest and the single was re-released.[1] This time, the song reached No. 7 on the Billboard Hot 100 and No. 19 on Canada’s RPM 100. It also spent five weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard Rock Tracks chart.

They first achieved success with a 1980 self-released single pairing two of their songs, “Wild Summer Nights” and “Tender Years”, which sold over 10,000 copies and had radio play up and down the Atlantic seaboard. Despite their success, the act was ignored by the major labels due to persistent critical comparisons to Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band. They finally achieved international success when producer Kenny Vance, a longtime fan, offered them the score to a movie soundtrack he was helming based on a best-selling novel about a legendary bar band, Eddie and the Cruisers. Thanks to frequent airings of the film on HBO and the purchase of the soundtrack album by their established fanbase as well as hundreds of thousands of new converts, Eddie and the Cruisers: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack reached the top 10 on the Billboard 200 chart and produced a number 7 hit single (“On the Dark Side”) on the Billboard Hot 100. “On the Dark Side” also held number-one on the Album Rock Tracks chart for five weeks. The album was eventually certified triple Platinum by the RIAA.

14 thoughts

  3. LOVE! Haven’t heard this in ages. “Eddie and the Cruisers” was a favorite movie; my husband especially loved it & insisted on watching every time it was on TV. When I first learned that the music was all John Cafferty & the Beaver Brown Band, I was reminded of my cousin. A student at University of Rhode Island in the early 1970s when Cafferty & Beaver Brown was just getting started, she raved about them to anyone who would listen. Ten years later, “Eddie & the Cruisers” proved her right. ❤

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    1. p.s.: Just one quibble: John Cafferty did not play the role of Eddie in the movie. In fact, Beaver Brown’s sax player, Michael “Tunes” Antunes, was the only band member to appear in “Eddie & The Cruisers.” For that reason, I still get annoyed when I see vids of John Cafferty labeled as “Eddie & the Cruisers.” Here is a contemporary vid of Cafferty & Beaver Brown performing at MTV’s 1984 New Year’s Eve show. Skip ahead to 12:55 for “Dark Side.” https://youtu.be/Sx4mZVhxcKE

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