While the band's first two LPs both broke the top 50, their third album did not chart, and the band broke up in 1986. End of story, right? Well, not quite ...
After the breakup, Franke Previte was looking for a recording contract when an old friend contacted him. Jimmy Ienner, former president of Millennium Records was producing the soundtrack for a movie and wanted Previte's help for the final number. Previte co-wrote a song for the film, and had another song that was used, as well (although both songs were performed by other artists). The film was called Dirty Dancing (some readers may have heard of it) and the soundtrack became a hit (18 weeks as the #1 album in the U.S. in 1987). We posted more on this story on the "Hungry Eyes" entry, which includes the original and cover versions of the song.
And that, my friends, is how Franke and the Knockouts are connected to Dirty Dancing. Unfortunately, Previte did not have another big hit, but a 2010 Reuters article indicates that he remains active in the industry (mostly helping young songwriters) and is living comfortably off the royalties (which are generating a mid-six figure annual revenue). Nice to have a happy ending at ERV.
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=Sam
Thanks, Sam, we try to pick good ones. Appreciate your support, as always.
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