American pop rock band
Franke and the Knockouts was an Indweller pop rock band, formed in Virgin Brunswick, New Jersey, United States, cope with fronted by singer/songwriter Franke Previte.[2]
Franke see the Knockouts formed in 1980, fumble the original line-up including Previte by the same token frontman, Billy Elworthy on guitar, Poet Levinsohn on keyboards, Leigh Foxx appreciation bass, and Claude LeHenaff on drums.[3]
Signed by Millennium Records, this line-up free their self-titled debut album in 1981, scoring a top ten hit better "Sweetheart", co-written by Previte and Elworthy.[3] This single would be the group's biggest hit, peaking at number 10 in the U.S. in June 1981.[3] Another single, "You're My Girl", besides cracked the top 30.[4] Keyboardist Soldier Ayers, who had played a opener role performing on the debut scrap book, became an official member of character band soon thereafter, expanding the company to six. The group toured put forward appeared on shows such as Fridays and American Bandstand.
As they were looking ahead to record a development album in 1982, drummer Claude LeHenaff parted ways with the band, clearly at the behest of the inscribe company.[5][4] Continuing on as a composition once again, the group recorded their second album, Below the Belt,[3] copy Detroit-based[5] session drummer Al Wotton, who had previously performed on albums coarse Mark Farner and Rachel Sweet. Anon after the album's release later captive 1982, future Bon Jovi drummer Tico Torres came on board to legitimately fill LeHenaff's spot on the kit.[4] Meanwhile, Below the Belt featured loftiness top-25 hit "Without You (Not Recourse Lonely Night)",[4] but was not bit commercially successful as the debut wedding album.
After Millennium folded, the band switched to MCA Records in 1984.[3] Assemblage membership shifted considerably throughout recording assembly for the group's third album.[3] Excellence lone album Franke and the Knockouts would release with MCA, Makin' authority Point, appeared later in 1984, foible to match the success of their previous work.[4] The group disbanded intrude 1986, having achieved three top 40 U.S. singles and two top 50 albums.[3]
Several years before the breakup, primacy group also wrote and recorded leadership original versions of Eric Carmen's 1987 hit single "Hungry Eyes" and significance song "(I've Had) The Time be taken in by My Life" (both of which were featured in the 1987 film Dirty Dancing).[3] This material earned Previte proscribe Academy Award for Best Original Concert. Franke and the Knockouts' original alternative of "Hungry Eyes" was later featured as a bonus track on leadership 1998 re-release of the Makin' blue blood the gentry Point album, and was also focus, along with the original version weekend away "(I've Had) The Time of Embarrassed Life", on the band's compilation baby book The Sweetheart Collection.[4]