Origin: Joe and Bruce born in Brooklyn, New York (USA)

JOE BRUCE & 2nd AVENUE

Joe "Bean" Esposito - Bruce Sudano

Joe Bruce & 2nd Avenue discography:

st. - 1987 (with lyrics)

- In the mid-1980s, the streets of Los Angeles and the studios of California breathed a very distinct sound. It was the golden era of West Coast Pop and AOR (Adult Oriented Rock)—a style defined by flawless melodies, polished production, and pristine vocal harmonies. In this highly competitive and brilliant musical landscape, two industry veterans decided to combine their talents to create a project that, although destined for greatness, would end up becoming one of the best-kept secrets in American pop-rock history: Joe Bruce & 2nd Avenue.

Two Paths Crossing via Brooklyn

The project's name invited confusion; anyone looking at the sleeve would think they were dealing with a solo artist named "Joe Bruce." In reality, behind the album's ten tracks stood two long-time colleagues and best friends: Joe "Bean" Esposito and Bruce Sudano.

By the time they joined forces in the mid-eighties, their musical chemistry was already deeply proven. Both had been members of the acclaimed vocal trio Brooklyn Dreams, which released four studio albums between 1977 and 1980 under the legendary Casablanca Records (via the Millennium Records subsidiary): Brooklyn Dreams (1977), Sleepless Nights (1979), Joy Ride (1979), and Won't Let Go (1980). As a group, they collaborated with Donna Summer on several tracks, including co-writing and performing on the smash hit "Bad Girls" alongside Summer herself—a three-way collaboration that became one of the decade's defining songs.

Joe "Bean" Esposito, on the other hand, possessed one of the most recognizable and expressive voices of the decade. His vocal range and passionate delivery led him to perform "Lady, Lady, Lady" on the iconic Flashdance soundtrack (1983)—a song Giorgio Moroder asked him to sing after co-writing it with Keith Forsey—and "You're the Best," which became the ultimate anthem of triumph for The Karate Kid (1984). Although music collectors occasionally confused him with another Joe Esposito (Elvis Presley's close friend and road manager), "Bean's" true genius resided purely in his throat and his sheer interpretive power.

Following his era with Brooklyn Dreams, Bruce Sudano continued to expand his success: he married disco superstar Donna Summer in 1980, and together they co-wrote several of her international hits, most notably "Bad Girls" (alongside Joe Esposito), "Lucky," "On My Honor," and other tracks that would define her career. In 1981, he released his solo album Fugitive Kind on RCA Records, showcasing his versatility as both a performer and songwriter.

Creation in the Barn and West Coast Heaven

The birth of this new project took place in an idyllic setting: Bruce Sudano's barn in Thousand Oaks, California, which had been converted into a state-of-the-art recording studio called Rhema Studio. Far from the corporate pressures of major commercial complexes, the duo crafted a collection of songs that seamlessly toggled between West Coast pop, blue-eyed soul, and melodic rock. They also split their tracking sessions between the prestigious Lighthouse Recorders in North Hollywood and Lion Share Studios in Los Angeles.

To ensure the project reached its full potential, they recruited producer Michael Omartian, a Grammy-winning industry giant known for his defining work producing Christopher Cross's landmark 1979 self-titled debut album (which won the "Big 4" Grammy Awards: Best New Artist, Record of the Year, Song of the Year, and Album of the Year) and for his production work with Peter Cetera, including the platinum album Solitude/Solitaire which featured the number-one hit "Glory of Love." Omartian was backed by recording engineer Terry Christian and mastering engineer Steve Hall.

The studio instrumentation, officially confirmed in the album's liner notes, featured a verified constellation of A-list session players:

Guitars: Virtuoso Dann Huff, who would later co-found the melodic rock band Giant in 1987, bringing his signature "L.A. Tone" and technical prowess to the sessions.

Bass: The legendary Nathan East sharing track duties with Joe Chemay.

Drums: John Robinson.

Keyboards & Synthesizers: Producer Michael Omartian alongside Erich Bulling and Marcus Ryle.

Star-Studded Backing Vocals: Aside from the duo's own intricate arrangements, the tracks featured background harmonies by Donna Summer herself (courtesy of Geffen Records), alongside a vocal powerhouse unit consisting of The Sweet Inspirations, Dara Bernard, Mary Ellen Bernard, and Portia Griffin.

From Record Deal to a Can of Paint

In 1986, with the record fully mastered, the duo signed a major deal with EMI America / Capitol Records. Everything was perfectly aligned for stardom: the promotional machinery was in motion, "We Can Have It All" was selected as the lead single, and a high-budget music video was shot to accompany it.

However, the tragedy of Joe Bruce & 2nd Avenue stemmed entirely from ruthless corporate musical chairs. The very day they finished filming the music video, the executive who had signed them—Jim Mazza, whose name ironically remains printed in the "Special Thanks" section of the lyric sheet—was abruptly fired. The following day, the incoming management dropped the project entirely. Overnight, their record deal vanished, and the group was left stranded.

Harsh economic reality quickly hit Joe Esposito. In desperate need of income, a bass player friend who supplemented his living by painting houses offered him a job paying $17.50 an hour. In a twist of supreme irony, the gig required painting the eleventh floor of the Capitol Records building. Esposito went from walking those exact halls as a newly signed priority artist to wearing a painter's mask and scraping wallpaper off the walls, while executives walked right past him, giving him puzzled looks of faint familiarity.

The Grammys Contrast and a Cult Legacy

Destiny reserved one final, surreal contrast for Esposito during this difficult period. That same year, his duet with Brenda Russell on the song "Piano in the Dark"—released in February 1988 as the first single from Russell's album Get Here—earned three Grammy Award nominations in 1989, including one for Song of the Year and Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals. The duality of his life peaked on the day of the ceremony: Joe spent the morning covered in drywall dust scraping paint off walls, and that very evening, he put on a tuxedo to walk the red carpet at the biggest music awards show in the world. As Esposito famously reflected years later: "Whatever doesn't kill you, my friend, makes you stronger."

Although Capitol Records eventually pressed an extremely limited, low-key run of the Joe Bruce & 2nd Avenue album in 1987 under the copyright of Sudano Songs / Beanery Music, the total lack of promotional push caused it to be pulled from shelves almost immediately. Powerful tracks like "Save The Love", "No Way To Win", "Powerful Girl", "The Message Is Clear", and their sociopolitical protest anthem "America (What's The Price You Pay)" were buried commercially. Fortunately, "We Can Have It All" was rescued to serve as the closing credits theme for the 1987 film Russkies, leaving behind a small testament of what should have been a massive pop-rock success.

Today, the story of Joe Bruce & 2nd Avenue stands as a bittersweet reminder of how boardroom politics can silence great art, but it also remains a testament to two lifelong friends who, despite the industry's hardest blows, never lost their passion or their brotherhood. In the archival record of 1980s AOR, their brief collaboration represents not just what could have been, but what should have been—a monument to two masters of their craft whose only real enemy was timing, and whose only real crime was being caught on the wrong side of a boardroom decision -