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

JOE BRUCE & 2nd AVENUE

Joe "Bean" Esposito - Bruce Sudano

Joe Bruce & 2nd Avenue albums:

	st - 1987 (with lyrics)
	Want to own a copy? → Buy on Amazon (new & used) → Find vinyl & CD copies on eBay (new & used)

Music Videos:

Joe Bruce & 2nd Avenue - We can have it all (Music video)

Notes about Joe Bruce & 2nd Avenue:

 Text in English

- Joe Bruce & 2nd Avenue was the name under which Joe "Bean" Esposito and Bruce Sudano recorded their only album as a duo: ten songs produced by Michael Omartian, copyrighted in 1987 and recorded in the Los Angeles area with a session line-up that included Dann Huff, Nathan East and John Robinson [1]. The pair signed with EMI America, then part of Capitol, but the deal collapsed when executive changes at the label halted the album's release [2, 3].

Esposito and Sudano had met as teenagers in Flatbush, Brooklyn, and after both moved to Los Angeles in 1976 they formed Brooklyn Dreams with Eddie Hokenson, at the suggestion of Susan Munao, a friend from the neighborhood who was then vice president of publicity at Casablanca Records [3, 4]. Between 1977 and 1980 the trio recorded four albums for Millennium and its distributor, Casablanca: *Brooklyn Dreams* (1977), *Sleepless Nights* (1979), *Joy Ride* (1979) and *Won't Let Go* (1980) [5]. Esposito sang second lead to Donna Summer on "Heaven Knows", which reached number four on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1979, and the three members co-wrote "Bad Girls" with Summer, a number one hit that same year [5, 6].

Brooklyn Dreams disbanded in 1980, the year Sudano married Summer [7]. With her he wrote "Starting Over Again", a number one country hit for Dolly Parton, and in 1981 he released his first solo album, *Fugitive Kind*, on Millennium [3, 4]. Esposito, meanwhile, worked closely with Giorgio Moroder: in 1983 he sang "Lady, Lady, Lady" on the *Flashdance* soundtrack and released the joint album *Solitary Men* [4]. The *Flashdance* album was nominated for Album of the Year at the 1984 Grammy Awards, with Esposito among the credited nominees [8]. His recording of "You're the Best", written by Bill Conti and Allee Willis and originally submitted for *Rocky III*, ended up in *The Karate Kid* (1984) [2, 4].

With Hokenson back in New York, Esposito and Sudano made the Joe Bruce & 2nd Avenue album with Omartian, which Esposito later placed in 1985 or 1986 [4]; the booklet dates the copyright of all ten compositions to 1987 [1]. Omartian's credits included Christopher Cross's debut album, which swept the four main Grammy categories, as well as Donna Summer's *She Works Hard for the Money* and Peter Cetera's "Glory of Love" [9]. According to the booklet, he produced the album "for The Lighthouse Company", and Susan Munao, the friend who had encouraged the formation of Brooklyn Dreams, appears in the thanks under that company's name [1].

Recording took place at Lighthouse Recorders in North Hollywood, Lion Share Studios in Los Angeles, Rhema Studios in Beverly Hills and Holywood Studios in Thousand Oaks. Terry Christian engineered the sessions, assisted by Steve Holroyd at Lighthouse and Laura Livingston at Lion Share; Christian mixed the album at Lighthouse, and Steve Hall mastered it at Future Disc in Hollywood [1]. The rhythm section paired John Robinson on drums with Nathan East and Joe Chemay on bass and Dann Huff, credited as Dan Huff, on guitar, while Omartian played keyboards and Erich Bulling and Marcus Ryle handled synthesizer programming [1]. Jerry Hey and Chuck Findley on trumpets, Gary Herbig and Kim Hutchcroft on saxophones and Bill Reichenbach on trombone made up the horn section, with solos by Herbig and Findley, and Bob Conti added percussion [1]. Huff went on to form the AOR band Giant, whose 1989 debut, *Last of the Runaways*, yielded the Top 20 hit "I'll See You in My Dreams" [10].

Esposito and Sudano shared lead vocals, and the male harmonies are credited to "The Swinging Fratellos" (Suds, Bean & Home): Sudano, Esposito and Omartian, whose keyboard credit carries the same "Home" tag [1]. Dara Bernard, Mary Ellen Bernard and Portia Griffin sang backing vocals on five songs, and Donna Summer, appearing courtesy of Geffen Records, added backing vocals to "Something Tells Me (Into Something Good)" [1]. Esposito also played acoustic guitar on "Powerful Girl", and Christopher Omartian contributed synthesizer overdubs to "I Found Love" [1].

Sudano and Omartian wrote "We Can Have It All" and "No Way to Win"; with Esposito they wrote "Something Tells Me (Into Something Good)", "Some Things Never Change", "The Terms of Love" and "I Found Love", and Susan Munao joined the three of them on "The Message Is Clear" [1]. Richard Marx co-wrote "Save the Love" with Sudano and Omartian (the song is published in part by Chi-Boy Music, Marx's company), while "Powerful Girl" is credited to Sudano, Esposito and Linda Bottlik, and "America (What's the Price You Pay)" to Esposito and John Lombardo [1, 11]. The printed lyrics make repeated references to faith, and "America (What's the Price You Pay)" is a critique of inequality, drugs and gun violence in the United States [1].

The thanks open with God and the duo's wives, Lynda and Donna, and include "Jim Mazza & the entire EMI America family", along with Neil Portnow, John Lombardo and Don Wasley [1]. Esposito has recalled that a video was shot and that, on the day of the shoot, the executive who had signed them was fired; by the next day the duo no longer had a record deal [2, 4]. Capitol-EMI went through a management overhaul in those years: Joe Smith, who took charge of Capitol in August 1987, dismissed Mazza as head of EMI America and moved the label to New York, where it became EMI-Manhattan [12].

Out of work, Esposito accepted an offer from Chuck Fiore, bassist with Billy Vera and the Beaters, who also painted houses: $17.50 an hour for a painting job at Capitol Records [2, 4]. Wearing a painter's mask, he worked on the building's eleventh floor, where, he said, he had signed as an artist a month earlier, while staff walked past trying to work out where they knew him from [4]. In those months he heard himself on the radio as he scraped wallpaper: "Piano in the Dark", his duet with Brenda Russell, whom he had met when both appeared in the 1978 film *American Hot Wax*, was released in 1988 as the lead single from her album *Get Here* and reached number six on the Billboard Hot 100 [2, 3, 13]. The recording earned Russell and Esposito a nomination for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal at the 31st Grammy Awards in 1989, and the song was also nominated for Song of the Year as a composition by Russell, Jeff Hull and Scott Cutler [8, 14]. Esposito spent the day of the ceremony scraping wallpaper at Capitol and that night put on a tuxedo to attend [2, 4]. "Whatever doesn't kill you my friend, makes you stronger," he reflected in 2009 [4].

The credits cited here come from a compact disc manufactured by Lord Records (catalog number 8-7403), whose booklet reproduces the full credits and lyrics [1]. "We Can Have It All" was also used in the 1987 film *Russkies* [15].

The setback did not end the friendship: speaking to PopMatters in 2009, Sudano said that the three former members of Brooklyn Dreams had never argued and remained very close friends [4]. -

Notas sobre Joe Bruce & 2nd Avenue:

 Texto en Español

- Joe Bruce & 2nd Avenue fue el nombre con el que Joe «Bean» Esposito y Bruce Sudano grabaron su único álbum como dúo: un larga duración de diez canciones producido por Michael Omartian, con copyright de 1987 y grabado en el área de Los Ángeles con músicos de sesión como Dann Huff, Nathan East y John Robinson [1]. El dúo firmó con EMI America, entonces integrada en Capitol, pero el contrato se vino abajo cuando unos cambios en la dirección del sello paralizaron la publicación del disco [2, 3].

Esposito y Sudano se conocieron de adolescentes en Flatbush (Brooklyn) y, tras instalarse ambos en Los Ángeles en 1976, formaron Brooklyn Dreams con Eddie Hokenson a sugerencia de Susan Munao, una amiga del barrio que por entonces era vicepresidenta de publicidad de Casablanca Records [3, 4]. Entre 1977 y 1980 el trío grabó cuatro álbumes para Millennium y su distribuidora, Casablanca: *Brooklyn Dreams* (1977), *Sleepless Nights* (1979), *Joy Ride* (1979) y *Won't Let Go* (1980) [5]. Esposito cantó como segunda voz principal junto a Donna Summer en «Heaven Knows», que alcanzó el número cuatro del Billboard Hot 100 en 1979, y los tres miembros compusieron con ella «Bad Girls», número uno ese mismo año [5, 6].

Brooklyn Dreams se separó en 1980, el año en que Sudano se casó con Summer [7]. Con ella escribió «Starting Over Again», número uno de country en la voz de Dolly Parton, y en 1981 publicó su primer álbum en solitario, *Fugitive Kind*, en Millennium [3, 4]. Esposito, por su parte, trabajó estrechamente con Giorgio Moroder: en 1983 cantó «Lady, Lady, Lady» en la banda sonora de *Flashdance* y publicó con él el álbum *Solitary Men* [4]. El disco de *Flashdance* fue nominado al Grammy al álbum del año en la edición de 1984, con Esposito entre los nominados acreditados [8]. Su grabación de «You're the Best», escrita por Bill Conti y Allee Willis y presentada en un principio para *Rocky III*, acabó en *The Karate Kid* (1984) [2, 4].

Con Hokenson de vuelta en Nueva York, Esposito y Sudano grabaron con Omartian el álbum de Joe Bruce & 2nd Avenue, que Esposito situaría años después en 1985 o 1986 [4]; el libreto fecha el copyright de las diez composiciones en 1987 [1]. Entre los créditos de Omartian figuraban el álbum de debut de Christopher Cross, que se llevó los cuatro Grammy principales, el *She Works Hard for the Money* de Donna Summer y «Glory of Love», de Peter Cetera [9]. Según el libreto, Omartian produjo el disco para The Lighthouse Company, y Susan Munao, la amiga que había impulsado la creación de Brooklyn Dreams, figura en los agradecimientos con el nombre de esa compañía [1].

La grabación se repartió entre Lighthouse Recorders (North Hollywood), Lion Share Studios (Los Ángeles), Rhema Studios (Beverly Hills) y Holywood Studios (Thousand Oaks). Terry Christian se encargó de la ingeniería de sonido, con Steve Holroyd como asistente en Lighthouse y Laura Livingston en Lion Share; Christian mezcló el disco en Lighthouse y Steve Hall lo masterizó en Future Disc, en Hollywood [1]. La base rítmica unía a John Robinson a la batería, Nathan East y Joe Chemay al bajo y Dann Huff, acreditado como Dan Huff, a la guitarra, mientras que Omartian tocaba los teclados y Erich Bulling y Marcus Ryle se ocupaban de la programación de sintetizadores [1]. Jerry Hey y Chuck Findley a las trompetas, Gary Herbig y Kim Hutchcroft a los saxofones y Bill Reichenbach al trombón formaron la sección de metales, con solos de Herbig y Findley, y Bob Conti aportó la percusión [1]. Huff formaría después la banda de AOR Giant, cuyo debut de 1989, *Last of the Runaways*, incluyó el éxito «I'll See You in My Dreams», que entró en el Top 20 [10].

Esposito y Sudano se repartieron las voces principales, y los coros masculinos están acreditados a «The Swinging Fratellos» (Suds, Bean & Home): Sudano, Esposito y Omartian, cuyo crédito a los teclados lleva el mismo apodo, «Home» [1]. Dara Bernard, Mary Ellen Bernard y Portia Griffin pusieron coros en cinco canciones, y Donna Summer, por cortesía de Geffen Records, añadió coros en «Something Tells Me (Into Something Good)» [1]. Esposito tocó además la guitarra acústica en «Powerful Girl», y Christopher Omartian añadió sintetizadores en «I Found Love» [1].

Sudano y Omartian firmaron «We Can Have It All» y «No Way to Win»; con Esposito compusieron «Something Tells Me (Into Something Good)», «Some Things Never Change», «The Terms of Love» y «I Found Love», y Susan Munao se sumó a los tres en «The Message Is Clear» [1]. Richard Marx coescribió «Save the Love» con Sudano y Omartian (la canción está editada en parte por Chi-Boy Music, la editorial de Marx), mientras que «Powerful Girl» se acredita a Sudano, Esposito y Linda Bottlik, y «America (What's the Price You Pay)», a Esposito y John Lombardo [1, 11]. Las letras impresas contienen repetidas referencias a la fe, y «America (What's the Price You Pay)» es una crítica de la desigualdad, las drogas y la violencia armada en Estados Unidos [1].

Los agradecimientos se abren con Dios y con las esposas del dúo, Lynda y Donna, e incluyen a Jim Mazza y a «toda la familia de EMI America», además de Neil Portnow, John Lombardo y Don Wasley [1]. Esposito ha contado que se rodó un videoclip y que, el mismo día del rodaje, despidieron al ejecutivo que los había fichado; al día siguiente el dúo ya no tenía contrato discográfico [2, 4]. Capitol-EMI renovó su cúpula en aquellos años: Joe Smith, que se puso al frente de Capitol en agosto de 1987, destituyó a Mazza como responsable de EMI America y trasladó el sello a Nueva York, donde pasó a ser EMI-Manhattan [12].

Sin trabajo, Esposito aceptó la oferta de Chuck Fiore, bajista de Billy Vera and the Beaters, que también pintaba casas: 17,50 dólares la hora por un trabajo de pintura en Capitol Records [2, 4]. Con una mascarilla de pintor, trabajó en la undécima planta del edificio, donde, según contó, había firmado como artista un mes antes, mientras los empleados pasaban a su lado preguntándose de qué les sonaba su cara [4]. En aquellos meses llegó a oírse en la radio mientras raspaba papel pintado: «Piano in the Dark», su dueto con Brenda Russell, a quien había conocido cuando ambos aparecieron en la película *American Hot Wax* (1978), se publicó en 1988 como primer sencillo del álbum de Russell *Get Here* y alcanzó el número seis del Billboard Hot 100 [2, 3, 13]. La grabación valió a Russell y Esposito una nominación al Grammy a la mejor interpretación pop de dúo o grupo con voces en la 31.ª edición de los premios, celebrada en 1989, y la canción fue nominada además a canción del año como obra de Russell, Jeff Hull y Scott Cutler [8, 14]. Esposito pasó el día de la ceremonia raspando papel pintado en Capitol y esa noche se puso un esmoquin para asistir [2, 4]. «Lo que no te mata, amigo mío, te hace más fuerte», reflexionaba en 2009 [4].

Los créditos citados proceden de un disco compacto fabricado por Lord Records (número de catálogo 8-7403), cuyo libreto reproduce los créditos completos y las letras [1]. «We Can Have It All» sonó también en la película *Russkies* (1987) [15].

El revés no rompió la amistad: en declaraciones a PopMatters en 2009, Sudano aseguró que los tres antiguos miembros de Brooklyn Dreams nunca habían discutido y seguían siendo muy amigos [4]. -

Sources/Fuentes

[1] Joe Bruce & 2nd Avenue. *Joe Bruce & 2nd Avenue*. Compact disc booklet and back inlay. Lord Records, 8-7403. All compositions © 1987.

[2] Spotlight Central. "'You're The Best' Spotlight on The Brooklyn Bridge's Joe 'Bean' Esposito." Medium, 1 March 2021. https://medium.com/spotlight-central/youre-the-best-spotlight-on-the-brooklyn-bridge-s-joe-bean-esposito-528108e860a

[3] Wikane, Christian John. "Brooklyn Dreams." SoulTracks, c. 2009. https://soultracks.com/?p=82291

[4] Wikane, Christian John. "Brooklyn Dreams 2.0: A Conversation with Bruce Sudano and Joe 'Bean' Esposito." PopMatters, 7 May 2009. https://www.popmatters.com/brooklyn-dreams-2-0-a-conversation-with-bruce-sudano-and-joe-bean-esposito-2496020351.html

[5] "Brooklyn Dreams (group)." Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brooklyn_Dreams_(group)

[6] "Bad Girls (Donna Summer song)." Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bad_Girls_(Donna_Summer_song)

[7] "Bruce Sudano." Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bruce_Sudano

[8] "Joe 'Bean' Esposito." GRAMMY Awards and nominations, Recording Academy. https://www.grammy.com/artists/joe-bean-esposito/8587

[9] "Seeker Music acquires catalog of Christopher Cross producer Michael Omartian." Music Business Worldwide, December 2024. https://www.musicbusinessworldwide.com/seeker-music-acquires-catalog-of-christopher-cross-producer-michael-omartian/

[10] "Giant: Biography." AllMusic. https://www.allmusic.com/artist/giant-mn0000948080

[11] "Chi-Boy Music." Archival agent record, Western Michigan University Libraries. https://archon.library.wmich.edu/agents/corporate_entities/995

[12] Kronemyer, David. "COLUMN: Capitol-EMI in the Late 1980s – Early 1990s." MuseWire, 26 October 2010. https://musewire.com/column-capitol-emi-in-the-late-1980s-early-1990s/

[13] "Get Here (album)." Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Get_Here_(album)

[14] "Brenda Russell." GRAMMY Awards and nominations, Recording Academy. https://www.grammy.com/artists/brenda-russell/6758

[15] Two Dollar Late Fee (podcast). "Russkies & 'We Can Have It All' by Joe-Bruce & 2nd Avenue." 6 August 2023. https://www.twodollarlatefee.com/episodes/08/06/23-russkies-we-can-have-it-all-by-joe-bruce-2nd-avenue