Southside Johnny Announces Retirement

After a hugely successful 50-year run with his band, Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes, Southside Johnny Lyon has made the decision to retire from touring in order to manage “ongoing health issues,” according to a statement released this morning.

The band’s annual New Years Eve show at the Count Basie Theatre, has been cancelled, according to the venue. Tickets will be refunded via point of purchase.

“Johnny Lyon and the Asbury Jukes are an integral part of the Basie Center’s history and the history of music here at the Jersey Shore.  While we’re sad we won’t be seeing them this New Year’s Eve, everyone at the Count Basie Center is forever grateful for the hundreds of moments that he and his bandmates have created on our stages,” the venue said in a statement. “We love you, Johnny!”

Born in Neptune, Southside Johnny grew up in Ocean Grove, where his parents’ collection of blues and jazz records filled the house. His father played bass in bands, and his mother went into labor with him at a New Jersey club. . Among his classmates at Neptune High School were fellow musicians Garry Tallent and Vini Lopez.. Among his classmates at Neptune High School were fellow musicians Garry Tallent and Vini Lopez.

After high school, Lyon sang in a series of bands that that included in various configurations with Steve Van Zandt, Tallent, Lopez and other Shore musicians, including Bruce Springsteen. It was Springsteen who imparted the name Southside on Lyon when they were members of the band Doctor Zoom & the Sonic Boom. In 1974, Lyon joined the Blackberry Blues Band, which established itself as the house act at a new Asbury Park club, the Stone Pony. Lyon eventually recruited Van Zandt to join the band, which evolved into Southside Johnny & the Asbury Jukes—and kept the Stone Pony gig.

In 1976, Southside & the Jukes recorded their first album for Epic Records, “I Don’t Want to Go Home.” The debut release and two subsequent albums on Epic showcased Southside’s R&B-influenced sound and established him as a star beyond the Shore.

He was inducted into the New Jersey Hall of Fame by Jon Bon Jovi in 2018.