Franke Previte / Franke & The Knockouts


Biography and photo from VH1

Fronted the New Jersey soft rock quartet Franke and the Knockouts. Singer, songwriter Previte, who had previously sung with the Oxford Watch Band and a heavy metal act Bull Angus, formed the group in 1980. They joined Millennium Records in 1981 and within 12 months had notched up three US Top 40 singles and two Top 50 albums. Their biggest hit single was a song written by Previte and Elworthy, "Sweetheart", a Top 10 hit in 1981. The hits dried up and the group, who experienced several personnel changes, recorded on MCA in 1984 but split up in the mid-80s. Previte, however, went on to co-write tracks on the 11 million-selling, transatlantic chart-topping soundtrack DIRTY DANCING (1987), including the big hit singles "All By Myself" by Eric Carmen and "(I've Had) The Time Of My Life" by Bill Medley and Jennifer Warnes.

* Best Achievement in Music Best Song 1987: DIRTY DANCING "(I've Had) The Time of My Life" - Music & Lyric (w. John DeNicola & Donald Markowitz - Music)

1 nomination, 1 Award
From
Wikipedia		 Franke Previte is an Academy Award winning composer who was born in New Brunswick, New Jersey.

He was with the New Jersey rock quartet Franke and the Knockouts as the singer and songwriter. Previously he has sung with the Oxford Watch Band and the heavy metal band Bull Angus. Franke and the Knockouts was signed by Millennium Records in 1981 and they had three US Top 40 singles and two Top 50 albums. Franke and the Knockouts biggest single was written by Previte and Elworthy and was titled "Sweetheart". It was a Top 10 hit in 1981. They switched to MCA in 1984 but the band split up around 1986. Franke Previte co-write music for the soundtrack to the movie Dirty Dancing in 1987. He has a sister who is a Ph.D. scientist in the pharmaceutical industry.

  • Academy Award for Best Achievement in Music; Best Song for 1987 for Dirty Dancing "(I've Had) The Time of My Life" with co-composers: John DeNicola, and Donald Markowitz
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Franke_Previte"
All Music Guide Franke & the Knockouts released three albums between 1981 and 1986, two on Millennium Records and the final one for MCA. The band is most remembered for the Top Ten hit single "Sweetheart," released in 1981. Besides the hit single, band member Franke Previte, together with John De Nicola, wrote two of the biggest hits of 1986, "Hungry Eyes" and "Time of My Life" (from the movie Dirty Dancing). This collection by Razor & Tie compiles tracks from the band's three albums, together with the original demo versions of the aforementioned songs. While basically a one hit wonder act of the '80s, Previte has earned his place in history because of his songwriting ability, and this album is a testament to just that. Another band that has gone but will not be forgotten. ~ Keith Pettipas, All Music Guide

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