Southside Johnny (real name John Lyon, born December 4, 1948 in Neptune, New Jersey) is an American singer, harmonica player, and songwriter, who usually fronts his band The Asbury Jukes.
Lyon grew up in Ocean Grove, New Jersey and graduated from Neptune High School. As an artist, Southside Johnny first achieved prominence in the mid-1970s as the second act to emerge from the Jersey Shore music scene and be considered part of the Jersey Shore sound, following Bruce Springsteen. Southside's first three albums, I Don't Want to Go Home (1976), This Time It's For Real (1977), and Hearts of Stone (1978), were Stax-influenced R&B arranged and produced by the co-founder of the band and Springsteen confederate Steven Van Zandt and largely featured songs written by Van Zandt and/or Springsteen. The Van Zandt-written "I Don't Want To Go Home" became Southside's signature song, an evocative mixture of horn-based melodic riffs and sentimental lyrics. Other notable songs included "The Fever","Talk to Me," "This Time It's For Real," "Love on the Wrong Side of Town," and the definitive version of Springsteen's " Hearts of Stone."
Southside has long been considered the Grandfather of "the New Jersey Sound." Jon bon Jovi has acknowledged Southside as "his reason for singing."
In 1982 the Rolling Stone Magazine voted the album Hearts of Stone among the top 100 albums of the 70's and 80's.
Cast under Springsteen's long shadow, national commercial success eluded Southside and the Jukes, and in 1979 they were dropped by their record company. Now working without Van Zandt, they released The Jukes in 1979 and Love is a Sacrifice in 1980. Neither of these achieved much success either. The band's first official live release also came out in 1980, the double album Reach Up and Touch the Sky.
During the 1980s Southside Johnny's recording contracts continued to change almost by album, but he continued to release records: Trash It Up (1983), a disco influenced album written by Billy Rush and produced by Nile Rodgers; In the Heat (1984) an album trying to reach out to "Adult Oriented Radio"; and At Least We Got Shoes (1986) where guitarist and Jersey shore fixture Bobby Bandiera, who often plays a custom guitar built by First Act Guitars took over songwriting and guitar work from Billy Rush and led the Asbury Jukes back to their original sound. Songwriting credits on At Least We Got Shoes also contain a song co-written by Bandiera and singer Patti Scialfa, who was known as a Jukes collaborator since the 1980 album Love is a Sacrifice and who became a member of Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band in 1984.
In 1988 Southside Johnny released his first solo record Slow Dance containing ballads and love songs, but also "Little Calcutta" which is still discussed as Southside's most political song of his career, describing the life and environment of the homeless in New York City.
More record label switches, Jukes personnel changes, tours and club dates followed.
Jukes' recording career was re-launched with the album Better Days (1991), which featured production by Van Zandt, songs by Springsteen, and vocal performances from Van Zandt, Springsteen and Jon Bon Jovi. With Bobby Bandiera driving the band, the Jukes were gaining new energy for a world wide tour supporting the album. But once again, Southside Johnny's bad luck with the industry was shown when the record label went bankrupt while the tour was still rolling.
Southside performed the theme song for the 1990s sitcom Dave's World, a cover of Billy Joel's "You May Be Right."
Southside eventually relocated to Nashville taking a break from the music business. A few members of the Asbury Jukes would end up being part of The Max Weinberg 7 on the Late Night with Conan O'Brien television show, while some others went on tour and into the recording studio with artists like Jon Bon Jovi, Mink DeVille, Graham Parker, Robert Cray.
In 1998 Southside Johnny came back into the spotlight with an independent release titled Spittin' Fire, a live record with a semi-acoustic Jukes lineup released in France containing a 20 song set recorded during a series of 10 shows at the "Chesterfield Café" in Paris, France.
After a decade without a record contract Southside finally founded his own record label in 2001 under the name of Leroy Records, and started releasing and distributing his new records fully under his own control: Messin' with the Blues (2000), Going to Jukesville (2002), Missing Pieces (2004), Into the Harbour (2005).
Southside continues to perform, and maintains substantial audience followings in some regions of the U.S., such as New Jersey, New York, northeast Ohio, and abroad, in the UK and continental Europe, as 2002's Live At The Opera House DVD, filmed at a sell-out performance in Newcastle upon Tyne, demonstrates. As of 2005, he resides on the Delaware Bay. His annual appearances at Springsteen's Asbury Park holiday shows draw as much crowd excitement as Springsteen himself.
Little By Little
Southside Johnny & The Asbury Jukes Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Whoa, whoa, whoa
Baby you're out all night till the break of day
You put me down baby
Everything I say
Little by little baby
I'm losing you, that I can see
Now what you're doing baby
You know it ain't right
I'm worried about you darling
I can't sleep at night
Little by little baby
I'm losing you and I concede
Bit by bit your love's slipping away from me
You turn your head away when I try to kiss you
I get so lonely baby I...
Little by little baby
I'm losing you and I concede
(Why you pretty little son of a...)
Bit by bit your love's slipping away from me
Tried to trail you last night baby in my car
Scared I might find what I was looking for
Little by little baby I'm losing you to
Bit by bit your love is slipping away from me
(Say, what's his name?)
Baby you're out all night till the break of day
You put me down baby
Everything I say
Little by little baby
I'm losing you, that I can see
Bit by bit your love is slipping away from me
Bit by bit your love is slipping away from me
Melva Music Company Inc. BMI
The song “Little by Little” by Southside Johnny & The Asbury Jukes talks about a deteriorating relationship where the singer witnesses his partner slowly slipping away from him, bit by bit. The lyrics are poignant and filled with sadness as the singer is losing his love and tries to cling to it, but it keeps slipping away. The song begins with a powerful "whoa, whoa, whoa" which sets the tone of the song as a desperate plea. The singer expresses his deep concerns about his partner’s behavior as she is out all night and doesn't pay attention to him anymore, which hurts him deeply. He pleads with her to take notice of the love he has for her but all his efforts seem to be in vain.
The chorus of the song, "Little by little baby, I'm losing you and I concede, bit by bit your love's slipping away from me," is the central theme of the song, where the singer acknowledges that his love is fading away, and there is little he can do to stop it. He feels helpless as he sees her turning her head away from him when he tries to kiss her, making him feel lonely and abandoned. The ending verse in the song is desperate and dramatic when the singer confesses to trailing her in his car and feeling scared about what he might discover, indicating that the relationship has reached a point of no return.
Line by Line Meaning
Whoa, whoa, whoa
Expressing frustration and worry about the situation
Baby you're out all night till the break of day
My lover, you're out late and returning home at dawn
You put me down baby Everything I say
You dismiss everything I say, making me feel unimportant
Little by little baby I'm losing you, that I can see
I'm aware that I'm losing you gradually over time
Bit by bit your love's slipping away from me
Your love is slowly disappearing from me
Now what you're doing baby You know it ain't right
You know that what you're doing is wrong, my dear
I'm worried about you darling I can't sleep at night
I'm deeply concerned about you, and your actions are causing me sleepless nights
You turn your head away when I try to kiss you
You're avoiding physical intimacy with me
I get so lonely baby I...
I feel incredibly lonely and rejected, my love
Tried to trail you last night baby in my car
I attempted to follow you last night when you left, my dear
Scared I might find what I was looking for
I was afraid that I might confirm my suspicions about your infidelity
Little by little baby I'm losing you to
I'm losing you bit by bit, my love
Bit by bit your love is slipping away from me
Your love is gradually slipping away from me
Baby you're out all night till the break of day
You're continuing your pattern of being out until the wee hours of the morning, my darling
Bit by bit your love is slipping away from me
Your love is gradually slipping away from me
Little by little baby I'm losing you, that I can see
I can see that I'm losing you little by little, my sweet love
Contributed by Kayla K. Suggest a correction in the comments below.