Franke Previte
May 2, 1946
Singer/Songwriter
Biography[edit]
Born and raised in New Brunswick, New Jersey to Franke Previte Sr. (an opera singer), Previte was with the New Jersey rock quintet Franke and the Knockouts as the singer and songwriter. Previously he had sung with the Oxford Watch Band and Bull Angus.
Franke and the Knockouts were signed by Millennium Records in 1981 and had three U.S. Top 40 singles, as well as two Top 50 albums. Their biggest single, "Sweetheart", was written by Previte and Knockout guitarist Billy Elworthy, and became a Top 10 hit in 1981. The group's other two Top 40 hits were "You're My Girl" and "Without You (Not Another Lonely Night)".
The band switched to MCA Records in 1984, and split up around 1986. Previte co-wrote music for the hit soundtrack for the 1987 movie Dirty Dancing, including "(I've Had) The Time of My Life," and Eric Carmen's hit "Hungry Eyes".
That same year Previte also received a Golden Globe and a Grammy nomination. "(I've Had) The Time of My Life" also won the ASCAP song of the year award. In 2014, the song was chosen as one of ASCAP's top 100 songs ever written, landing at number 15.[3]
Previte was chosen as one of America's top 25 songwriters to represent the US in a songwriter summit in the USSR, which resulted in a release of an album called Music Speaks Louder Than Words in 1990.