Southside Johnny Lyon, the frontman for Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes, announced Friday that he is retiring from touring immediately to “manage ongoing health issues.” The New Jersey-based rock-and-soul band abruptly canceled a performance scheduled for New Year’s Eve at the Basie Center for the Arts in Red Bank, N.J.; tickets are being refunded.
Lyon, 76, co-founded Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes half a century ago with Little Steven Van Zandt. The group was known for its “Jersey Sound,” along with contemporaries like Bruce Springsteen and Bon Jovi, and rock/R&B hits like “I Don’t Wanna Go Home” and “Havin’ a Party.”
Details of Lyon’s health issues were not specified, but NJ.com reports he was briefly hospitalized in February after back-to-back performances at Stone Pony’s sold-out 50th-anniversary concert in Asbury Park. The beloved New Jersey Hall of Fame musician was reportedly treated for dehydration and released within hours.
sbury Jukes keyboardist and music director Jeff Kazee said Lyon isn’t quitting music altogether.
“He’s not done. He’s just done doing it, (for) a while,” Kazee said during a holiday concert at The Cutting Room in New York on Friday.
