Song:Tighter, Tighter
Album:'70s Radio Hits Vol. 3
Tighter, Tighter was a top ten hit in 1970 and the only big hit for Alive 'N Kickin'. One other single charted so technically they are not a one hit wonder though most fans have probably only heard Tighter, Tighter. Alive 'N Kickin' were from Brooklyn, NY led by singers Sandy Toder and Pepe Cardona. Other members were Bruce Sudano on keyboards, Woody Wilson on bass, Dave Shearer on guitar and Vito Albano on drums. Apparently Sandy was friends with Tommy James' wife. Of course James was a big pop star at the time. He went to see Alive 'N Kickin' at a club and liked them. Then Sudano and Wilson wrote the James hit Ball Of Fire. So James got them a deal with his label Roulette Records and he was going to give them the song Crystal Blue Persuasion. But he decided to record it himself and gave them Tighter, Tighter instead. All of the other songs on the album were written by Sudano and Wilson. James and his bassist Bob King wrote Tighter, Tighter and produced the album. Tighter, Tighter reached #7 on the Billboard Hot 100. One other single charted and they only recorded one album. Alive 'N Kickin' split up in 1971 mainly because they couldn't get any money out of Roulette Records owner Morris Levy who was notorious for not paying anyone. Of course it is now known that he had mob connections. The album Alive 'N Kickin' is available on CD but most fans will only want Tighter, Tighter and you can get it on this Rhino Flashback various artists budget CD. Cardona reformed Alive N' Kickin' in 1976 and a version of the band still performs in the Tri State area surrounding New York City. Bruce Sudano moved to Los Angeles and was leader of the group Brooklyn Dreams. He was married to the late Donna Summer and wrote and produced songs for her. Here's a video for Tighter, Tighter by Alive 'N Kickin'.
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