Joe Grushecky

American musician

Joe Grushecky
Born	Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States
Genres	Rock Heartland rock
Instrument(s)	Guitar, Harmonica
Years active	1976 - present
Labels	Razor & Tie, Vanguard Records

Website	www.joegrushecky.com

Musical artist

Joe Grushecky (born Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania) is an American rock musician known for his work: with the Iron City Houserockers in the late 1970s and early 1980s; with Joe Grushecky and The Houserockers since the late 1980s; and as a solo artist. After his days with the Iron City Houserockers, he continued to have moderate success, mainly in the Pittsburgh area.

Biography

In 1976, Joe Grushecky, a high school special education teacher, started the Brick Alley Band. They signed to Cleveland International Records in 1977, who rechristened them the Iron City Houserockers. The band's first album was Love's So Tough, released in 1979, and was a fair success. Their next album, Have a Good Time but Get out Alive! (released in 1980), was a bigger success. Two more albums followed, Blood on the Bricks in 1981 and Cracking Under Pressure (1983 as The Houserockers). By 1984, the band wasn't selling many records anymore and they were dropped by MCA Records. They broke up shortly thereafter.

After the breakup of the Iron City Houserockers, Grushecky returned home to Pittsburgh where he retook his teaching job (which he still holds). He also began to sharpen his songwriting. He released a single entitled "Good Bye Steeltown". Finally, in 1989, he fully re-emerged with his new act, Joe Grushecky and The Houserockers.^[1]

Grushecky's first new album since the Iron City Houserockers days was Rock & Real, released in 1989. It would be followed by seven more albums, including 1995's American Babylon, which was produced by Bruce Springsteen.^[2] Grushecky's more recent albums include Fingerprints (2002), A Good Life (2006), and East Carson Street (2009).

Discography

Albums

Iron City Houserockers

1979: Love's So Tough
1980: Have a Good Time But Get Out Alive!
1981: Blood on the Bricks
1983: Cracking Under Pressure (The Houserockers)
1992: Pumping Iron & Sweating Steel: The Best of the Iron City Houserockers

Joe Grushecky & The Houserockers

1989: Rock and Real
1991: Swimming With the Sharks
1994: End of the Century
1995: American Babylon
1997: Coming Home
1999: Down the Road Apiece Live
2004: True Companion
2009: East Carson Street
2012: We're Not Dead Yet: Live at the New Hazlett Theater
2016: American Babylon: Live at the Stone Pony
2017: More Yesterdays Than Tomorrows

Joe Grushecky

2002: Fingerprints
2006: Outtakes and Demos 1975-2003
2006: A Good Life
2013: Somewhere East of Eden
2015: It's in My Song

Singles

Iron City Houserockers

1979: "Hideaway"
1980: "Hypnotized"
1980: "Junior's Bar"
1980: "We're Not Dead Yet"
1981: "Friday Night"

Joey G.

1984: "Radio Ears"/"Goodbye Steeltown"
1985: "Stand Up"/"Victory!"

Joe Grushecky & The Houserockers

1989: "How Long"
1995: "Chain Smoking"
1995: "Labor of Love"
1997: "Coming Home"
2017: "That's What Makes Us Great" (With Bruce Springsteen)
2018: "More Yesterdays Than Tomorrows"

References

^ "The Official Joe Grushecky Site". Archived from the original on 2012-02-22. Retrieved 2010-01-24.
^ Pareles, Jon (1995-10-20). "Rock Review: Springsteen as Mentor for a Milder Comrade". The New York Times. Retrieved 4 November 2013.