'Dirty Dancing' Songwriters Team Up To Fight Hunger, Help Needy

CUTCHOGUE, NY — "Nobody puts Baby in a corner."

The lines, from the iconic film "Dirty Dancing," have been echoed by audiences for 33 years since Patrick Swayze and Jennifer Grey first lit up the screen in a classic summer love story that has spanned decades.

On Thursday night, the film will complete the "CAST Summer Drive-In" series organized to benefit Community Action of Southold Town; CAST raises funds to help those in need and has faced a surge in demand for services in the face of the coronavirus pandemic.

The event takes place at the Peconic Bay Winery, located at 31320 Main Road in Cutchogue; the gates open at 7 p.m. and the movie begins at 8 p.m. Tickets cost $50 per car and include a bag of popcorn. Also featured will be art for sale, snacks, beverages, ice cream and raffle tickets, sold at a farm stand to benefit CAST.

To purchase tickets, click here.

And to make the night even more memorable, two new videos will be shown, created by the songwriters behind "Dirty Dancing" classics including "Hungry Eyes" and (I've Had) "The Time of My Life" to help the many facing unthinkable challenges during the days of the coronavirus.

Academy Award-winning songwriters and singers John DeNicola, who grew up on Long Island and still has family in Southold, and New Jersey-based Franke Previte composed the two "Dirty Dancing" classics.

"Dirty Dancing," a film set in 1963 in the Catskills, told the story of Swayze's character Johnny, a rough-around-the-edges dancer with a heart of gold who sweeps Baby, played by Grey, off her feet during a sweet summer romance.

In the years since the film burst into the international spotlight, both DeNicola and Previte — who was also the lead singer in the 1980s pop band Franke and the Knockouts — have spent years giving back to help others.

On Thursday night, two videos will be shown before the film at CAST's drive-in event: One is DeNicola's new version of "Hungry Eyes," which features the songwriter himself on vocals and depicts a diverse range of individuals, including nurses, DeNicola's 93-year old mother-in-law, and friends, all wearing masks — their emotion shown, in a heartrending adaptation, through their own "hungry eyes" during the days of coronavirus and uncertainty.

The song debuted in the Top 30 on Billboard's adult contemporary chart.

Previte's video "One World" is a new recording of an uplifting anthem created by celebrities to benefit charities — including COVID-related causes such as artists struggling to survive during the pandemic, as well as equality.

"One World" also soared to Billboard's Top 30.

Speaking with Patch about the world's enduring enchantment with the film, Previte said both the story and music touch a universal chord.

The film captured a singular moment in time, he said. When asked why the film continues to resonate 33 years later, he reflected: "I think the longevity of it is the combination of a few things. The connection with Patrick Swayze and Jennifer Gray, the music, the story — if you take one of those elements out, exchange it with another song or actor, I don't think you have the same phenomenon."

DeNicola said the film takes place before President John F. Kennedy was shot and the national consciousness was altered. "There's an innocence that America had then," he said.

And, he said, "Patrick was the perfect dancer. Not unlike Gene Kelly. His dancing, and the character of Baby, just captured something. It was Romeo and Juliet, a tried and true story. And there is nostalgia for a simpler time in the Catskills. This was before 'big vacations' to Europe. Air travel wasn't that easy. It was just a simpler time, an innocent time."

DeNicola added: "The director, Emile Ardolino, of the film alway said it was a convergence. The sun, the stars and the moon aligned. No one could have set out to make this happen the way it did, it just did. It was magical. No one could have forced that to happen."

The film is the perfect choice for the new drive-ins popping up, he said. "That movie takes place during the heyday of drive-ins, so it feels pretty natural. It appeals to people's sense of nostalgia."

So popular is "Dirty Dancing," Previte said, that there is a club for those who have seen the film 1,000 times or more — and an annual fan festival where participants gather to celebrate the iconic movie and even practice the scene where Grey leaps into Swayze's waiting arms during the final "(I've Had) The Time of My Life" dance number.

Recalling the days when he and DeNicola wrote that iconic song, Previte said he was down to the last $100 in his bank account when the producer and head of Millenium Records, Jimmy Ienner, called and said he had a movie and wanted him to write the song.

Initially, Previte said he didn't have the time; he was focused on trying to get a record deal.

"He said, 'Make the time. This is going to change your life,'" Previte said.

Then, Ienner described the song and said he felt really good about it, but added that it had to be seven minutes long.

"I thought, 'I’ve got to write MacArthur Park," Previte joked.

He called DeNicola — with whom he had already written "Hungry Eyes," eventually sung by Eric Carmen and featured in "Dirty Dancing" —and, sitting in a car on the Garden State Parkway, he was listening to the track on a cassette around Exit 140 in 1987 when he scribbled "Time of My Life" on an envelope — and history was made.

DeNicola said at the time, no one knew what "Dirty Dancing" would become. "It was life-changing. The songs turned out to be iconic," he said.

Originally a low-budget film written by Eleanor Bergstein, no one could have imagined the acclaim and success the movie achieved, that ephemeral dream realized, he said. At one point, Bergstein was talking about the film going straight to video cassette, DeNicola said. "You just never know."

Both DeNicola and Previte speak with great affection of Swayze, who died in 2009 of pancreatic cancer.

When Previte met Swayze at the Academy Awards, Swayze told him how 149 songs had been turned down for that legendary last dance finale — until the 150th cassette, "(I've Had) The Time of My Life." Swayze, he said, told him, "We just looked at each other and said, 'We're making the movie to that song.' At the end of the day, it's such a tremendous ending. We just looked at each other and said, 'Let's go make a movie.'"

Swayze, he said, was a "big-hearted tough guy. That was really him. He played himself."

DeNicola agreed: "He was very nice. Just as you would expect, down-to-earth, humble. A nice man."

DeNicola said he also met Grey a number of times. "Just as the songs were a big part of that movie, so were their parts. They were stellar."

Since his death, Previte became involved with the Pancreatic Action Network and raised $30,000 through the sale of original demos DeNicola and he created for the film — first conceived in DeNicola's studio — in memory of Swayze. "I'm trying to utilize my music to give back," he said. "I’ve been blessed. This is a way for me to let my music heal."

Drive-in movies, and "Dirty Dancing," have both been seeing a resurgence during the pandemic across the globe, both Previte and DeNicola said.

"It's a way of reconnecting people," Previte said.

Looking ahead, Previte and DeNicola will participate in a series of Q & A sessions, connecting with the audience via Zoom at future drive-in "Dirty Dancing" events. Another is scheduled for September 12 in Mahopac, NY.

The question and answer sessions, Previte said, will give audiences a chance to "get inside the movie. Ask, 'How did you write that song?' and 'Did you ever meet Patrick Swayze?'"

Previte discussed the anthem "One World" and the video that will air Thursday before CAST's drive-in showing of "Dirty Dancing." The video features Patti LaBelle, discussing the many musicians and singers out of work due to the pandemic. "We're all in need of a little help right now," she said. "Thank you and God bless you for helping."

Others involved include Christine Ebersole, Evelyn "Champagne" King, Tico Torres, the drummer for Bon Jovi, Kenny Gamble from Gamble & Huff, Rob Hyman from The Hooters, and Siobhan Fallon from "Saturday Night Live."

To learn more about "One World, Our Song,"click here.

Updates on "One World" can be found on Facebook at "One World, Our Song." The song also received more than 22 spins on Pandora at "Voices 4 One World," Previte said.

The song was written in 1989 and "sat in a drawer" until four months ago when Previte realized, with so many actors out of work, and so many children of first responders in need, he wanted to do something to help a number of charities.

"We're donating all these downloads and proceeds to charity, to help get actors, musicians and children of first responders to the other side of normal so they can have a life right now. So many actors and musicians are out of work and can't pay their bills. I'm trying to make this music a spark of healing — to pull us back together as a world."

Looking back at "Dirty Dancing," Previte, who grew up with a father who was an opera singer, reflected on how the film changed his life. "Before 'Dirty Dancing,' I was an artist, with Frankie and the Knockouts; I had three hit records. When I wrote 'Time of My Life,' I became a songwriter. It took me to a whole other level."

Billboard sent him a letter listing the Top 20 songs of all time, with 'Time of My Life' #15, he said. Of the dizzying accolades, including the Academy Award, Golden Globes, and "TOML" being named ACAP's "most performed song from motion pictures," he said: "It's beyond my dreams."

He added that using his music to heal is a gift he's thrilled to share. "Music is the driving force," he said. "I can't imagine the world without music."

DeNicola said the success of "Dirty Dancing" has afforded him the ability to continue to stay in the music business for 33 years, writing and producing. He recently released his own album, "The Why Because," on Omad Records.

Discussing the new version of "Hungry Eyes," DeNicola said when working in his new studio upstate, one of the first things he wanted to do "was redo the song the way I'd always heard it in my head."

The song is iconic; he didn't want his new version to sound exactly like the original. His son Jake, an indie filmmaker and musician said many artists are spotlighting 80s synth pop.

DeNicola still had the original synthesizer he wrote the song on and was able to utilize the Roland Juno -106 for the new version, where he played with the melody and changed the chords a bit.

Once released, the song debuted at #25 on Billboard's adult contemporary chart. "Billboard said 33 years later, 'Dirty Dancing' is still spawning hit songs for the Top 30. It's kind of mind-boggling," he said.

His new version of "Time of My Life", DeNicola said, is stripped way down to acoustic guitar and French horn. "It closes out my album and it's an homage to the song and what's it's meant to me."

As for the video, with the array of individuals in masks, DeNicola said he and his wife have been upstate since the pandemic began. His wife Debra had the idea for everyone to wear masks. "To express, through your eyes — your hungry eyes," he said. "This is a nice way of saying, 'Put your mask on,' without being preachy. The video also shows that we're all in this together."

DeNicola said the magical "convergence" of all things coming together to make "Dirty Dancing" a phenomenon continues in this new version of "Hungry Eyes."

"It's the fact that this song can be on the top charts and then spawn this video that is also timely, reassuring, and heartfelt," he said. "So much is conveyed through our eyes. You can see people smiling, through their eyes."

The film, the music, Swayze and Grey, the look at a simpler time in the bucolic Catskills, all came together to create a moment in time that will live forever, DeNicola said. "It is magic. We wouldn't be talking about it 33 years later if it weren't."

And, DeNicola said, he's thrilled that the film and his music can be used for good at a time when so many are in dire need. "The fact that it's still relevant is a blessing to us. I couldn't be happier that we're going to put some food into the food banks when people are so obviously struggling at this time."

CAST is grateful for the ongoing support of the community throughout an unprecedented summer.

"Since CAST’s regular summer fundraising events were cancelled due to COVID-19, we had to come up with creative ways to raise funds to support our essential operations. 'CAST’s Drive-In Thursdays - Family Movie Nights Under the Stars' is a safe way for families to get out and have some fun while supporting our neighbors in need during this challenging time," Cathy Demeroto, executive director of CAST, told Patch.

"In light of the tremendous increase in need on the North Fork due to the current health and economic crisis, it is more important than ever that we raise sufficient funds to ensure we are able to meet the unprecedented need for food relief and emergency assistance," she said.

All proceeds from the Drive-In Thursdays Summer Movie Series benefit CAST.

"Although the community is slowly reopening, families are still struggling to make ends meet as they are trying to catch up after being out of work for several months and many workers are currently underemployed as numerous businesses are not operating at full capacity. We will close out the Drive-In Thursdays movie series with 'Dirty Dancing', a timeless romantic summer classic," she said.

Raffles are $5 each for a chance to win a $345 mix of North Fork gift certificates. The winner will be notified by Sept. 4. The CAST van will be onsite to collect donations of non-perishable food items, diapers and personal sanitary supplies.

This article originally appeared on the North Fork Patch