Long Live Eddie Bruce!!

Where do I even begin?  At the beginning perhaps?

I had my Bar Mitzvah in 1982 (yes, I am that old) and, as I jokingly say to clients  “My parents didn’t love me because they hired a band instead of a DJ.”  Truth be told, they didn’t hire just any band, but a young, fairly unknown bandleader named Eddie Bruce who, at the time had just started his stint as the host of the show ‘Dancin on Air’ in Philadelphia. I remember the girls going crazy that I had Eddie Bruce as my band leader, and I cannot soon forget how much fun the party was all these years later.

Needless to say, here I am twenty seven years after, not only in the same industry but having had the opportunity to work with Eddie on many events.  Heck, he’s even my friend on facebook!  I have told him on numerous occasions that he is probably one of my greatest inspirations for doing what I do, and he truly is one of my real-life idols.  Being able to say that I know the guy – that I even worked with him – is name dropping to the max in my opinion, because the level and calibre of entertainer that he is in the Philly area is unsurpassed.

I first re-connected with Eddie in 1998, after calling him countless times just dying for the opportunity to work with the legend himself.  I remember when he finally gave me the opportunity and we sent out a DJ and some dancers to an Eddie Bruce party.  It is probably one of the most memorable highlights of my career (second even to meeting Simon Cowell and discussing the X-factor aspects of Justin Guarini).   Eddie is class personified and – in my eyes – larger than life with the talent, ability, and charisma to back it up.  If you’ve ever been at an event where Eddie and his band have performed then you know exactly what I mean.

I had the opportunity to catch up with Eddie today on the phone, and was pleased to hear he is doing well, and still as enthusiastic and involved as ever.  He is doing cabarets (which I had the opportunity of seeing him perform at one in New Hope some years back), he has a new CD out, and he’s still booking weddings, bar & bat mitzvahs and events all over the city doing what he does best… entertaining.  I was most pleased to hear that he has recently struck out on his own – leaving the EBE organization – and is excited to be doing what he’s doing.   Just speaking with him for fifteen minutes on the phone I could hear the passion and enthusiasm in his voice, happy to be out on his own again.

So when he said to be sure to let people know where to find him, naturally I was inspired to blog about it.  So, if you’re looking for the best of the best of bands in Philadelphia, just click on the link below… you won’t be disappointed.

As James Brown might say, “Papa’s Got A Brand New Bag.”

Now I just need to figure out what the acronym ‘EBE’ means without Eddie Bruce…

-Craig Sumsky

Eddie Bruce’s website –   http://eddiebruce.com

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