AN INSPIRING CELEBRATION OF A ROCK ’N’ ROLL FAN WHO BECAME A HERO TO THE STARS HE IDOLIZED
The True Story of Music Promoter and Manager Bob Benjamin’s Battle Against Parkinson’s Disease Explodes Onto DVD From Virgil Films on September 25, 2012
Featuring performances by Joe D’Urso, Joe Grushecky, Ed Kowalczyk (former front man of the band Live), Jesse Malin, Willie Nile, Bruce Springsteen, and others.
“He is an amazing guy. He puts his heart and soul into these shows.”– Bruce Springsteen on Bob Benjamin’s benefit concerts.
New York, NY (August 13, 2012) – He grew up inspired by the music of Bruce Springsteen and other Jersey Shore rockers, and when tragedy struck, the stars paid back the love – with interest. Music promoter and manager Bob Benjamin’s heroic ongoing battle against Parkinson’s disease is recounted in the rousing and rocking JUST AROUND THE CORNER, which comes to DVD on September 25, 2012, from Virgil Films. The music-filled documentary has an SRP of $19.99.
Bob Benjamin was a young rock fan from New Rochelle, New York, who turned his love of the classic sounds of the Jersey Shore into a career that included music journalist, record promoter and eventually the manager of heartland musician Joe Grushecky. But in 1996, at the age of 38, he was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease. A true fighter, Benjamin refused to let his physical problems hold him back. He continues to work in the music industry – and has spent years organizing must-see fund-raising concerts featuring some of music’s most respected performers.
In 2000, Benjamin, musician Joe D’Urso and concert promoter and former Asbury Juke Tony Pallagrosi founded the New Jersey-based Light of Day Foundation, which raises money in the fight for a Parkinson’s cure and each year holds star-studded benefit concerts. The first show was held at the legendary Stone Pony in Asbury Park, and the event has since grown into a worldwide series of concerts that have raised millions of dollars. Benjamin’s many industry friends and colleagues have performed in his shows, including Joe Grushecky, Jesse Malin, Willie Nile, and the Boss himself, Bruce Springsteen.Benjamin, in fact, named his foundation after Springsteen’s “Light of Day,” the title song from the 1987 movie starring Michael J. Fox, a fellow Parkinson’s sufferer. The song’s lyrics sum up Benjamin’s philosophy about the disease and his positive outlook on life:
“Well I’m a little down under, but I’m feeling O.K.
I got a little lost along the way.
I’m just around the corner to the light of day.”
In addition to organizing concerts, Benjamin also put together the benefit CD Light of Day: A Tribute to Bruce Springsteen, which features covers of Springsteen songs by artists including Elvis Costello, Pete Yorn and Jesse Malin.
Directed by Steve Caniff and Jim Justice, JUST AROUND THE CORNER tells Bob Benjamin’s remarkable life story and is accompanied by the music of many of the artists who have generously donated their time and talent over the years in support of his fight for a cure. They include Joe D’Urso, Joe Grushecky, Ed Kowalczyk, (former front man of the band Live) Jesse Malin, the group Marah, Willie Nile, Bruce Springsteen and Danny White. Also making appearances are Michael J. Fox, Vincent Pastore of The
Sopranos and rock photographer Danny Clinch.
Virgil Films will be donating proceeds from sales of this DVD to the Light of Day organization to help find a cure for Parkinson’s disease.
