[2] Franke and the Knockouts formed in 1980, with the original line-up including Previte as frontman, Billy Elworthy on guitar, Blake Levinsohn on keyboards, Leigh Foxx on bass, and Claude LeHenaff on drums.
[3] Signed by Millennium Records, this line-up released their self-titled debut album in 1981, scoring a top ten hit with "Sweetheart", co-written by Previte and Elworthy.
[4] Keyboardist Tommy Ayers, who had played a key role performing on the debut album, became an official member of the band soon thereafter, expanding the line-up to six.
Shortly after the album's release later in 1982, future Bon Jovi drummer Tico Torres came on board to officially fill LeHenaff's spot on the kit.
[3] Several years before the breakup, the group also wrote and recorded the original versions of Eric Carmen's 1987 hit single "Hungry Eyes" and the song "(I've Had) The Time of My Life" (both of which were featured in the 1987 film Dirty Dancing).