Antunes is a second-generation American with a Cape Verde heritage who was born into a musical family in New Bedford, Massachusetts.

Antunes began performing at age 13 while still attending Dartmouth High School, and most of his early shows were playing Cape Verde music with his guitarist brother David and a cousin in a band called Second Generation.

[1] Throughout the 1960s, Antunes performed in New England and upstate New York as a saxophone player in the Blazers, Bernie and the Cavaliers, the New Spices, Mike n’ Jenna, and Triumph.

In 2016, Rolling Stone ranked the fictional Eddie and the Cruisers at #18 in their list of 25 Greatest Movie Bands.

[2] "On the Dark Side" held number-one on the Album Rock Tracks chart for five weeks.