Joey Dee and the Starliters, an American musical group originating from the United States of America in 1950, initially featured lead singer Rogers Freeman. The group's early singles included "Lorraine" and "The Girl I Walk To School", both released in 1958. Joey Dee recruited David Brigati after meeting him during a gig at Garfield High School in New Jersey with the group gaining significant attention when they were booked at the Peppermint Lounge in New York City, becoming the house band for over a year. Their breakthrough came with "Peppermint Twist", co-written by Joey Dee and producer Henry Glover, which reached Number 1 on the U.S. charts in early 1961, selling over one million copies, earning them a gold disc. The group filmed the movie Hey, Let's Twist, starring Jo Ann Campbell and Teddy Randazzo, for Paramount Pictures in 1961. The group collaborated with several notable musicians throughout the 1960s including Jimi Hendrix and Joe Pesci and Joey Dee continued to record solo from the mid-1960s to the mid-1970s. The group was featured on a PBS special, Rock, Rhythm and Doo-Wop, in 2001 and Dee's autobiography titled Peppermint Twist Chronicles: My True Story of Sex, Rock n’ Roll, Jimi Hendrix, Fighting Racism, and the Mob was released in 2021 to critical acclaim.
