The Walleye Magazine

Back Under the Bright Lights

The Accomplished Alfie Zappacosta Returns to Thunder Bay

By Michael Charlebois

Alfie Zappacosta has never stopped. The 68-year-old ItalianCanadian musician has spent over 40 years in the music industry and can still deliver the smooth subtleties of 80s pop, rock, and jazz with ease. He loves performing, and with COVID-19 restrictions lifting across Canada, he’ll be able to get back to it after a two-year stoppage. A true journeyman in the industry, his two November shows at the Port Arthur Royal Canadian Legion Branch 5 will offer a return to regular life for Zappacosta and his fans alike. “I take great, great comfort in going back and forth across Canada,” he says.

Zappacosta immigrated to Canada from Italy when he was only six months old. “I was pretty sure I wanted to be a hairdresser,” he says.

His affiliation with music was only through his brother’s band, and reasons for joining were largely superficial at first. “I thought: join the band, have fun, meet girls.”

In the late 1970s he joined the band Surrender, but label executives immediately identified Zappacosta as the charismatic figurehead. He’s done a lot of different kinds of work under the umbrella of the arts: acting, singing, musical theatre, writing commercials. But his big break—the one that allowed him to make the arts a lifelong pursuit—was getting his song “Overload” on the Dirty Dancing soundtrack in 1987 alongside the likes of The Ronettes and Patrick Swayze.

“It was kind of like a winning lottery ticket,” he says. “All of a sudden Dirty Dancing was the talk of the town. I felt incredibly elated by the whole thing. It took us out of the cockroach-infested apartment. It got the kids through school.”

From that point forward, Zappacosta acquired the time and resources to do what he wanted to do. He’s consistently put out albums every couple of years since the 1980s. His latest, Saved, was released in 2021, and is sure to be a staple of his newest set of shows.

“Some people will think it’s wonderful, some people will say ‘I’d rather not.’ I just know that I did a very good record.”

Zappacosta will be in Thunder Bay for two shows at the Port Arthur Legion on November 12 and 13. Tickets are $30 and are available at the Legion Club Room 3.

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