In the late 1970s, Joe Cerisano and his guitarist/co-leader Lee Fink had one of the top original groups in a sea of cover bands in the New Jersey rock club scene. R-Band drew large crowds due to their original songs, which was rare for the time. Playing seven nights a week took its toll on the band, so in December 1979, after a call from Earl Slick, Joe left NJ and headed out to California. Three months later, Joe and Earl formed the rock band Silver Condor, who would sign a very lucrative record deal with Columbia Records. The songs that secured this deal were all the songs that were written for R-Band back in NJ. The band's self-titled debut album, released in 1981, featured a top 40 hit, "You Could Take My Heart Away." After the breakup of Silver Condor, Joe returned to NYC in 1984.