“The kid is good!” For Tommy Coniglio, at the time a 21-year-old “bar singer” at a Wildwood restaurant, the words were like a lightning strike. “The kid is good” had spilled from the lips of Tommy’s musical idol, Philadelphia music royalty, Bobby Rydell. Five years ago, Bobby and his wife, Linda Hoffman, were having dinner at Joey M’s La Piazza Cucina in Wildwood.

Owner Joey Montello, a Sinatra-style singer, show producer and talent manager himself, was at the table with his long-time friends. Coming from the restaurant’s courtyard came a solo voice, singing the 1960s blockbuster, “Lightning Strikes.”