Chuck Mangione facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Chuck Mangione |
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Mangione in 1998
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Charles Frank Mangione |
| Born | November 29, 1940 Rochester, New York, U.S. |
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| Years active | 1960–2010 |
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Charles Frank Mangione (born November 29, 1940) is an American musician. He is famous for playing the flugelhorn and trumpet. He is also a talented composer.
Chuck Mangione became well-known in the 1960s. He played with Art Blakey's band. Later, he started a group called the Jazz Brothers with his brother, Gap. In 1978, his song "Feels So Good" became a huge international hit. Since 1960, Mangione has released over 30 albums.
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Chuck Mangione's Early Life and Music
Chuck Mangione was born in Rochester, New York. His parents were from Italy. He and his brother Gap led a group called the Mangione Brothers Sextet. They recorded three albums together. One of Chuck's songs, "Something Different," was even recorded by another famous musician, Cannonball Adderley.
Chuck studied music at the Eastman School of Music. After that, he joined Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers. This was a very famous jazz band. He played the trumpet in the band. Many great trumpet players had been in that spot before him.
In the late 1960s, Chuck was part of a band called The National Gallery. They released an album in 1968. From 1968 to 1972, Chuck also directed the jazz group at the Eastman School. In 1970, he started recording music again. He made an album called Friends and Love with the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra.
His Famous Songs and Awards
Chuck Mangione's quartet with saxophonist Gerry Niewood was very popular. They played many concerts and recorded albums in the 1970s. His song "Bellavia" won him his first Grammy Award in 1977. A Grammy is a very important music award. "Bellavia" was even used as background music for school closings in Kentucky.
Chuck's music was also used for big sports events. His song "Chase the Clouds Away" was played at the 1976 Summer Olympics in Canada. "Give It All You Got" was the theme song for the 1980 Winter Olympic Games in New York. He even performed it live at the closing ceremony.
In 1978, Chuck wrote the music for a movie called The Children of Sanchez. This album won him his second Grammy Award in 1979. The main song from the movie was almost 15 minutes long. In 1981, he also wrote music for the film The Cannonball Run.
His band in the late 1970s was very successful. It included Chris Vadala on saxophones, Grant Geissman on guitars, Charles Meeks on bass, and James Bradley Jr. on drums. This band recorded the hit albums Feels So Good and Fun and Games. The song "Feels So Good" became a rare instrumental song to reach the top ten. It got to number 4 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1978.
The band also performed with a 70-piece orchestra. This was for a live album called An Evening of Magic. It was recorded at the Hollywood Bowl in 1978. Chuck played many of his popular songs that night. He opened and closed the show with "Feels So Good."
In 1980, Chuck held a special concert in Rochester. It was to help people affected by an earthquake in Italy. Many famous jazz musicians played at this nine-hour concert. A special album called Tarantella was released from some of the best parts of this concert.
A magazine called Current Biography once said that "Feels So Good" was one of the most recognized songs. Chuck also helped raise over $50,000 for a nursing home. He played a few notes of "Feels So Good" at his 60th Birthday Bash Concert.
Chuck Mangione on TV
Besides making music, Chuck Mangione has also appeared on television. He was in an episode of the show Magnum, P.I.. He played a musician in a nightclub and had some lines. In 1988, he appeared on Sharon, Lois & Bram's Elephant Show. He played his famous song as "Little Boy Blue."
Chuck also had a voice role on the cartoon show King of the Hill. He played himself as a spokesperson for a store called Mega Lo Mart. He usually wore his white and red jacket from his Feels So Good album cover. He appeared in many episodes until 2003. In the show, his character was stuck in a contract with the store. This meant he couldn't tour or record music. He even hid inside the store in one episode.
A funny part of the show was that any song he played on his flugelhorn would always turn into "Feels So Good." After the Mega Lo Mart blew up in the show, Chuck's character said that "every song I play now sounds like 'Feels So Good'." He appeared one last time in the show's final episode in 2009. He played the National Anthem, which then changed into "Feels So Good." Chuck even named a song on his album Everything For Love after a character from the show, "Peggy Hill".
A Sad Time for the Band
In 2009, two members of Chuck Mangione's band passed away. They were Gerry Niewood and Coleman Mellett. Chuck Mangione shared that he was very sad about this loss.
Chuck Mangione's Albums
- The Jazz Brothers as the Mangione Brothers Sextet with Chuck Mangione (Riverside, 1960)
- Hey Baby! as the Jazz Brothers with Chuck Mangione (Riverside, 1961)
- Spring Fever as the Jazz Brothers with Chuck Mangione, Sal Nistico (Riverside, 1961)
- Recuerdo (Jazzland, 1962)
- Friends & Love...A Chuck Mangione Concert (Mercury, 1970)
- Together: A New Chuck Mangione Concert (Mercury, 1971)
- Alive! (Mercury, 1972)
- The Chuck Mangione Quartet (Mercury, 1972)
- Land of Make Believe (Mercury, 1973)
- Chase the Clouds Away (A&M, 1975)
- Bellavia (A&M, 1975)
- Main Squeeze (A&M, 1976)
- Feels So Good (A&M, 1977)
- Children of Sanchez (A&M, 1978)
- Fun and Games (A&M, 1979)
- An Evening of Magic, Live at the Hollywood Bowl (A&M, 1979)
- Tarantella (A&M, 1981)
- Love Notes (Columbia, 1982)
- 70 Miles Young (A&M, 1982)
- Journey to a Rainbow (Columbia, 1983)
- Disguise (Columbia, 1984)
- Save Tonight for Me (Columbia, 1986)
- Eyes of the Veiled Temptress (Columbia, 1988)
- Live at the Village Gate (Feels So Good, 1989)
- The Boys from Rochester (Feels So Good, 1989)
- The Hat's Back (Chuck Mangione, 1994)
- Together Forever with Steve Gadd (Chuck Mangione, 1994)
- The Feeling's Back (Chesky, 1999)
- Everything for Love (Chesky, 2000)
See also
In Spanish: Chuck Mangione para niños
