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India Today
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- India Today
Chuck Mangione, smooth jazz maestro behind ‘Feels So Good,' dies at 84
Chuck Mangione, the Grammy-winning flugelhorn player and jazz composer whose 1977 instrumental hit 'Feels So Good' became a defining anthem of smooth jazz, has died at died peacefully in his sleep at his home in Rochester, New York, on Tuesday, his attorney Peter S. Matorin said. The musician had been retired since his signature felt hat, warm horn tones, and a knack for melodies that crossed jazz into pop, Mangione was one of the most recognisable figures in instrumental music. His chart-topping 'Feels So Good' hit No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100 and topped the adult contemporary chart, becoming what some radio hosts have called one of the most instantly recognized melodies of its 'It identified for a lot of people a song with an artist,' Mangione once told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, adding, 'That song just topped out there and took it to a whole other level.'The Rochester-born musician released more than 30 albums in a prolific career that spanned decades. He earned his first Grammy Award for Bellavia, named after his mother, and a second for the score to The Children of Sanchez, which also earned a Golden Globe nomination.A versatile performer, Mangione wrote and performed 'Give It All You Got' for the 1980 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid, later playing the piece live at the closing ceremony — another high note in a career filled with them.'He also was one of the first musicians I saw who had a rapport with the audience by just telling the audience what he was going to play and who was in his band,' Mangione once said, describing his early influences like Dizzy into a musical family, Mangione began his career performing bebop with his brother Gap in The Jazz Brothers. After earning a degree from the Eastman School of Music — where he later served as director of the jazz ensemble — he went on to play with Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers before forging a solo also charmed younger audiences in the 1990s and early 2000s through his recurring animated role on Fox's King of the Hill, where he played a fictional version of himself as the jingle-happy pitchman for Mega Lo Mart.'Shopping feels so good,' his cartoon alter ego cheerfully declared — a tongue-in-cheek nod to his biggest 2009, Mangione donated his iconic felt hat, the Feels So Good score, and other memorabilia to the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History, preserving his legacy in American music history.- EndsWith inputs from Associated Press
Washington Post
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- Washington Post
Chuck Mangione, dead at 84, was no hack with a horn
A healthy segment of Americans knew Chuck Mangione as an object of kitsch. The shoulder-length hair and beard, the colorfully banded fedora, the warm, glossy sound of his flügelhorn (all of which he happily sent up in his self-portrayals on the animated sitcom 'King of the Hill'): Mangione represented not just a weird limbo between hipness and squareness, but an outdated one. Yet if Mangione, who died Tuesday at 84, was game to make fun of himself in that way, it was because he'd already achieved what any artist strives for: He'd made his work an indispensable part of our world. Specifically, his hit 'Feels So Good,' an instrumental pop-jazz crossover that reached #4 on the Billboard charts during the summer of 1978, has unexpectedly had as much staying power as 'Stayin' Alive,' 'I Will Survive' or any other anthemic tune from that era. So much so, in fact, that we didn't always notice it. The melodic, ever-so-gently funky record is played in restaurants and grocery stores, in hotel lobbies and elevators. It has powered more TV and radio commercials than anyone could count. Those of us who aren't pop-music nerds, or just not old enough to remember when it reigned supreme on top 40 radio, know 'Feels So Good's' barrage of hooks by heart without even realizing the song has a name. Those are the qualities that make it easy to mock, of course. It's catchy but toothless, inoffensively pleasant, so of course it's ubiquitous. That was part of the 'King of the Hill' bit. Mangione was a celebrity pitchman (for Mega Lo Mart, the big-box store of the show's universe) who, no matter what he played on his horn, always segued into 'Feels So Good.' Through no fault of its own, the record became a cornerstone of smooth jazz, that intersection of jazz, rock, soul and easy listening that conquered the realm of background music in the 1980s and 1990s. The genre is much despised. 'Feels So Good,' by association more than any actual element of the song, has thus taken its lumps. It wasn't because he couldn't play anything edgier. The Rochester, New York, native was a graduate, and later a faculty member, of that city's Eastman School of Music. He also did time in the mid 1960s as the trumpeter in Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers, the most prestigious finishing school in postwar jazz. Before earning those two distinctions, he and his brother Gap, a pianist, had some early-1960s success leading the hard-swinging Mangione Brothers sextet, recording an album before he was 20 years old (with two more to follow). Dizzy Gillespie was both a fan of and mentor to the trumpeter. They remained close until Gillespie's death in 1993. Chuck Mangione was no hack with a horn. But he came to jazz when it had split into two poles: a populist one, which was trending ever lighter to suit mainstream tastes, and an arty one, which was increasingly inaccessible. Mangione wanted to reach the people. He saw nothing wrong with that. But he wasn't interested in success for its own sake: 'I didn't want to record something I didn't like, because if it became a hit I wouldn't be happy playing it,' he told JazzTimes magazine. It's a sentiment that was also expressed by the likes of Paul McCartney — who, as a solo artist, had been on the receiving end of the same kind of kitsch accusations as Mangione. But it's also resulted in the horn player getting the same kind of world-class work: In 1980, for example, Mangione was invited to compose a theme song for that year's Winter Olympics. He played the resulting tune, 'Give It All You Got,' live at the Closing Ceremonies in Lake Placid, New York, for a worldwide television audience. (It was another Billboard Top 20 hit, too.) Talk about reaching the people. The comparison with McCartney is apt in another sense. Say what you will about 'Feels So Good' and its particular kind of ubiquity; it means that Mangione achieved, without exaggeration, Beatle-level cultural saturation. More people know his music than know him. He reached this point without, in his own words, having to resort to music he didn't want to play. In the wake of Mangione's passing, there will be plenty of people who are ready to pile on and crack jokes about the kitschy side of his legacy. The joke will be on them. Mangione was perfectly content with that aspect of himself. Meanwhile, he infiltrated our environment and our lives in a way that many of his critics can only dream of.
Daily Mirror
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Mirror
Chuck Mangione dead: Grammy-winning jazz legend famed for King of the Hill role dies
Grammy-winning jazz icon Chuck Mangione has died, his lawyer has confirmed. The musician and composer is best known for his work on the animated series King of the Hill Grammy-winning jazz maestro Chuck Mangione has died. The 'Hall of Fame' musician is said to have died peacefully at home. Mangione, celebrated for his musical brilliance and comedic talents, especially his vocal contributions to the animated hit King of the Hill, allegedly passed away peacefully in his sleep at 84. The announcement came through his official website, which displayed a heartbreaking tribute reading: " We are very sorry. Chuck Mangione has passed. More to come." His death happened during the same devastating week that claimed actor Malcolm-Jamal Warner in a drowning tragedy, as well as music icon Ozzy Osbourne, who died aged 76 shortly after his final farewell performance, and Hulk Hogan, whose death resulted from heart complications. Peter S Matorin of Beldock Levine and Hoffman LLP, Mangione's legal representative, verified his death, disclosing he had passed away peacefully at his Rochester, New York residence on July 22 The career of Mangione (born Charles Frank) included numerous chart-topping recordings and established him as one of jazz's most significant figures. His compositions Chase The Clouds Away and Give It All You Got featured prominently in the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, and the 1980 Winter Games in Lake Placid, New York. Throughout his distinguished career, he secured two Grammy Awards, the first in 1977 for Best Instrumental Composition and the second in 1979 for Best Pop Instrumental Performance. He was also inducted into the Rochester Music Hall of Fame in 2012, reports the Mirror US. While he's best known for his jazz exploits, Mangione made waves with a new crowd when he dipped his toes into TV comedy. His foray into the small screen came with a stint in the early seasons of the animated hit, King of the Hill. There, he played a fictionalised version of himself, acting as a celebrity endorser for the made-up "Mega Lo Mart." He even penned the tunes for the show's 1998 Valentine's Day special. Before his television adventures, Mangione first turned heads as the leader of the Eastman School of Music's jazz band, before hitting it big in the '60s alongside his brother, Gap. His stellar work earned him the Eastman School of Music Alumni Achievement Award in 2007. The '70s saw him rise to official stardom. A private funeral is planned for the music legend.
Perth Now
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- Perth Now
Jazz icon Chuck Mangione dead aged 84
Chuck Mangione, the legendary jazz musician behind the international hit single Feels So Good, has died aged 84. Born Charles Frank Mangione in 1940 in Rochester, New York, he died at home of natural causes, his manager told TMZ. He reflected on his approach to music in 1972, saying: 'For a long time I lived in the shell of the so–called jazz musician, who said, 'To hell with the people. I'm the artist, I know what's right, and I'm going to play for myself. If they like it, fine; if they don't, too bad.' 'Well, that's partially true, but you can still maintain your musical conviction and try to communicate with people. 'For me, lifting the people up, making them enjoy what we're doing is as important as it is for me to play the kind of music I want to play. Both are very possible.' A trumpet and flugelhorn player, Mangione studied at Rochester's Eastman School of Music, known for its jazz programme. He began his career in the 1960s performing with his pianist brother, Gap Mangione, and joined Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers as a trumpeter before emerging as a star in his own right. Chuck's career breakthrough came in the 1970s, when he formed a jazz quartet with saxophonist Gerry Niewood. His 1977 album Feels So Good propelled him to international fame. The album included the full nine-minute version of the instrumental title track, which reached number two on the Billboard 200. A shorter, three-minute single released the following year also became a major success. Over his decades-long career, Chuck won two Grammy Awards. He received his first Grammy in 1977 for the instrumental composition Bellavia and another for his work on the soundtrack of the 1978 Anthony Quinn film The Children of Sanchez, for which he also composed the score. Chuck's compositions featured in two Olympic ceremonies – Chase the Clouds Away at the 1976 Montreal Summer Olympics and Give It All You Got as the theme for the 1980 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid, New York.
NBC News
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- NBC News
Chuck Mangione, jazz musician who crossed over with '70s pop hit 'Feels So Good,' dies at 84
Chuck Mangione, the jazz musician whose "Feels So Good" cracked the pop top 10 chart in the 1970s, died Tuesday, officials said. He was 84. Mangione died "peacefully" in his sleep at his home in Rochester, New York, according to his obituary. The mayor or Rochester confirmed his death in a statement praising "the gifted jazz musician and composer." Mangione's official cause of death was not announced. Born in 1940, Mangione grew up in Rochester, graduating from the New York town's Benjamin Franklin High School before attending and earning a Bachelor's Degree from Eastman School of Music, also in Rochester. According to the Bartolomeo & Perotto funeral home, Mangione taught at Eastman and later received an honorary Doctorate degree from the school. He also started the school's jazz program. Mangione's jazz career kicked off as a teenage flugelhorn player when he formed the Jazz Brothers alongside his brother, Gap, according to the obituary. It led to a decades-long career that yielded 14 Grammy nominations — and two wins — an induction into the Rochester Music Hall of Fame and more than 30 albums. Rochester Mayor Malik D. Evans called Mangione an artist "who earned international distinction, and Rochester's pride." In 1970, Mangione recorded his Friends & Love concert with the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra, which landed him a recording contract and ultimately his first Grammy nomination, according to the funeral home obituary. He released "Bellavia," a record to honor his mother, in the first year he signed with A&M records, which took home the Best Instrumental Composition award at the 19th Grammys. Mangione's biggest hit, "Feels So Good" soared to the number four spot on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1978 and earned him a nomination for Record of the Year at the 21st Grammy Awards, bringing the musician to new heights.
