Top Qs
Timeline
Chat
Perspective

Tony Mottola

American jazz guitarist (1918–2004) From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Tony Mottola
Remove ads
Not to be confused with Tommy Mottola.

Anthony C. "Tony" Mottola (April 18, 1918 – August 9, 2004) was an American jazz guitarist who released dozens of solo albums. Mottola was born in Kearny, New Jersey and died in Denville.

Quick facts Background information, Birth name ...
Remove ads

Career

Summarize
Perspective

Like many of his contemporaries, Mottola began learning to play the banjo, but then took up the guitar. He had his first guitar lessons from his father. He toured with an orchestra led by George Hall in 1936, marking the beginning of his professional life.[1]

Mottola's first recordings were duets with the guitarist Carl Kress.[2][3] By the age of only twenty-one, he was recruited by Kress to serve as a staff guitarist at the CBS Radio network.[4] During his tenure with the network he founded the "Tony Mottola Trio" which was featured on Johnny Desmond's show "Face the Music".[1][5] In 1945, he also collaborated with the accordionist John Serry Sr. in a recording of "Leone Jump" for Sonora Records (MS-476-3) which was played in jukeboxes throughout the U.S.[6][7][8][9][10] In 1946, he also joined forces with Serry and other members of the Joe Biviano Accordion and Rhythm Sextette in a recording for Sonora Records which included Tom Delaney's composition "Jazz Me Blues" ("Accordion Capers", MS-476).[9] Subsequently in 1948, Mottola's trio collaborated with Carole Coleman and Danny Daniels on the CBS program "Make Mine Music".[11] During his tenure at CBS Mottola also collaborated with Sidney Lumet, Paddy Chayevsky, John Frankenheimer, and Rod Serling.[1]> By 1967, he emerged as an executive at the founding of Project 3 Records.[1]> His only charted single as a soloist was "This Guy's in Love with You", which reached No. 22 on the Billboard magazine Easy Listening Top 40 in the summer of 1968.

During the course of his career, Mottola also emerged as a freelance composer for several luminaries within the world of entertainment including: Rosemary Clooney, Bing Crosby, Burl Ives and Mitch Miller.[1]

Mottola worked often on television, appearing as a regular on shows hosted by vocalist Perry Como and comedian Sid Caesar. He was also recruited by a young Yul Brenner to serve as music director for the 1950s series Danger.[12] From 1958 to 1972, he was a member of The Tonight Show Orchestra led by Skitch Henderson,[2][3] then by Doc Severinsen. He composed music for the TV documentary Two Childhoods, which was about Vice President Hubert Humphrey and writer James Baldwin, and won an Emmy Award for his work.[3] In 1980, Mottola began performing with Frank Sinatra, often in duets, appearing at Carnegie Hall and the White House.[2][3][13] He retired from the music business in 1988 but kept playing at home almost every day.[3]

Remove ads

Discography

Summarize
Perspective
Thumb
Mottola was music director for the television series Danger in 1954. He used a copy of the script with notations and watched a television monitor to provide the right music.
Quick facts External audio ...
Quick facts External videos ...

During the course of his career, Tony Mottola recorded for several labels including Command Records, Project 3 Records, RCA Victor and Sonora Records. His recordings include:[14]

As leader

  • Let's Put Out the Lights (RCA Camden, 1956)
  • Mr. Big: Tony Mottola...Guitar (Command, 1959)
  • Roman Guitar (Command, 1960)
  • String Band Strum-Along (Command, 1961)
  • Folk Songs (Command, 1961)
  • Tony Mottola a Napoli (Command, 1963)
  • Tony Mottola and His Orchestra (Command, 1963)
  • Romantic Guitar (Command, 1963)
  • Sentimental Guitar (Command, 1964)
  • Guitar....Paris (Command, 1964)
  • Spanish Guitar (Command, 1965)
  • Love Songs Mexico S.A. (Command, 1965)
  • Guitar U.S.A. (Command, 1966)
  • Amor Mexico (Command, 1966)
  • Heart & Soul (Project 3, 1966)
  • Lush, Latin & Lovely (Project 3, 1967)
  • A Latin Love-In (Project 3, 1967)
  • Love Songs from Mexico (Command, 1967)
  • Roma Oggi/Rome Today (Project 3, 1968)
  • Warm, Wild and Wonderful (Project 3, 1968)
  • Joins the Guitar Underground (Project 3, 1969)
  • Hawaii Five-O (Design, 1969)
  • Close to You (Project 3, 1970)
  • Tony Mottola's Guitar Factory (Project 3, 1970)
  • Warm Feelings (Project 3, 1971)
  • Two Guitars for Two in Love (Project 3, 1972)
  • Superstar Guitar (Project 3, 1972)
  • Tony Mottola and the Quad Guitars (Project 3, 1973)
  • Holiday Guitars (Project 3, 1974)
  • Tony Mottola and the Brass Menagerie (Project 3, 1974)
  • I Only Have Eyes for You (Project 3, 1975)
  • Goin' Out of My Head (Project 3, 1979)
  • Stardust (Project 3, 1980)
  • All the Way (Project 3, 1983)

As sideman

With Tony Bennett

With Ray Charles

  • Spring Is Here (MGM, 1955)
  • Something Wonderful (Command, 1961)
  • Rome Revisited (Command, 1962)
  • Young Lovers On-Broadway (Command, 1965)
  • Memories of a Middle-Aged Movie Fan (Atco, 1968)

With Urbie Green

  • Twenty-One Trombones (Project 3, 1967)
  • Green Power (Project 3, 1971)
  • Bein' Green (Project 3, 1972)
  • Urbie Green's Big Beautiful Band (Project 3, 1974)

With Dick Hyman

  • Electrodynamics (Command, 1963)
  • Fabulous (Command, 1963)
  • Keyboard Kaleidoscope (Command, 1964)
  • The Man from O.R.G.A.N. (Command, 1965)
  • Happening! (Command, 1966)
  • Concerto Electro (Command, 1970)
  • Fantomfingers (Project 3, 1971)
  • Traditional Jazz Piano (Project 3, 1973)

With Enoch Light

  • Pertinent Percussion Cha Cha's (Command, 1959)
  • Provocative Percussion Vol. 2 (Command, 1960)
  • Cancoes de Paises Distantes (Musidisc 1960)
  • Far Away Places (Command, 1960)
  • Vibrations (Command, 1962)
  • Big Band Bossa Nova (Command, 1962)
  • My Musical Coloring Book (Command, 1963)
  • 1963: the Year's Most Popular Themes (Command, 1963)
  • Dimension 3 (Command, 1964)
  • Discotheque: Dance Dance Dance (Command, 1964)
  • Magnificent Movie Themes (Command, 1965)
  • Film Fame (Project 3, 1967)
  • Enoch Light's Action (Project 3, 1967)
  • The Best of Hollywood Movie Hits '68-'69 (Project 3, 1968)
  • 12 Smash Hits (Project 3, 1968)
  • Enoch Light and the Glittering Guitars (Project 3, 1969)
  • The Best of the Movie Themes 1970 (Project 3, 1970)
  • The Big Band Hits of the Thirties (Project 3, 1970)
  • Big Band Hits of the 30's & 40's (Project 3, 1971)
  • Big Hits of the 20's (Project 3, 1971)
  • The Big Band Sound of the Thirties (Project 3, 1971)
  • The Big Band Hits of the 40s & 50s (Project 3, 1973)
  • Spanish Strings (Project 3, 1973)
  • Future Sound Shock (Project 3, 1973)
  • Big Hits of the Seventies Vol. 2 (Project 3, 1975)
  • The Disco Disque (Project 3, 1975)

With Charles Magnante

  • Roman Spectacular (Grand Award, 1957)
  • Roman Spectacular Vol. 2 (Grand Award, 1957)
  • Percussion Italiano (Grand Award, 1961)

With Joe Reisman

  • Armen's Theme (RCA Victor, 1956)
  • Door of Dreams (RCA Victor, 1957)
  • Party Night at Joe's (RCA Victor, 1958)

With Doc Severinsen

  • Tempestuous Trumpet (Command, 1961)
  • The Big Band's Back in Town (Command, 1962)
  • Twin Trumpet Discotheque Au Go Go (Command, 1965)
  • Command Performances (Command, 1966)
  • Fever (Command, 1966)
  • Live! (Command, 1966)
  • The Great Arrival! (Command, 1969)
  • Trumpets and Crumpets and Things (ABC 1973)

With Frank Sinatra

With others

Remove ads

References

External links

Loading related searches...

Wikiwand - on

Seamless Wikipedia browsing. On steroids.

Remove ads
Remove ads