Chuck Mangione, the celebrated jazz musician and composer whose smooth sound became a signature of 1970s and ’80s instrumental music, has passed away at the age of 84. Mangione died peacefully in his sleep at his home in Rochester on Tuesday, confirmed his attorney Peter S. Matorin of Beldock Levine & Hoffman LLP. The two-time Grammy winner had retired from music in 2015.
A gifted flugelhorn and trumpet player, Mangione rose to worldwide fame with his 1977 single Feels So Good, a breezy, jazz-infused melody that became a crossover sensation. The track climbed to No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100 and topped the adult contemporary chart. It remains a staple of smooth jazz radio stations to this day.
“It identified for a lot of people a song with an artist, even though I had a pretty strong base audience that kept us out there touring as often as we wanted to, that song just topped out there and took it to a whole other level,” Mangione said in a 2008 interview with the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
Mangione’s influence extended beyond the charts. His composition Give It All You Got was commissioned for the 1980 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid, where he also performed the piece during the closing ceremony. He recorded over 30 albums, earning widespread acclaim for his original writing and performance style.
His 1977 album Bellavia, named after his mother, earned him his first Grammy Award. He received another Grammy and a Golden Globe nomination for the score of The Children of Sanchez, while Friends and Love also earned Grammy recognition.
Mangione later introduced himself to a younger audience through voice work on the animated series King of the Hill, where he played a fictional version of himself, appearing as the spokesperson for Mega Lo Mart, often joking, “shopping feels so good.”
He began his career in bebop jazz, heavily influenced by Dizzy Gillespie, and performed with Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers after graduating from Eastman School of Music. He later returned to Eastman to lead its jazz ensemble.
In 2009, Mangione donated his trademark brown felt hat and memorabilia, including the score for Feels So Good, to the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History.
May his soul rest in peace!
(With inputs from AP)
Related News
02 Apr, 2025
Myanmar Quake Victim Rescued After 5 Day . . .
13 Jul, 2025
“Historic coach with historic QB” - Jonn . . .
17 May, 2025
BRD vs GRS Dream11 Prediction: Fantasy C . . .
27 Apr, 2025
UL Bohemian crowned back-to-back AIL cha . . .
07 May, 2025
Chef Roque’s secret to a long, happy lif . . .
14 Jul, 2025
Треньорът на Иван Иванов до 2022 г.: От . . .
17 Jul, 2025
Scandal-Ridden Fyre Festival Is Sold for . . .
11 May, 2025
'My husband had a couple of years to liv . . .