Chuck Mangione, the Grammy award-winning jazz icon behind the classic 1978 instrumental single “Feels So Good,” passed away at the age of 84.
His death was announced in a message put up on his website. To music lovers globally, Mangione’s name brings a flashback of silky melodies, flugelhorn sorcery, and enduring records that influenced jazz fusion and soft pop radio forever.
Born in Rochester, New York, on November 29, 1940, Mangione established his musical foundation early on. He toured and recorded as a member of the Mangione Brothers with his older brother, keyboardist Gaspare “Gap” Mangione, and went on to graduate from the Eastman School of Music, which formed the basis of his career. In the 1960s, he played trumpet with the legendary Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers and collaborated on various jazz ensemble projects, including his 1970 release “Friends & Love… A Chuck Mangione Concert” recorded with the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra.
Mangione’s career actually became a hit in the mid-70s with the release of albums such as “Chase the Clouds Away” in 1975. That album was given a gold certification and national recognition when the title cut was utilized during the 1976 Summer Olympics broadcasts. Barely a year after, he won a Grammy for “Bellavia” in 1977. It was the 1977 album “Feels So Good” that made him a household name, though.
The title song proved to be a surprise hit. Featuring Mangione on flugelhorn, accompanied by guitarist Grant Geissman, bassist Charles Meeks, multi-instrumentalist Chris Vadala, and percussionist James Bradley Jr., the single shot up to No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100. The album rose to No. 2 on the Billboard 200, behind only the Bee Gees’ “Saturday Night Fever” soundtrack. “Feels So Good” later became double platinum, selling over two million copies.
He topped that with the 1978 score for Anthony Quinn’s film “Children of Sanchez,” which won him his second Grammy Award. The momentum carried over into 1979 with “Fun and Games,” which went gold and provided us with “Give It All You Got,” a song that was prominently showcased in ABC’s broadcast of the 1980 Winter Olympics. At the close of his career, Mangione had accumulated 13 Grammy nominations, had won two, and had recorded approximately 30 albums, his most recent being “Everything for Love” in 2000.
Although his top-of-the-chart era waned after the 70s, Mangione never lost cultural currency. During the 2000s, he was a familiar face on the animated show “King of the Hill,” where he provided the voice for an out-of-control rendition of himself, complete with flugelhorn and obligatory name-drops of “Feels So Good.” The running joke was a favorite among fans, making him a hero to a new generation who may not have heard his music growing up on jazz radio.
Mangione was inducted into the Rochester Music Hall of Fame in 2012. He put his legacy into perspective himself with this quote, quoted by the Hall: “If you’re honest and play with love, people will sit down and listen… my music is the sum of all I have experienced.”
Chuck Mangione takes with him a catalog of lush compositions, memorable melodies, and a musical sensibility that spanned styles and decades. For each flugelhorn solo to reverberate through car stereos or late-night jazz clubs, his legacy will always sound so good.
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