Bobby Messano (born June 23, 1954) is an American artist, guitarist and musician. He has recorded and toured with

STARZ Starz (stylized as STARZ since 2016; pronounced "stars") is an American premium cable and satellite television network owned by Lions Gate Entertainment, and is the flagship property of parent subsidiary Starz Inc. Programming on Starz consist ...

Lou Gramm Lou Gramm (born Louis Andrew Grammatico; 2 May 1950) is an American singer-songwriter, best known for being the lead singer of the rock band Foreigner from 1977 to 1990 and 1992 to 2003 during which time the band had numerous successful albu ...

Steve Winwood Stephen Lawrence Winwood (born 12 May 1948) is an English musician, singer, and songwriter whose genres include blue-eyed soul, rhythm and blues, blues rock, and pop rock. Though primarily a keyboard player and vocalist prominent for his disti ...

,"REVIEW: Guitarist Bobby Messano shows 'em how it's done at Mayfair"
''Allentown Morning Call''. John J. Moser May 25, 2015

Clarence Clemons Clarence Anicholas Clemons Jr. (January 11, 1942 – June 18, 2011), also known as The Big Man, was an American musician and actor. From 1972 until his death in 2011, he was the saxophonist for The E Street Band. Clemons released several s ...

Franke and the Knockouts Franke and the Knockouts was an American pop rock band, formed in New Jersey, United States, and fronted by singer/songwriter Franke Previte. History Franke and the Knockouts formed in 1980, with the original line-up including Previte as front ...

, and

Peter Criss George Peter John Criscuola (born December 20, 1945), better known by his stage name Peter Criss, is a retired American musician, best known as a co-founder, original drummer, and vocalist of the hard rock band Kiss (band), Kiss. Criss establi ...

Early life and education

Messano was born in

Teaneck, New Jersey Teaneck () is a Township (New Jersey), township in Bergen County, New Jersey, Bergen County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is a bedroom community in the New York metropolitan area. As of the 2010 United States census, 2010 U.S. census, th ...

and his family lived in nearby

Ridgefield Park, New Jersey Ridgefield Park is a Village (New Jersey), village in Bergen County, New Jersey, Bergen County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States census, the village's population was 12,729,Washington College Washington College is a private liberal arts college in Chestertown, Maryland. Maryland granted Washington College its charter in 1782. George Washington supported the founding of the college by consenting to have the "College at Chester" name ...

in Chestertown, Maryland for Music and English.

Career

In 1976, Bobby joined the band Stanky Brown who were signed to

Sire Records Sire Records (formerly Sire Records Company) is an American record label owned by Warner Music Group and distributed by Warner Records. History Beginnings The label was founded in 1966 as Sire Productions by Seymour Stein and Richard Gottehrer ...

and managed by John Scher. Stanky Brown toured with

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

The Allman Brothers The Allman Brothers Band was an American rock band formed in Jacksonville, Florida in 1969 by brothers Duane Allman (founder, slide guitar and lead guitar) and Gregg Allman (vocals, keyboards, songwriting), as well as Dickey Betts (lead guitar, ...

, Outlaws, and NRPS. He recorded with the band on their third and final record on Sire, called "Stanky Brown". Messano then joined

Starz Starz (stylized as STARZ since 2016; pronounced "stars") is an American premium cable and satellite television network owned by Lions Gate Entertainment, and is the flagship property of parent subsidiary Starz Inc. Programming on Starz consist ...

who were signed to

Capitol Records Capitol Records, LLC (known legally as Capitol Records, Inc. until 2007) is an American record label distributed by Universal Music Group through its Capitol Music Group imprint. It was founded as the first West Coast-based record label of note ...

and Aucoin management. Starz toured for 1978-79 and released '' Coliseum Rock''. The band toured with

Ted Nugent Theodore Anthony Nugent (; born December 13, 1948) is an American rock musician and activist. He initially gained fame as the lead guitarist and occasional lead vocalist of The Amboy Dukes, a band formed in 1963 that played psychedelic rock an ...

on his Weekend Warriors Tour,

Rush Rush(es) may refer to: Places United States * Rush, Colorado * Rush, Kentucky * Rush, New York * Rush City, Minnesota * Rush Creek (Kishwaukee River tributary), Illinois * Rush Creek (Marin County, California), a stream * Rush Creek (Mono Cou ...

Hemispheres Tour, Styx and headlined shows in the U.S. Bobby then moved into session work, working with

Gloria Gaynor Gloria Gaynor ( née Fowles; born September 7, 1943) is an American singer, best known for the disco era hits "I Will Survive" (1978), " Let Me Know (I Have a Right)" (1979), " I Am What I Am" (1983), and her version of "Never Can Say Goodbye" ( ...

, playing on his 1982

Let Me Rock You ''Let Me Rock You'' is the third solo studio album released by American musician and former Kiss (band), Kiss drummer Peter Criss. Due to poor sales for his previous album, ''Out of Control (Peter Criss album), Out of Control'', ''Let Me Rock Yo ...

album Michael Pare', Robey, and

Benny Mardones Ruben Armand "Benny" Mardones (November 9, 1946 – June 29, 2020) was an American pop/rock singer and songwriter who was best known for his hit single " Into the Night", which hit the top 20 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart twice, in 1980 ( ...

. In 1983, Bobby was music director for

on his UK and European tour. He joined Franke & The Knockouts in 1984. In 1985, Bobby started working with

Joe Lynn Turner Joe Lynn Turner (born Joseph Arthur Mark Linquito, August 2, 1951) is an American singer known for his work in the hard rock bands Rainbow, Yngwie J. Malmsteen and Deep Purple. During his career, Turner fronted and played guitar with pop ro ...

and

Fiona Fiona is a feminine given name. The name is associated with the Gaelic traditions of Ireland and Scotland (through the poetry of James Macpherson), but has also become popular in England.. It can be considered either a Latinisation of names, Lati ...

and played on both their CD's ''

Rescue You ''Rescue You'' is the first solo album of Joe Lynn Turner, formerly of Rainbow and Fandango. This album is a collection of AOR and radio-friendly pop tracks from the rock heyday of the mid-80's. Produced by Roy Thomas Baker. There was a single ...

'' and ''

''. He toured with Joe Lynn Turner and played guitar on Fiona's sophomore record ''Beyond The Pale'' and her 2011 release ''Unbroken''. He then played on Glen Burtnick's ''Talking in Code'' record and toured with him. He played guitar on

Hero A hero (feminine: heroine) is a real person or a main fictional character who, in the face of danger, combats adversity through feats of ingenuity, courage, or Physical strength, strength. Like other formerly gender-specific terms (like ...

'' album and played the only guitar solo on the LP. In 1987, Messano was asked to tour on the Lou Gramm ( Foreigner) "Ready or Not" tour in the U.S. and Germany. He also was putting the finishing touches on his 1989 ''Messano'' CD which was released by Strategic/Relativity in 1989. In 1990 Bobby toured Germany with

Robin Beck Robin Beck is an American singer. She topped the singles chart in the United Kingdom in 1988, and Austria, Germany, Norway, Netherlands and Switzerland in 1989, with her single " First Time", which had come to the public's attention via its use i ...

. Bobby Messano's first Contemporary Blues CD ''Dominion Roads'' was released on Ichiban/EMI Records in 1998. The label went bankrupt in 2002 and Messano put his material on the fledgling MP3.com. He then released ''Dominion Roads'' as the retitled ''Holdin' Ground'' in 2004 on FishHead records, followed by ''Bobby Messano Live in Madison'' in 2008 on his own Prince Frog Records label that was distributed by CD Baby. Messano was inducted into the Delaware Blues Hall of Fame in 2012 and ''That's Why I Don't Sing the Blues'' was the #1 U.S. release on the Blues Underground 2012 US Blues Rock Chart. Bobby continues to play live solo and band shows and continues to place songs in TV and cable shows. COVID-19 has slowed his live shows down. In July/August 2015 ''Love and Money'' was in ''Billboard Top 10 Blues Albums'', for 6 weeks, reaching #1 on August 8. The album was also Top 50 on Three other Billboard Charts. In August 2015 Bobby Messano ''Love & Money'' was nominated for a Blues Blast Award for Rock Blues Album of the Year On April 15, 2017 ''Bad Movie'' was released and debuted at #1 on Sirius/XM B.B. King's Bluesville and stayed in the Top 40 on the Roots Music Charts Blues Rock Album Chart for 10 months. On November 16, 2017, Bobby's "Bad Movie" song won a prestigious Hollywood Music in Media Award (HMMA) for Blues. In October 2018 Bobby played his first headlining solo tour in Europe, doing shows in Holland and Belgium. In September 2022 Bobby returned to Belgium for a successful week long tour. ''Lemonade'' was released July 12, 2019 on Fish Head/Warner Brothers Records and garnered rave reviews and airplay. ''The Songs I Never Sang'' was released on January 29, 2021. It is a collection of Bobby's favorite cover songs done during the COVID pandemic. "Music & Other Sundries" Bobby's tenth solo project and his first vinyl album was released on April 15, 2022, and received 3 Grammy First Round Ballots. The song "WHY YOU LOOKING BACK remains in heavy rotation on XM/Sirius BB King's Bluesville In October of 2022 Bobby did a sold out week long tour of Belgium. Every release of Bobby's since Holding Ground in 2002 has received multiple Grammy First Round ballots. As of October 2022, the total is 43 in 9 different categories.

Discography

*''Messano'' 1989 *''Dominion Roads'' 1998 (as "Bobby Messano & NBO") *''Holdin' Ground'' 2003 *''Live in Madison'', 2010. *''That's Why I Don't Sing the Blues'', 2011 *''Welcome to Deltaville'', 2013"Bobyy Messano's best yet: Review of Welcome to Deltaville"
''World News''. *''Love and Money'', 2015 *''Bad Movie'' 2017 *''Messano Re-Release (Deluxe Edition) 2019'' *Holdin' Ground Re-Release 2019 *''Lemonade 2019'' *''The Songs I Never Sang 2021'' *''Music & Other Sundries 2022''

References

External links

''Official Site''"Bobby Messano , Discography , AllMusic"
''AllMusic''.
"Bobby Messano , Credits , AllMusic"
''AllMusic''. {{DEFAULTSORT:Messano, Bobby Living people People from Ridgefield Park, New Jersey People from Teaneck, New Jersey Guitarists from New Jersey American male guitarists The Shadows of Knight members 1954 births