Francis Cappuccio (August 20, 1931 – September 12, 2017), known professionally as Frank Capp, was an American jazz drummer. Capp also played on numerous

rock and roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock 'n' roll, or rock 'n roll) is a Genre (music), genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It Origins of rock and roll, originated from Africa ...

sessions and is considered to be a member of The Wrecking Crew.

Biography

Capp was born Francis Cappuccio in

Worcester, Massachusetts Worcester ( , ) is a city and county seat of Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. Named after Worcester, England, the city's population was 206,518 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the second-List of cities i ...

, United States. He began playing with

Stan Kenton Stanley Newcomb Kenton (December 15, 1911 – August 25, 1979) was an American popular music and jazz artist. As a pianist, composer, arranger and band leader, he led an innovative and influential jazz orchestra for almost four decades. Though K ...

in early 1952 and remained with Kenton until the end of that year. He then joined

Neal Hefti Neal Paul Hefti (October 29, 1922 – October 11, 2008) was an American jazz trumpeter, composer, and arranger. He wrote music for ''The Odd Couple'' movie and TV series and for the ''Batman'' TV series. He began arranging professionally in his ...

's group. He often accompanied

Peggy Lee Norma Deloris Egstrom (May 26, 1920 – January 21, 2002), known professionally as Peggy Lee, was an American jazz and popular music singer, songwriter, composer, and actress, over a career spanning seven decades. From her beginning as a vocalis ...

on her road dates and subsequently went to Los Angeles where he joined

Billy May Edward William May Jr. (November 10, 1916 – January 22, 2004) was an American composer, arranger and trumpeter. He composed film and television music for ''The Green Hornet'' (1966), ''The Mod Squad'' (1968), ''Batman'' (with '' Batgirl'' them ...

, and recorded with The Wrecking Crew. He played with

Ella Fitzgerald Ella Jane Fitzgerald (April 25, 1917June 15, 1996) was an American jazz singer, sometimes referred to as the "First Lady of Song", "Queen of Jazz", and "Lady Ella". She was noted for her purity of tone, impeccable diction, phrasing, timing, in ...

Harry James Harry Haag James (March 15, 1916 – July 5, 1983) was an American musician who is best known as a trumpet-playing band leader who led a big band from 1939 to 1946. He broke up his band for a short period in 1947 but shortly after he reorganized ...

Charlie Barnet Charles Daly Barnet (October 26, 1913 – September 4, 1991) was an American jazz saxophonist, composer, and bandleader. His major recordings were "Skyliner", "Cherokee", "The Wrong Idea", "Scotch and Soda", "In a Mizz", and "Southland Shuffle ...

Stan Getz Stanley Getz (February 2, 1927 – June 6, 1991) was an American jazz saxophonist. Playing primarily the tenor saxophone, Getz was known as "The Sound" because of his warm, lyrical tone, with his prime influence being the wispy, mellow timbre of ...

Art Pepper Arthur Edward Pepper Jr. (September 1, 1925 – June 15, 1982) was an American alto saxophonist and very occasional tenor saxophonist and clarinetist. Active in West Coast jazz, Pepper came to prominence in Stan Kenton's big band. He was known ...

, and

Dave Pell David Pell (February 26, 1925 – May 7, 2017) was an American jazz saxophonist, bandleader and record producer. He was best known for leading a cool jazz octet in the 1950s. Biography Pell played in his teens with the big bands of Tony Pastor, B ...

. He recorded often with

André Previn André George Previn (; born Andreas Ludwig Priwin; April 6, 1929 – February 28, 2019) was a German-American pianist, composer, and conductor. His career had three major genres: Hollywood films, jazz, and classical music. In each he achieved ...

's trio (1957-1964), and also made records with

Benny Goodman Benjamin David Goodman (May 30, 1909 – June 13, 1986) was an American clarinetist and bandleader known as the "King of Swing". From 1936 until the mid-1940s, Goodman led one of the most popular swing big bands in the United States. His co ...

(1958),

Terry Gibbs Terry Gibbs (born Julius Gubenko; October 13, 1924) is an American jazz vibraphonist and band leader. He has performed or recorded with Tommy Dorsey, Chubby Jackson,Theroux, Gary"Gibbs, Terry".''Grove Music Online''. Oxford University Press. Re ...

, and

Turk Murphy Melvin Edward Alton "Turk" Murphy (December 16, 1915 – May 30, 1987) was an American trombonist and bandleader, who played traditional and Dixieland jazz. Biography He was born in Palermo, California, United States. Murphy served in the Navy ...

. Capp worked steadily on television shows and in the film studios in the 1960s. He spent more than 13 years as drummer for the David Rose Orchestra on

The Red Skelton Show ''The Red Skelton Show'' is an American television comedy/variety show that aired from 1951 to 1971. In the decade prior to hosting the show, Richard "Red" Skelton had a successful career as a radio and motion pictures star. Although his televis ...

. Starting in the 1970s, he recorded extensively in a variety of settings for Concord. Together with

Nat Pierce Nathaniel Pierce Blish Jr., known professionally as Nat Pierce (July 16, 1925 – June 10, 1992) was an American jazz pianist and prolific composer and arranger, perhaps best known for being pianist and arranger for the Woody Herman band from 195 ...

he founded

the Capp-Pierce Juggernaut The Capp-Pierce Juggernaut is an American big band jazz ensemble, named after the 1977 album ''Juggernaut'' (Concord Jazz) by Frank Capp and Nat Pierce. The group was known equivalently as the Capp-Pierce Orchestra and the Capp-Pierce Juggernaut ...

big band in 1975. In his later years, he resided with his partner Lori Singman in

Studio City, California Studio City is a neighborhood in the city of Los Angeles, California, in the southeast San Fernando Valley, just west of the Cahuenga Pass. It is named after the studio lot that was established in the area by film producer Mack Sennett in 1927, ...

, and performed every Tuesday at Las Hadas Restaurant in

Northridge, California Northridge is a neighborhood in the San Fernando Valley region of the City of Los Angeles. The community is home to California State University, Northridge, and the Northridge Fashion Center. Originally named Zelzah by settlers in 1908, the comm ...

, accompanied by his fellow jazz colleagues. In 2016, Capp wrote and published his autobiography ''Drumming Up Business: My Life in Music''. Frank Capp died in September 2017 in Studio City, at the age of 86.

Selected discography

As leader

With

*Frank Capp & Nat Pierce: ''Juggernaut'' (

Concord Jazz Concord Jazz is a record company and label founded in 1973 by Carl Jefferson, the former owner of Jefferson Motors Lincoln Mercury dealership in Concord, California. The label was named after the city in the East San Francisco Bay area, and the j ...

, 1976) *The Capp-Pierce Juggernaut: ''Live at the Century Plaza'' with Joe Williams (Concord Jazz, 1978) * The Frank Capp-Nat Pierce Orchestra: ''Juggernaut Strikes Again!'' with

Ernie Andrews Ernest Mitchell Andrews Jr. (December 25, 1927 – February 21, 2022) was an American jazz, blues, and pop singer. Life and career Andrews was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, but grew up in Los Angeles, and is said to have been discovered b ...

(Concord Jazz, 1982) *The Capp-Pierce Juggernaut: ''Live at the Alley Cat'' with

Ernestine Anderson Ernestine Anderson (November 11, 1928 – March 10, 2016) was an American jazz and blues singer. In a career spanning more than six decades, she recorded over 30 albums. She was nominated four times for a Grammy Award. She sang at Carnegie Hall, ...

(Concord Jazz, 1987) With ''The Frank Capp Juggernaut'' *''In a Hefti Bag'' (Concord Jazz, 1995) *''Play It Again Sam'' (Concord Jazz, 1997)

As sideman

With

Chet Baker Chesney Henry "Chet" Baker Jr. (December 23, 1929 – May 13, 1988) was an American jazz trumpeter and vocalist. He is known for major innovations in cool jazz that led him to be nicknamed the "Prince of Cool". Baker earned much attention and ...

* '' Albert's House'' (Beverly Hills, 1969) With

Michael Bublé Michael Steven Bublé ( ; born September 9, 1975) is a Canadian singer. A four-time Grammy Award winner, he is often credited for helping to renew public interest and appreciation for traditional pop standards and the Great American Songboo ...

* ''

'' (Reprise Records, 2003) * '' It's Time'' (Reprise Records, 2005) With

Glen Campbell Glen Travis Campbell (April 22, 1936 – August 8, 2017) was an American guitarist, singer, songwriter, actor and television host. He was best known for a series of hit songs in the 1960s and 1970s, and for hosting ''The Glen Campbell Goodt ...

* '' I Remember Hank Williams'' (Capitol Records, 1973) With

Cher Cher (; born Cherilyn Sarkisian; May 20, 1946) is an American singer, actress and television personality. Often referred to by the media as the Honorific nicknames in popular music, "Goddess of Pop", she has been described as embodying female ...

* ''

All I Really Want to Do "All I Really Want to Do" is a song written by Bob Dylan and featured on his Tom Wilson- produced 1964 album, ''Another Side of Bob Dylan''. It is arguably one of the most popular songs that Dylan wrote in the period immediately after he abandon ...

'' (Imperial Records, 1965) * '' Chér'' (Imperial Records, 1966) With

John Denver Henry John Deutschendorf Jr. (December 31, 1943 – October 12, 1997), known professionally as John Denver, was an American singer-songwriter, guitarist, actor, activist, and humanitarian whose greatest commercial success was as a solo singe ...

* ''

Earth Songs ''Earth Songs'' is the 22nd studio album by American singer-songwriter John Denver released in June 1990. At the time of its release, it was only available by mail order and at John Denver's concerts. With the exception of tracks 7, 8, and 14 ...

'' (Windstar Records, 1990) With

Dion DiMucci Dion Francis DiMucci (born July 18, 1939), better known simply as Dion, is an American singer, songwriter and guitarist. His music has incorporated elements of doo-wop, pop, rock, R&B, folk and blues. Initially as the lead singer of Dion and t ...

* '' Born to Be with You'' (Phil Spector Records, 1975) With

Herbie Harper Herbert Harper (2 July 1920 — 21 January 2012) was an American jazz trombonist of the West Coast jazz school. Born in Salina, Kansas, he played swing music with Benny Goodman and Charlie Spivak in the 1940s and 1950s. Working on the West Coas ...

Quintet * ''Five Brothers'' (Tampa Records, 1955) With Jack Jones * ''What I Did For Love'' (RCA Victor, 1975) With

* '' City of Glass'' (Capitol, 1951) * ''

Popular Favorites by Stan Kenton ''Popular Favorites by Stan Kenton'' is a compilation album by pianist and bandleader Stan Kenton featuring performances recorded between 1951 and 1953 and originally released as a 10-inch LP and 45 rpm EP on Capitol before being reissued as a 12 ...

'' (Capitol, 1953) * ''

This Modern World ''This Modern World'' is a weekly satirical comic strip by cartoonist and political commentator Tom Tomorrow (real name Dan Perkins) that covers current events from a left-wing point of view. Published continuously for more than 30 years, ''Th ...

'' (Capitol, 1953) With The Mitchells: Red Mitchell,

Whitey Mitchell Gordon "Whitey" Mitchell (February 22, 1932 – January 16, 2009) was an American jazz bassist and television writer/producer. He was born in Hackensack, New Jersey. Life and career Mitchell was the brother of bassist Red Mitchell. He began on ...

Blue Mitchell Richard Allen "Blue" Mitchell (March 13, 1930 – May 21, 1979) was an American trumpeter and composer who worked in jazz, rhythm and blues, soul, rock and funk. He recorded albums as leader and sideman for Riverside, Mainstream Records, and Blu ...

and

* '' Get Those Elephants Out'a Here'' (MetroJazz, 1958) With

Walter Murphy Walter Anthony Murphy Jr. (born December 19, 1952) is an American composer, keyboardist, songwriter, and record producer. He is best known for the instrumental " A Fifth of Beethoven", a disco adaptation of Beethoven's Fifth Symphony which top ...

* ''Walter Murphy's Discosymphony'' (New York, 1979) With

Michael Nesmith Robert Michael Nesmith or Mike Nesmith, (December 30, 1942 – December 10, 2021) was an American musician, songwriter, and actor. He was best known as a member of the pop rock band the Monkees and co-star of the TV series ''The Monkees'' (1966� ...

* ''

The Wichita Train Whistle Sings ''The Wichita Train Whistle Sings'' is the ''de facto'' first solo album by Michael Nesmith, although the artist credited on the initial release is actually "The Wichita Train Whistle". It was recorded while Nesmith was still a member of the Mo ...

'' (Dot, 1968) With

Jack Nitzsche Bernard Alfred "Jack" Nitzsche ( '; April 22, 1937 – August 25, 2000) was an American musician, arranger, songwriter, composer, and record producer. He first came to prominence in the early 1960s as the right-hand-man of producer Phil Spec ...

* ''Heart Beat'' (Soundtrack) (Capitol, 1980) With

Anita O'Day Anita Belle Colton (October 18, 1919 – November 23, 2006), known professionally as Anita O'Day, was an American jazz singer and self proclaimed “song stylist” widely admired for her sense of rhythm and dynamics, and her early big band appe ...

* ''

In a Mellow Tone "In a Mellow Tone", also known as "In a Mellotone", is a 1939 jazz standard composed by Duke Ellington, with lyrics written by Milt Gabler. The song was based on the 1917 standard "Rose Room" by Art Hickman and Harry Williams, which Ellington himse ...

'' (Kayo, 1989) With

Renee Olstead Renee Olstead (born June 18, 1989) is an American actress and singer. Active since childhood as an actress, she is best known for her roles on the CBS sitcom '' Still Standing'' and on the ABC Family drama ''The Secret Life of the American Teenag ...

* ''Skylark'' (Reprise Records, 2009) With

Joe Pass Joe Pass (born Joseph Anthony Jacobi Passalaqua; January 13, 1929 – May 23, 1994) was an American jazz guitarist. Pass is well known for his work stemming from numerous collaborations with pianist Oscar Peterson and vocalist Ella Fitzgerald, an ...

* '' A Sign of the Times'' (World Pacific, 1965) With

* ''

King Size! ''King Size!'' is a jazz album by pianist and composer André Previn recorded in 1958 and released on the Contemporary label.

'' (Contemporary, 1959) * '' Dinah Sings, Previn Plays'' (Capitol, 1959) - with

Dinah Shore Dinah Shore (born Frances Rose Shore; February 29, 1916 – February 24, 1994) was an American singer, actress, and television personality, and the top-charting female vocalist of the 1940s. She rose to prominence as a recording artist during ...

* '' Like Previn!'' (Contemporary, 1960) * '' André Previn and J. J. Johnson'' (Columbia, 1961) - with

J. J. Johnson J.J. Johnson (January 22, 1924 – February 4, 2001), born James Louis Johnson and also known as Jay Jay Johnson, was an American jazz trombonist, composer and arranger. Johnson was one of the earliest trombonists to embrace bebop. Biograph ...

* ''

Duet A duet is a musical composition for two performers in which the performers have equal importance to the piece, often a composition involving two singers or two pianists. It differs from a harmony, as the performers take turns performing a solo ...

'' (Columbia, 1962) - with

Doris Day Doris Day (born Doris Mary Kappelhoff; April 3, 1922 – May 13, 2019) was an American actress, singer, and activist. She began her career as a big band singer in 1939, achieving commercial success in 1945 with two No. 1 recordings, " Sent ...

With

Shorty Rogers Milton "Shorty" Rogers (born Milton Rajonsky; April 14, 1924 – November 7, 1994) was an American jazz musician, one of the principal creators of West Coast jazz. He played trumpet and flugelhorn and was in demand for his skills as an arran ...

* '' Shorty Rogers Meets Tarzan'' (MGM, 1960) With

Bud Shank Clifford Everett "Bud" Shank Jr. (May 27, 1926 – April 2, 2009) was an American alto saxophonist and flautist. He rose to prominence in the early 1950s playing lead alto and flute in Stan Kenton's Innovations in Modern Music Orchestra and thro ...

* ''

Girl in Love ''Girl in Love'' is an album by saxophonist Bud Shank recorded in 1966 for the World Pacific label.Edwards, D., Eyrie, P. and Callahan, MWorld Pacific Album Discography accessed December 15, 2015 Reception AllMusic rated the album with 2 stars. ...

'' (World Pacific, 1966) * '' Bud Shank Plays Music from Today's Movies'' (World Pacific, 1967) With

Nancy Sinatra Nancy Sandra Sinatra (born June 8, 1940) is an American singer and actress. She is the elder daughter of Frank Sinatra and Nancy Sinatra ( Barbato), and is best known for her 1966 signature hit "These Boots Are Made for Walkin'. Nancy Sinatra ...

* ''

Boots A boot is a type of footwear. Boot or Boots may also refer to: Businesses * Boot Inn, Chester, Cheshire, England * Boots (company), a high-street pharmacy chain and manufacturer of pharmaceuticals in the United Kingdom * The Boot, Cromer Stre ...

'' (Reprise Records, 1966) With

Sonny & Cher Sonny & Cher were an American pop and entertainment duo in the 1960s and 1970s, made up of husband and wife Sonny Bono and Cher. The couple started their career in the mid-1960s as R&B backing singers for record producer Phil Spector. The pair f ...

* ''

Look at Us ''Look at Us'' is the debut album by American pop duo Sonny & Cher, released in 1965 by Atco Records. The album reached number two on the ''Billboard'' 200 and was certified gold. Album information Shortly after their single "I Got You Babe" ...

'' (Atco Records, 1965) With

Captain & Tennille Captain & Tennille were American recording artists whose primary success occurred in the 1970s. The husband-and-wife team were "Captain" Daryl Dragon (1942–2019) and Toni Tennille (born 1940). They have five albums certified gold or platinu ...

* '' Song of Joy'' (A&M Records, 1976) With

Ike & Tina Turner Ike & Tina Turner were an American musical duo consisting of husband and wife Ike Turner and Tina Turner. From 1960 to 1976, they performed live as the Ike & Tina Turner Revue, supported by Ike Turner's band the Kings of Rhythm and backing vocal ...

* ''

River Deep – Mountain High "River Deep – Mountain High" is a song by Ike & Tina Turner released as the title track to their 1966 studio album on Philles Records. Produced by Phil Spector and written by Spector, Jeff Barry and Ellie Greenwich. ''Rolling Stone'' ranke ...

'' (A&M Records, 1966) With

Ben Webster Benjamin Francis Webster (March 27, 1909 – September 20, 1973) was an American jazz tenor saxophonist. Career Early life and career A native of Kansas City, Missouri, he studied violin, learned how to play blues on the piano from ...

* ''

The Warm Moods ''The Warm Moods'' is an album by American jazz saxophonist Ben Webster featuring tracks recorded in 1960 for the Reprise label.New England Jazz History DatabaseFrank Capp Interview - NAMM Oral History Library (2016)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Capp, Frank 1931 births 2017 deaths Musicians from Worcester, Massachusetts American session musicians American jazz drummers Big band bandleaders The Wrecking Crew (music) members American jazz percussionists American jazz vibraphonists Bongo players Timpanists Timbaleros Tubular bells players Snare drummers Tambourine players Castanets players Jazz musicians from Massachusetts The Capp-Pierce Juggernaut members