Joseph Delia (born October 11, 1948) is an American singer, musician, multi-instrumentalist, composer, and

arranger In music, an arrangement is a musical adaptation of an existing composition. Differences from the original composition may include reharmonization, melodic paraphrasing, orchestration, or formal development. Arranging differs from orches ...

. He is the lead vocalist and keyboardist of the eponymous

blues rock Blues rock is a fusion music genre that combines elements of blues and rock music. It is mostly an electric ensemble-style music with instrumentation similar to electric blues and rock (electric guitar, electric bass guitar, and drums, sometimes w ...

band Joe Delia & Thieves, after previously touring as a session and

studio musician Session musicians, studio musicians, or backing musicians are musicians hired to perform in recording sessions or live performances. The term sideman is also used in the case of live performances, such as accompanying a recording artist on a ...

with

Chuck Berry Charles Edward Anderson Berry (October 18, 1926 – March 18, 2017) was an American singer, songwriter and guitarist who pioneered rock and roll. Nicknamed the " Father of Rock and Roll", he refined and developed rhythm and blues into th ...

Pat Benatar Patricia Mae Giraldo (''née'' Andrzejewski, formerly Benatar; born January 10, 1953), known professionally as Pat Benatar, is an American rock singer and songwriter. In the United States, she has had two multi-platinum albums, five platinum alb ...

, and

Stevie Wonder Stevland Hardaway Morris ( Judkins; May 13, 1950), known professionally as Stevie Wonder, is an American singer-songwriter, who is credited as a pioneer and influence by musicians across a range of genres that include rhythm and blues, Pop musi ...

. He is also prolific composer of film and television scores, best known for his long-running collaborations with filmmaker

Abel Ferrara Abel Ferrara (born July 19, 1951) is an American filmmaker, known for the provocative and often controversial content in his movies and his use of neo-noir imagery and gritty urban settings. A long-time independent filmmaker, some of his best kn ...

on films like ''

Ms. 45 ''Ms .45'' (also known as ''Angel of Vengeance'' as ''Ms. 45'') is a 1981 American exploitation thriller film directed by Abel Ferrara and starring Zoë Tamerlis. Inspired by films such as ''Thriller – A Cruel Picture'' (1973), ''Death Wish' ...

'', ''

King of New York ''King of New York'' is a 1990 neo-noir gangster film directed by Abel Ferrara and written by Nicholas St. John. It stars Christopher Walken as a New York City drug kingpin rebuilding his criminal empire after his release from prison, while al ...

'', ''

Bad Lieutenant ''Bad Lieutenant'' is a 1992 American neo-noir crime film directed by Abel Ferrara. The film stars Harvey Keitel as the titular "bad lieutenant" as well as Victor Argo and Paul Calderón. The screenplay was co-written by Ferrara with actress-mod ...

'', ''Body Snatchers'' and '' Zeros and Ones''.

Biography

The Bruthers

Born in

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

, Delia began his career as a teenager in the early sixties, playing piano and singing with his group

The Bruthers The Bruthers were an American garage rock band from Pearl River, New York, active in the mid to late 1960s, and whose membership consisted the four brothers, Alf, Frank, Mike, and Joe of the Delia family. They recorded several songs for RCA rec ...

, who signed to

RCA Records RCA Records is an American record label currently owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside RCA's former long-time rival Columbia Records; also A ...

and released the 1966 single "Bad Way to Go". Managed by promoter Sid Bernstein, The Bruthers went on to work as a backup band on tours with rock 'n' roll artists

The Crystals The Crystals are an American vocal group that originated in New York City. Considered one of the defining acts of the girl group era in the first half of the 1960s, their 1961–1964 chart hits – including " There's No Other (Like My Baby)", ...

Little Eva Eva Narcissus Boyd (June 29, 1943 – April 10, 2003), better known by the stage name of Little Eva, was an American singer, well known for her 1962 hit "The Loco-Motion". Although some sources claim that her stage name was inspired by a charac ...

and

the Isley Brothers The Isley Brothers ( ) are an American musical group originally from Cincinnati, Ohio, that began as a vocal trio consisting of brothers O'Kelly Isley Jr., Rudolph Isley and Ronald Isley in the 1950s. With a career spanning over seven decades, ...

. "Bad Way to Go" was included on the compilation album, '' Pebbles, Volume 8''. ''Bad Way to Go'', compiling The Bruthers' sole single and some unreleased studio recordings, was released

Sundazed Records Sundazed Music is an American independent record label based in Coxsackie, New York. It specializes in obscure and rare recordings from the 1950s to the 1970s. In 2000, Sundazed had a staff of 15 and two mixing studios, including a vintage audio ...

in 2003.

Studio work

During the seventies, Delia studied composition, arranging, piano and bass violin under the likes of

Don Sebesky Don Sebesky (born December 10, 1937) is an American arranger, jazz trombonist, and keyboardist. Biography Sebesky trained in trombone at the Manhattan School of Music; in his early career, he played with Kai Winding, Claude Thornhill, Tommy Do ...

Eddie Gómez Edgar Gómez (born October 4, 1944) is a Puerto Rican jazz double bassist, known for his work with the Bill Evans Trio from 1966 to 1977. Biography Gómez moved with his family from Puerto Rico at a young age to New York, where he was raised. ...

, and

Jimmy Garrison James Emory Garrison (March 3, 1934 – April 7, 1976) was an American jazz double bassist. He is best remembered for his association with John Coltrane from 1961 to 1967. Career Garrison was raised in both Miami and Philadelphia where he l ...

. He was later chosen for the position of Composer in Residence at

Sarah Lawrence College Sarah Lawrence College is a Private university, private liberal arts college in Yonkers, New York. The college models its approach to education after the Supervision system, Oxford/Cambridge system of one-on-one student-faculty tutorials. Sara ...

for two years under the direction of Shirley Kaplan and June Ekert. He eventually made his way into the studio scene in New York City, playing keyboards and writing arrangements for such diverse artists as

Dusty Springfield Mary Isobel Catherine Bernadette O'Brien (16 April 1939 – 2 March 1999), known professionally as Dusty Springfield, was an English singer. With her distinctive mezzo-soprano sound, she was a popular singer of blue-eyed soul, Pop music, p ...

Grace Slick Grace Slick (born Grace Barnett Wing; October 30, 1939) is an American singer-songwriter, artist, and painter. Slick was a key figure in San Francisco's early psychedelic music scene in the mid-1960s. With a music career spanning four decades, s ...

Janis Ian Janis Ian (born Janis Eddy Fink; April 7, 1951) is an American singer-songwriter who was most commercially successful in the 1960s and 1970s. Her signature songs are the 1966/67 hit " Society's Child (Baby I've Been Thinking)" and the 1975 Top T ...

Helen Schneider Helen Schneider (born December 23, 1952) is an American singer and actress working mainly in Germany. Life and career Helen Leslie Schneider was born in Brooklyn, New York City, the daughter of Dvora and Abraham Schneider. Schneider studi ...

The Left Banke The Left Banke was an American baroque pop band, formed in New York City in 1965. They are best remembered for their two U.S. hit singles, "Walk Away Renée" and "Pretty Ballerina". The band often used what the music press referred to as "baroqu ...

, Cory Daye and Engelbert Humperdinck, as well as writing jingles and scoring many industrial films. In Denmark, Delia is best known for his collaboration in the early 1980s with the popular Danish songwriter Kim Larsen when Larsen unsuccessfully tried to break into the American music industry. The eventual result was two albums credited to Kim Larsen and Jungle Dreams; the albums both sold well – but only in Denmark.

Film and television

Among Delia's earliest experiences in the music business were co-writing and singing for

The Muppets The Muppets are an American ensemble cast of puppet characters known for an absurdist, burlesque, and self-referential style of variety- sketch comedy. Created by Jim Henson in 1955, they are the focus of a media franchise that encompasses ...

' first appearance on ''

The Ed Sullivan Show ''The Ed Sullivan Show'' is an American television program, television variety show that ran on CBS from June 20, 1948, to March 28, 1971, and was hosted by New York City, New York entertainment columnist Ed Sullivan. It was replaced in Septembe ...

''., composing jingles for major advertising campaigns, and co-composing a children's musical titled ''Lollapalooza'' which was produced by

Joseph Papp Joseph Papp (born Joseph Papirofsky; June 22, 1921 – October 31, 1991) was an American theatrical producer and director. He established The Public Theater in what had been the Astor Library Building in Lower Manhattan. There Papp created a y ...

and Bernard Gertsen for the New York Shakespeare festival. After scoring two low-budget features for director

during the 1970s, the two teamed up on a third film, ''

'' (1980). This working relationship continued for over twenty years, resulting in scores for most of Ferrara's body of work, including ''

China Girl China Girl may refer to: Music *China Girl (song), "China Girl" (song), a 1977 song by David Bowie and Iggy Pop, rerecorded and released as a single by Bowie in 1983 *"China Girl", a song by John Cougar, released in 1982 on the album ''American Foo ...

'', ''

'', '' Dangerous Game'', ''

The Addiction ''The Addiction'' is a 1995 American vampire horror film directed by Abel Ferrara, starring Lili Taylor, Christopher Walken and Annabella Sciorra. Edie Falco and Kathryn Erbe appear in supporting roles. The film was written by Ferrara's frequ ...

'', '' The Funeral'', ''

Subway Stories ''Subway Stories: Tales from the Underground'' is a film made in 1997 and produced by Home Box Office for television. It began as a contest among New Yorkers who submitted stories about their experiences within the New York City Subway. HBO pic ...

'' and '' The Blackout'', on which Delia wrote the original score and collaborated on songs with rap artist

Schoolly D Jesse Bonds Weaver Jr. (born June 22, 1962), better known by the stage name Schoolly D (sometimes spelled Schooly D), is an American rapper from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Career Schoolly D teamed up with DJ Code Money in the mid-1980s. His ...

. Delia appears as himself in ''A Short Film About the Long Career of Abel Ferrara'',Joe Delia
IMDb, official website. Retrieved December 24, 2010 (which is included the Artisan DVD release of ''King of New York''). Delia wrote music for a 1985 episode of ''

Miami Vice ''Miami Vice'' is an American crime drama television series created by Anthony Yerkovich and produced by Michael Mann (director), Michael Mann for NBC. The series stars Don Johnson as James "Sonny" Crockett and Philip Michael Thomas as Ricardo ...

,'' directed by Ferrara, in which Delia makes an uncredited appearance as a musician. Delia's collaboration with Ferrara came to a hiatus ever since the latter fired him during the making of ''

New Rose Hotel "New Rose Hotel" is a short story by William Gibson, first published in ''Omni (magazine), Omni'' in July 1984 and later included in his 1986 collection ''Burning Chrome (short story collection), Burning Chrome''. Plot The story is set in a futu ...

'' (1998). He eventually reunited with Ferrara with the 2017 documentary ''Alive in France''. Other credits during the nineties include the HBO film '' The Enemy Within''; and ''Drunks'', starring

Richard Lewis Richard, Rich, Richie, Rick, Ricky or Dick Lewis may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Richard Field Lewis Jr. (1907–1957), American radio network owner * Dick "Rocko" Lewis (Richard Henry Lewis III, 1908–1966), American entertainer * Rich ...

and

Faye Dunaway Dorothy Faye Dunaway (born January 14, 1941) is an American actress. She is the recipient of List of awards and nominations received by Faye Dunaway, many accolades, including an Academy Awards, Academy Award, a Primetime Emmy Award, three Golden ...

. He also scored the television series ''

Dellaventura ''Dellaventura'' is an American crime drama television series created by Richard Di Lello, Julian Neil and Bernard L. Nussbaumer, that aired on CBS from September 23, 1997, to January 13, 1998. The show was based on the life of late NYPD detectiv ...

'', starring

Danny Aiello Daniel Louis Aiello Jr. () (June 20, 1933 – December 12, 2019) was an American actor. He appeared in numerous motion pictures, including ''The Godfather Part II'' (1974), ''The Front'' (1976), ''Once Upon a Time in America'' (1984), ''Hide in ...

, and scored the second season of the sci-fi series ''

War of the Worlds ''The War of the Worlds'' is a science fiction novel by English author H. G. Wells, first serialised in 1897 by ''Pearson's Magazine'' in the UK and by ''Cosmopolitan (magazine), Cosmopolitan'' magazine in the US. The novel's first appear ...

''. He composed music for twenty-six episodes of the BBC children's show ''Growing Up Wild/Madison's Adventures'', was musical director for

Richard Belzer Richard Jay Belzer (born August 4, 1944) is a retired American actor, stand-up comedian, and author. He is best known for his role as BPD Detective, NYPD Detective/Sergeant, and DA Investigator John Munch, whom he has portrayed as a regular cast ...

's HBO and Showtime specials, and scored the Emmy Award-winning ten-part series ''Lost Civilizations'' for NBC/

Time–Life Time Life, with sister subsidiaries StarVista Live and Lifestyle Products Group, a holding of Direct Holdings Global LLC, is an American production company and direct marketer conglomerate, that is known for selling books, music, video/DVD, ...

. Delia's later film scores include

Jenniphr Goodman Jenniphr Goodman is a film director best known for directing and co-writing the 2000 film ''The Tao of Steve''. She received her B.A. in creative writing and film making in 1984 through Pitzer College. She is also a graduate of New York University' ...

's comedy hit ''

The Tao of Steve ''The Tao of Steve'' is a 2000 romantic comedy film written by Duncan North, Greer Goodman, and Jenniphr Goodman, directed by Jenniphr Goodman, and starring Donal Logue and Greer Goodman. The film was produced by Ted Hope and James Schamus' G ...

'', released by Sony Classics; ''

Fever Fever, also referred to as pyrexia, is defined as having a body temperature, temperature above the human body temperature, normal range due to an increase in the body's temperature Human body temperature#Fever, set point. There is not a single ...

'', by

Alex Winter Alexander Ross Winter (born July 17, 1965) is a British-American actor and filmmaker. He played the slacker Bill in the 1989 film ''Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure'' and its sequels ''Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey'' (1991) and ''Bill & Ted Face t ...

; ''

Ricky 6 ''Ricky 6'' is a 2000 American-Mexican-Canadian film co-production loosely based on the life of Ricky Kasso, a suburban teenager accused of Satanism and murder in the 1980s. The film was written and directed by Peter Filardi, and based on the 198 ...

'', written and directed by Peter Filardi; ''A Jersey Tale'', by Michael Tolajian; '' My Best Friend's Wife'', by Doug Finelli; '' Bitter Jester'', produced by Richard Belzer; ''Bridget'', by

Amos Kollek Amos Kollek ( he, עמוס קולק; born September 15, 1947) is an Israeli film director, writer and actor. Biography Amos Kollek was born in Jerusalem. He is the son of Teddy Kollek, the long-time mayor of Jerusalem. Kollek studied psychology a ...

; the jazz segments for the PBS film '' Partners of the Heart'', by

Bill Duke William Henry Duke Jr. (born February 26, 1943) is an American actor and film director. Known for his physically imposing frame, Duke works primarily in the action and crime drama genres often as a character related to law enforcement. Frequently ...

; and '' Carlito's Way: Rise to Power'' (a prequel to

Brian De Palma Brian Russell De Palma (born September 11, 1940) is an American film director and screenwriter. With a career spanning over 50 years, he is best known for his work in the suspense, crime and psychological thriller genres. De Palma was a leading ...

's ''

Carlito's Way ''Carlito's Way'' is a 1993 American crime drama film directed by Brian De Palma, based on the novels ''Carlito's Way'' (1975) and '' After Hours'' (1979) by Judge Edwin Torres. The film adaptation was scripted by David Koepp. It stars Al Pacin ...

'') directed by Michael Bregman and executive produced by

Martin Bregman Martin Leon Bregman (May 18, 1926 – June 16, 2018) was an American film producer and personal manager. He produced many films, including '' Scarface'', ''Sea of Love'', ''Venom'', ''Serpico'', ''Dog Day Afternoon'', '' The Four Seasons'', ''Bet ...

. He composed theme music for a season of ''

Pee Wee's Playhouse ''Pee-wee's Playhouse'' is an American television series starring Paul Reubens as the childlike Pee-wee Herman that ran from 1986 to 1990 on Saturday mornings on CBS, and airing in reruns until July 1991. The show was developed from Reubens's p ...

'', while continuing to score feature films. He composed for three seasons on the

History Channel History (formerly The History Channel from January 1, 1995 to February 15, 2008, stylized as HISTORY) is an American pay television network and flagship channel owned by A&E Networks, a joint venture between Hearst Communications and the Disney ...

's most successful series '' Digging for the Truth'', and wrote the score for the

Discovery Channel Discovery Channel (known as The Discovery Channel from 1985 to 1995, and often referred to as simply Discovery) is an American cable channel owned by Warner Bros. Discovery, a publicly traded company run by CEO David Zaslav. , Discovery Channe ...

series ''

Weapon Masters ''Weapon Masters'' is a television show that was premiered on the Discovery Channel on December 31, 2007, and on the Military Channel. The hosts, Chad Houseknecht and Mike Loades, a weapons historian, choose a different historical weapon each w ...

''. Delia scored the

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcasting, public broadcaster and Non-commercial activity, non-commercial, Terrestrial television, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly fu ...

series ''

Nova A nova (plural novae or novas) is a transient astronomical event that causes the sudden appearance of a bright, apparently "new" star (hence the name "nova", which is Latin for "new") that slowly fades over weeks or months. Causes of the dramati ...

'', the

BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...

...

Biography

The Bruthers

Studio work

Film and television

Later bands and production work

Discography

Filmography

References

External links