Anthony C. Mottola (April 18, 1918 – August 9, 2004) was an American jazz guitarist who released dozens of solo albums. Mottola was born in Kearny, New Jersey and died in

Denville Denville Township is a Township (New Jersey), township in Morris County, New Jersey, Morris County, New Jersey, located west of Manhattan. As of the 2010 United States census, 2010 U.S. census, the township's population was 16,635, reflecting ...

Career

Like many of his contemporaries, Mottola began learning to play the banjo, but then took up the guitar. He had his first guitar lessons from his father. He toured with an orchestra led by George Hall in 1936, marking the beginning of his professional life. His first recordings were duets with guitarist

Carl Kress Carl Kress (October 20, 1907 – June 10, 1965) was an American jazz guitarist. Music career Kress started on piano before picking up the banjo. Beginning in 1926, he played guitar during his brief period in Paul Whiteman's orchestra. For most ...

. In 1945, he collaborated with accordionist John Serry Sr. in a recording of "Leone Jump" for Sonora Records (MS-476-3) which was played in jukeboxes throughout the U.S. His only charted single as a soloist was "

This Guy's in Love with You "This Guy's in Love with You" is a song written by Burt Bacharach and Hal David, and recorded by Herb Alpert. Although known primarily for his trumpet playing as the leader of the Tijuana Brass, Alpert sang lead vocals on this solo recording, ar ...

", which reached No. 22 on the ''Billboard'' magazine Easy Listening Top 40 in the summer of 1968. Mottola worked often on television, appearing as a regular on shows hosted by vocalist Perry Como and comedian

Sid Caesar Isaac Sidney Caesar (September 8, 1922 – February 12, 2014) was an American comic actor, comedian and writer. With a career spanning 60 years, he was best known for two pioneering 1950s live television series: ''Your Show of Shows'' (1950� ...

and as music director for the 1950s series ''

Danger Danger is a lack of safety and may refer to: Places * Danger Cave, an archaeological site in Utah * Danger Island, Great Chagos Bank, Indian Ocean * Danger Island, alternate name of Pukapuka Atoll in the Cook Islands, Pacific Ocean * Danger Isla ...

''. From 1958 to 1972, he was a member of ''

The Tonight Show ''The Tonight Show'' is an American late-night talk show that has aired on NBC since 1954. The show has been hosted by six comedians: Steve Allen (1954–1957), Jack Paar (1957–1962), Johnny Carson (1962–1992), Jay Leno (1992–2009 and 201 ...

'' Orchestra led by

Skitch Henderson Lyle Russel "Skitch" Henderson (January 27, 1918 – November 1, 2005) was a pianist, conductor, and composer. His nickname "Skitch" came from his ability to "re-sketch" a song in a different key. Bing Crosby suggested that he should use the ...

, then by Doc Severinsen. He composed music for the TV documentary ''Two Childhoods'', which was about Vice President

Hubert Humphrey Hubert Horatio Humphrey Jr. (May 27, 1911 – January 13, 1978) was an American pharmacist and politician who served as the 38th vice president of the United States from 1965 to 1969. He twice served in the United States Senate, representing Mi ...

and writer James Baldwin, and won an Emmy Award for his work. In 1980, Mottola began performing with Frank Sinatra, often in duets, appearing at Carnegie Hall and the

White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in ...

. He retired from the music business in 1988 but kept playing at home almost every day.

Discography

Tony Mottola scoring the television series Danger 1954

As leader

* ''Let's Put Out the Lights'' (

RCA Camden The RCA Corporation was a major American electronics company, which was founded as the Radio Corporation of America in 1919. It was initially a patent pool, patent trust owned by General Electric (GE), Westinghouse Electric Corporation, Westin ...

, 1956) * ''Mr. Big: Tony Mottola...Guitar'' (

Command Command may refer to: Computing * Command (computing), a statement in a computer language * COMMAND.COM, the default operating system shell and command-line interpreter for DOS * Command key, a modifier key on Apple Macintosh computer keyboards * ...

, 1959) * ''Roman Guitar'' (Command, 1960) * ''String Band Strum-Along'' (Command, 1961) * ''Folk Songs'' (Command, 1961) * ''Tony Mottola a Napoli'' (Command, 1963) * ''Tony Mottola and His Orchestra'' (Command, 1963) * ''Romantic Guitar'' (Command, 1963) * ''Sentimental Guitar'' (Command, 1964) * ''Guitar....Paris'' (Command, 1964) * ''Spanish Guitar'' (Command, 1965) * ''Love Songs Mexico S.A.'' (Command, 1965) * ''Guitar U.S.A.'' (Command, 1966) * ''Amor Mexico'' (Command, 1966) * ''Heart & Soul'' ( Project 3, 1966) * ''Lush, Latin & Lovely'' (Project 3, 1967) * ''Love Songs from Mexico'' (Command, 1967) * ''Roma Oggi/Rome Today'' (Project 3, 1968) * ''Warm, Wild and Wonderful'' (Project 3, 1968) * ''Joins the Guitar Underground'' (Project 3, 1969) * ''Hawaii Five-O'' (Design, 1969) * ''Close to You'' (Project 3, 1970) * ''Tony Mottola's Guitar Factory'' (Project 3, 1970) * ''Warm Feelings'' (Project 3, 1971) * ''Two Guitars for Two in Love'' (Project 3, 1972) * ''Superstar Guitar'' (Project 3, 1972) * ''Tony Mottola and the Quad Guitars'' (Project 3, 1973) * ''Holiday Guitars'' (Project 3, 1974) * ''Tony Mottola and the Brass Menagerie'' (Project 3, 1974) * ''I Only Have Eyes for You'' (Project 3, 1975) * ''Goin' Out of My Head'' (Project 3, 1979) * ''Stardust'' (Project 3, 1980) * ''All the Way'' (Project 3, 1983)

As sideman

With

Ray Charles Ray Charles Robinson Sr. (September 23, 1930 – June 10, 2004) was an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. He is regarded as one of the most iconic and influential singers in history, and was often referred to by contemporaries as "The Ge ...

* ''Spring Is Here'' (

MGM Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures and abbreviated as MGM, is an American film, television production, distribution and media company owned by Amazon through MGM Holdings, founded on April 17, 1924 a ...

, 1955) * ''Rome Revisited'' (Command, 1962) * ''Something Wonderful'' (Command, 1961) * ''Young Lovers On-Broadway'' (Command, 1965) * ''Memories of a Middle-Aged Movie Fan'' (ATCO, 1968) With Urbie Green * ''Twenty-One Trombones'' (Project 3, 1967) * ''Green Power'' (Project 3, 1971) * ''Bein' Green'' (Project 3, 1972) * ''Urbie Green's Big Beautiful Band'' (Project 3, 1974) With Dick Hyman * ''Electrodynamics'' (Command, 1963) * ''Fabulous'' (Command, 1963) * ''Keyboard Kaleidoscope'' (Command, 1964) * ''The Man from O.R.G.A.N.'' (Command, 1965) * ''Happening!'' (Command, 1966) * ''Concerto Electro'' (Command, 1970) * ''Fantomfingers'' (Project 3, 1971) * ''Traditional Jazz Piano'' (Project 3, 1973) With Enoch Light * ''Pertinent Percussion Cha Cha's'' (Command, 1959) * ''Provocative Percussion Vol. 2'' (Command, 1960) * ''Cancoes de Paises Distantes'' (Musidisc 1960) * ''Far Away Places'' (Command, 1960) * ''Vibrations'' (Command, 1962) * ''Big Band Bossa Nova'' (Command, 1962) * ''My Musical Coloring Book'' (Command, 1963) * ''1963: the Year's Most Popular Themes'' (Command, 1963) * ''Dimension 3'' (Command, 1964) * ''Discotheque: Dance Dance Dance'' (Command, 1964) * ''Magnificent Movie Themes'' (Command, 1965) * ''Film Fame'' (Project 3, 1967) * ''Enoch Light's Action'' (Project 3, 1967) * ''The Best of Hollywood Movie Hits '68-'69'' (Project 3, 1968) * ''12 Smash Hits'' (Project 3, 1968) * ''Enoch Light and the Glittering Guitars'' (Project 3, 1969) * ''The Best of the Movie Themes 1970'' (Project 3, 1970) * ''The Big Band Hits of the Thirties'' (Project 3, 1970) * ''Big Band Hits of the 30's & 40's'' (Project 3, 1971) * ''Big Hits of the 20's'' (Project 3, 1971) * ''The Big Band Sound of the Thirties'' (Project 3, 1971) * ''The Big Band Hits of the 40s & 50s'' (Project 3, 1973) * ''Spanish Strings'' (Project 3, 1973) * ''Future Sound Shock'' (Project 3, 1973) * ''Big Hits of the Seventies Vol. 2'' (Project 3, 1975) * ''The Disco Disque'' (Project 3, 1975) With

Charles Magnante Charles Magnante (December 7, 1905 – December 30, 1986) was an American piano-accordionist, arranger, composer, author and educator. His artistry helped raise the image of the accordion from an instrument considered suitable only for folk ...

* ''Roman Spectacular'' (Grand Award, 1957) * ''Roman Spectacular Vol. 2'' (Grand Award, 1957) * ''Percussion Italiano'' (Grand Award, 1961) With

Joe Reisman Joseph Reisman (September 16, 1924, Dallas - September 15, 1987, Los Angeles) was an American musician (tenor and baritone saxophone, clarinet), bandleader, arranger, and record producer in the swing era. Reisman studied at Baylor University and ...

* ''Armen's Theme'' ( RCA Victor, 1956) * ''Door of Dreams'' (RCA Victor, 1957) * ''Party Night at Joe's'' (RCA Victor, 1958) With Doc Severinsen * ''Tempestuous Trumpet'' (Command, 1961) * ''The Big Band's Back in Town'' (Command, 1962) * ''Twin Trumpet Discotheque Au Go Go'' (Command, 1965) * ''Command Performances'' (Command, 1966) * ''Fever'' (Command, 1966) * ''Live!'' (Command, 1966) * ''The Great Arrival!'' (Command, 1969) * ''Trumpets and Crumpets and Things'' (ABC 1973) With Frank Sinatra * ''She Shot Me Down'' (

Reprise In music, a reprise ( , ; from the verb 'to resume') is the repetition or reiteration of the opening material later in a composition as occurs in the recapitulation of sonata form, though—originally in the 18th century—was simply any repe ...

, 1981) * '' Sinatra 80th: Live in Concert'' (1995) * '' Sinatra: Vegas'' (2006) * '' Sinatra: New York'' (2009) * '' Live at the Meadowlands'' (2009) * '' Sinatra: London'' (2014) With others *

Jan August Jan August (born Jan Augustoff; September 24, 1904 – January 9, 1976) was an American pianist and xylophonist. He had a hit with his version of "Misirlou" in 1947 with Carl Frederick Tandberg. August was born in New York City, United States. H ...

, ''Cha Cha Charm'' ( Mercury, 1959) * Louie Bellson, ''Breakthrough!'' (Project 3, 1968) * Bobby Byrne, ''The Jazzbone's Connected to the Trombone'' (Grand Award, 1959) *

Al Caiola Alexander Emil Caiola (September 7, 1920 – November 9, 2016) was an American guitarist, composer and arranger, who spanned a variety of music genres including jazz, country, rock, and pop. He recorded over fifty albums and worked with some of ...

, ''Guitars, Woodwinds & Bongos'' (

United Artists United Artists Corporation (UA), currently doing business as United Artists Digital Studios, is an American digital production company. Founded in 1919 by D. W. Griffith, Charlie Chaplin, Mary Pickford, and Douglas Fairbanks, the stud ...

, 1960) * Al Caiola, ''Percussion and Guitars'' (Time, 1960) *

Dorothy Collins Dorothy Collins (born Marjorie Chandler;
''

Ray Conniff, ''S Wonderful!'' (Columbia, 1956) * Perry Como, ''Sing to Me, Mr. C.'' (RCA Victor, 1961) * Frederick Fennell, ''Frederick Fennell Conducts Gershwin'' (Mercury, 1961) *

Robert De Cormier Robert Romeo De Cormier Jr. (January 7, 1922 – November 7, 2017), sometimes known as Robert Corman, was an American musical conductor, arranger, and director. He arranged music for many singers and groups, including Harry Belafonte and Peter, P ...

, ''Walking in the Sunshine'' (Command, 1967) * Milton DeLugg, ''Add-A-Part Jazz'' (Columbia, 1956) *

The Free Design The Free Design was a Delevan, New York-based vocal group, whose music can be described as sunshine pop and baroque pop. Though they did not achieve much commercial recognition during their main recording career, their work later influenced ba ...

, ''Kites Are Fun'' (Project 3, 1967) *

Johnny Desmond Johnny Desmond (born Giovanni Alfredo De Simone; November 14, 1919 – September 6, 1985) was an American singer who was popular in the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s. Biography Early years Desmond was born Giovanni de Simone in Detroit, Michigan, ...

, ''Blue Smoke'' (Columbia, 1960) *

Georgia Gibbs Georgia Gibbs (born Frieda Lipschitz; August 17, 1918December 9, 2006) was an American popular singer and vocal entertainer rooted in jazz. Already singing publicly in her early teens, Gibbs achieved acclaim and notoriety in the mid-1950s interp ...

, ''Swinging with Her Nibs'' (Mercury, 1956) *

Jackie Gleason John Herbert Gleason (February 26, 1916June 24, 1987) was an American actor, comedian, writer, composer, and conductor known affectionately as "The Great One." Developing a style and characters from growing up in Brooklyn, New York, he was know ...

, ''Jackie Gleason Presents "Oooo!"'' (Capitol, 1957) *

Bobby Hackett Robert Leo Hackett (January 31, 1915 – June 7, 1976) was an American jazz musician who played trumpet, cornet, and guitar with the bands of Glenn Miller and Benny Goodman in the late 1930s and early 1940s. Hackett was a featured soloist o ...

, ''That Midnight Touch'' (Project 3, 1967) *

Richard Hayman Richard Hayman (March 27, 1920 – February 5, 2014) was an American musician who was the chief music arranger of the Boston Pops Orchestra for over 50 years, and served as a pops conductor for orchestras including the Detroit Symphony Orchestra ...

, ''Harmonica Holiday'' (Mercury, 1961) *

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 ...

, ''Concert Miniatures'' (Vik, 1957) * Frank Hunter, ''The Sound of Strings Vol. 2'' (Medallion, 1960) *

Ralph Hunter Ralph Hunter (c. 1921 – June 3, 2002) was an American choral conductor. He was born circa 1921 in East Orange, New Jersey. He studied at the Juilliard School after serving in the Second World War. His album ''The Wild, Wild West'', by the Ral ...

, ''The Wild Wild West'' (RCA Victor, 1959) *

Burl Ives Burl Icle Ivanhoe Ives (June 14, 1909 – April 14, 1995) was an American musician, actor, and author with a career that spanned more than six decades. Ives began his career as an itinerant singer and guitarist, eventually launching his own rad ...

, ''Cheers'' (Decca, 1959) *

Don Lamond Donald Douglas Lamond Jr. (August 18, 1920 – December 23, 2003) was an American jazz drummer. Biography Born in Oklahoma City, Lamond attended the Peabody Conservatory in Baltimore in the early 1940s, and played with Sonny Dunham and Boyd ...

, ''Off Beat Percussion'' (Command, 1962) *

Yank Lawson John Rhea "Yank" Lawson (May 3, 1911 – February 18, 1995) was an American jazz trumpeter known for Dixieland and swing music. Born John Lausen in 1911, from 1933 to 1935 he worked in Ben Pollack's orchestra and after that became a founding ...

, ''Ole Dixie'' (ABC-Paramount, 1965) *

Eddie Layton Edward M. Layton (October 10, 1925 – December 26, 2004) was an American stadium organist who played at old Yankee Stadium for nearly 40 years, earning him membership in the New York Sports Hall of Fame. Early life Layton was a native of Philad ...

, ''Caravan'' (Mercury, 1959) * Richard Maltby, ''Many Sided Maltby'' (Sesac, 1958) * Richard Maltby, ''Ballads and Blues'' (Roulette, 1962) * Johnny Mathis, ''Open Fire, Two Guitars'' (Columbia, 1959) *

Mitch Miller Mitchell William Miller (July 4, 1911 – July 31, 2010) was an American choral conductor, record producer, record-industry executive, and professional oboist. He was involved in almost all aspects of the industry, particularly as a conductor ...

, ''Peace Sing-Along'' (Atlantic, 1970) *

Jelly Roll Morton Ferdinand Joseph LaMothe (later Morton; c. September 20, 1890 – July 10, 1941), known professionally as Jelly Roll Morton, was an American ragtime and jazz pianist, bandleader, and composer. Morton was jazz's first arranger, proving that a gen ...

, Dick Hyman, ''Transcriptions for Orchestra'' (Columbia, 1974) *

Bucky Pizzarelli John Paul "Bucky" Pizzarelli (January 9, 1926 – April 1, 2020) was an American jazz guitarist. He was the father of jazz guitarist John Pizzarelli and double bassist Martin Pizzarelli. He worked for NBC as a staffman for Dick Cavett (1971) ...

, ''Playing Bix Beiderbecke & Bill Challis and Carl Kress & Dick McDonough'' (Monmouth Evergreen, 1974) * Ruth Price, ''My Name Is Ruth Price...I Sing!'' (Kapp, 1955) * John Serry Sr., ''Accordion Capers - Joe Biviano & His Rhythm Sextette'' (Sonora, 1946) ''Accordion Capers - Joe Biviano and His Rhythm Sextette on archive.org''
/ref> * Hymie Shertzer, ''All the King's Saxes'' (Disneyland, 1958) *

Roy Smeck Leroy Smeck (6 February 1900 – 5 April 1994) was an American musician. His skill on the banjo, guitar, and ukulele earned him the nickname "The Wizard of the Strings". Background Smeck was born in Reading, Pennsylvania. He started on the vau ...

, ''The Magic Ukulele of Roy Smeck Wizard of the Strings'' (ABC-Paramount, 1959) *

Lou Stein Lou Stein (April 22, 1922 – December 11, 2002) was an American jazz pianist. Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Stein joined Ray McKinley's band in 1942. He played with Glenn Miller when the latter was stateside during World War II. Afte ...

, ''Eight for Kicks Four for Laughs'' (Jubilee, 1956) * Kirby Stone Four, ''Frank Loesser's Broadway Hit Guys & Dolls'' (Columbia, 1962) * Sylvia Syms, ''Syms by Sinatra'' (Reprise, 1982) * Cootie Williams, '' Cootie Williams in Hi-Fi'' (RCA Victor, 1958)

References

External links

Tony Mottola Anthony C. Mottola (April 18, 1918 – August 9, 2004) was an American jazz guitarist who released dozens of solo albums. Mottola was born in Kearny, New Jersey, Kearny, New Jersey and died in Denville, New Jersey, Denville. Career Like ...

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databa ...

*
Tony Mottola performing on records archived on archive.org
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mottola, Tony American jazz guitarists American people of Italian descent People from Kearny, New Jersey 1918 births 2004 deaths 20th-century American guitarists The Tonight Show Band members Varèse Sarabande Records artists MGM Records artists Burials at Gate of Heaven Cemetery (East Hanover, New Jersey)