Chuck Mangione has died. A member of Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers and later the Jazz Brothers, the flugelhornist and trumpeter had his greatest success as a solo artist with the smooth jazz instrumental "Feels So Good," a #4 hit in 1978. Mangione passed away this week in his Rochester, NY hometown. He was 84.
Mangione was born to Italian immigrant parents in 1940 and grew up in Rochester, which he maintained as his home base throughout his career. He got his start in music alongside his brother Gap, a pianist, in the Mangione Brothers Sextet/Quintet, otherwise known as the Jazz Brothers. The band's Chuck-penned "Something Different" was recorded by Cannonball Adderley. After graduating from the Eastman School of Music in 1963, Mangione joined Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers on trumpet. During the 1960s he was also a member of the band the National Gallery, and by 1968 he became the director of the Eastman jazz ensemble.
With a string of live albums in the early '70s, Mangione launched his career as a solo artist and bandleader, often playing in a quartet with saxophonist Gerry Niewood. By the end of the decade, he was regularly enjoying breakthrough moments, including Grammy wins for his song "Bellavia" (Best Instrumental Composition, 1977) and his album Children Of Sanchez (Best Pop Instrumental Performance, 1979). His song "Chase The Clouds Away" was used at the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal, a feat repeated at the 1980 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid, which incorporated another Mangione tune, "Give It All You Got." He also composed and performed the theme music for the 1981 action-comedy movie The Cannonball Run.
But Mangione's biggest success would be the utterly smooth "Feels So Good," the title track and opener from his 1977 studio album, which climbed all the way to #4 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1978 and was nominated for Record Of The Year at the Grammys, losing to Billy Joel's "Just The Way You Are." "Feels So Good" later made it into a 1979 Memorex TV ad, and in the '90s and 2000s it became a running joke on the animated sitcom King Of The Hill, which often welcomed Mangione on as a guest star. His other acting credits include Magnum P.I. and Sharon, Lois & Bram's Elephant Show.
Below, bask in the glory of "Feels So Good."
