Tony Mottola
| Tony Mottola | |
|---|---|
| Born |
April 18, 1918 Kearny, New Jersey, U.S. |
| Died | August 9, 2004 Denville, New Jersey |
| Genres | Jazz |
| Occupation(s) | Musician |
| Instruments | Guitar |
| Labels | Command, Project 3 |
| Associated acts | Frank Sinatra, Perry Como, Burl Ives |
Anthony C. "Tony" Mottola (April 18, 1918 – August 9, 2004) was an American guitarist who released dozens of solo albums. Mottola was born in Kearny, New Jersey, and died in Denville, New Jersey.
Like many of his contemporaries he started out learning to play the banjo and then took up the guitar. He had his first guitar lessons from his father and by the late 1930s he was playing in George Hall's orchestra in a rhythm section that included Johnny Guarnieri and Nick Fatool.
Mottola was one of the most sought after and respected studio musicians in the recording and music industry. He worked extensively with Frank Sinatra and Perry Como and orchestrated albums for Burl Ives. He appeared on the DuMont Television Network program Melody Street.
Mottola also played with Doc Severinsen's Orchestra on The Tonight Show and composed music for the films Running on Empty and Violated (1953) as well as the 1950s television series Danger, which starred Yul Brynner. In 1956 he also collaborated with John Serry Sr. in a recording of Leona Jump for Sonora Records which was featured in jukeboxes throughout the USA.
Several of his songs were heavily sampled by the Avalanches for their album Since I Left You.
Mottola's only charted single under his own name was "This Guy's in Love With You" which reached No. 22 on the Billboard "Easy Listening Top 40" in the summer of 1968.
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