Tony Peluso
| Tony Peluso | |
|---|---|
| Born |
March 28, 1950 Los Angeles, California, United States |
| Died | June 5, 2010 (aged 60) Los Angeles, California, United States |
| Occupation(s) | Guitarist, record producer, vocalist |
| Associated acts | Carpenters, The Abstracts |
Anthony F. "Tony" Peluso (March 28, 1950 – June 5, 2010) was an American guitarist and record producer. He was lead guitarist for pop duo the Carpenters from 1972 to 1983.
Peluso is probably best known for his fuzz guitar solo on the Carpenters' song "Goodbye to Love", and his disc jockey impersonation that opens their "Calling Occupants of Interplanetary Craft" and also the deejay who links the medley of oldies tracks on Side 2 of the Carpenters album Now & Then.
Peluso came from a musical family, his mother being a successful opera singer and his father being the music director for NBC radio on the west coast.
He began his own musical career in 1968, when he formed a band called The Abstracts with three college friends. The band recorded one album for the small Pompeii label, on which he sang, played guitar and wrote most of the songs. However, the album was not a commercial success, mainly due to poor distribution, and the group disbanded shortly after its release
Peluso later played alongside Bobby Sherman and Paul Revere & the Raiders as well as leading the backing band Instant Joy for Mark Lindsay when Lindsay took a break from Paul Revere & the Raiders.
In 1972, Richard Carpenter and John Bettis had written a new song, "Goodbye to Love", for the Carpenters. While the Carpenters were working on the song, Richard decided that there should be a fuzz guitar solo on it. He recalled Tony Peluso from a time when Mark Lindsay and Instant Joy opened for the Carpenters.Karen Carpenter called Tony Peluso and asked him to play a guitar solo. On the DVD Close to You: Remembering The Carpenters Peluso recalled: "At first I didn't believe that it was actually Karen Carpenter on the phone but she repeated her name again. ...It was at this point that I realized it was really her and that I was speaking to one of my idols." She told him that she and Richard were working on a song called "Goodbye to Love" and they were both familiar with his work with another band, and that he'd be perfect for the sound they were looking for. In the studio, Peluso first played something soft and sweet, but then Richard said "No, no, no! Play the melody for five bars and then burn it up! Soar off into the stratosphere! Go ahead! It'll be great!" The famous solo was played from the electric guitar through a fuzz box straight into the mixing console onto the tape.
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