Chuck Mangione, the jazz musician whose “Feels So Good” cracked the pop top 10 chart in the 1970s, died Tuesday, officials said.
He was 84.
Mangione died “peacefully” in his sleep at his home in Rochester, New York, according to his obituary. The mayor or Rochester confirmed his death in a statement praising “the gifted jazz musician and composer.” Mangione’s official cause of death was not announced.
Born in 1940, Mangione grew up in Rochester, graduating from the New York town’s Benjamin Franklin High School before attending and earning a Bachelor’s Degree from Eastman School of Music, also in Rochester.
According to the Bartolomeo & Perotto funeral home, Mangione taught at Eastman and later received an honorary Doctorate degree from the school. He also started the school’s jazz program.
Mangione’s jazz career kicked off as a teenage flugelhorn player when he formed the Jazz Brothers alongside his brother, Gap, according to the obituary. It led to a decades-long career that yielded 14 Grammy nominations — and two wins — an induction into the Rochester Music Hall of Fame and more than 30 albums.
Rochester Mayor Malik D. Evans called Mangione an artist “who earned international distinction, and Rochester’s pride.”
In 1970, Mangione recorded his Friends & Love concert with the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra, which landed him a recording contract and ultimately his first Grammy nomination, according to the funeral home obituary. He released “Bellavia,” a record to honor his mother, in the first year he signed with A&M records, which took home the Best Instrumental Composition award at the 19th Grammys.
Mangione’s biggest hit, “Feels So Good” soared to the number four spot on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1978 and earned him a nomination for Record of the Year at the 21st Grammy Awards, bringing the musician to new heights.
His song, “Give it All You Got,” was chosen as the theme song for the 1980 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
Madison Lambert and Viola Flowers contributed.
