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Charles Calello

Charles Calello (born August 24, 1938) is an American arranger, composer, conductor, record producer, and singer born in Newark, New Jersey. Calello attended Newark Arts High School and the Manhattan School of Music, in New York City. His track record of successfully collaborating with various artists to produce or arrange Billboard hit songs led to his nickname in the industry as the "Hit Man."

In the late 1950s, Calello was a member of Frankie Valli's group The Four Lovers, but left before the group was transformed into The Four Seasons. In 1962, he became the group's musical arranger. In 1965, he joined the Four Seasons' lineup as bassist, replacing Nick Massi (who was Calello's replacement in The Four Lovers five years earlier). Calello departed the group, becoming a staff arranger/producer at Columbia Records. In 1968, he became an independent producer and arranger and a year later arranged Frank Sinatra's album Watertown, written by Bob Gaudio.

He has worked and recorded with Barbra Streisand, Frank Sinatra, Roberto Carlos, Neil Diamond, Al Kooper, Bruce Springsteen, Jane Olivor, Laura Nyro, Liza Minnelli, Engelbert Humperdinck, the Cyrkle, Jimmy Clanton, Ray Charles, Deana Martin, Natalie Cole, Bobby Vinton, Janis Ian, Barry Manilow, Juice Newton, Red Rider, Nancy Sinatra, the Highwaymen, Shirley Ellis, Deborah Allen, and many others. Calello was the conductor and responsible for the string arrangements on Springsteen's "Jungleland" from the album Born to Run.

Calello has had over 100 Billboard chart records, 38 of which have been top 20. Some of his hits include “Sweet Caroline” by Neil Diamond, “Native New Yorker” by Odyssey, “My Heart Belongs to Me” by Barbra Streisand, and “After the Lovin'” by Engelbert Humperdinck. In 1979, he had his own hit record with a disco version of "Sing, Sing, Sing".

He has also composed film music, including the scores to Who Killed Teddy Bear (1965) and The Lonely Lady (1983). In 1992, he became principal arranger and assistant conductor of the Florida Symphonic Pops in Boca Raton, which became the Sunshine Pops Orchestra.

Birth and Death Data: Born August 24, 1938 (Newark)

Date Range of DAHR Recordings: 1964

Roles Represented in DAHR: performer

= Recordings are available for online listening.
= Recordings were issued from this master. No recordings issued from other masters.

Recordings

Company Matrix No. Size First Recording Date Title Primary Performer Description Role Audio
Decca 115454 12/7/1964 Beef eaters Charles Calello performer  
Decca 115455 12/7/1964 From Rome to Greece Charles Calello performer  
Decca 115456 12/7/1964 Blue guitar Charles Calello performer  
Decca 115457 12/7/1964 Frosty Charles Calello performer  

Citation

Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Calello, Charles," accessed April 28, 2024, https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/306632.

Calello, Charles. (2024). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved April 28, 2024, from https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/306632.

"Calello, Charles." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2024. Web. 28 April 2024.

DAHR Persistent Identifier

URI: https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/306632

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