HOLMBY HILLS – MAY 13: Chuck Mangione performs at the “A Time To Care Gala” on May 13, 2004 at the Playboy Mansion in Holmby Hills, California. The gala is to benefit the ALS research.
(Photo by Robert Bertoia/Getty Images)My first paying job in my radio career was at a Jazz Station. It was and is my college radio station at Temple University, Jazz 90 WRTI. One of the artists and musicians I got to know a bit was Chuck Mangione.
Chuck played the trumpet and flugelhorn and was primarily known for the latter. The cover of his “Feels So Good” has him smiling and hugging his flugelhorn. A song of the same name is what he is best known for, as it was a top 4 hit for Chuck in 1978. The LP reached number 2 on the album chart. Number 1 was the soundtrack to “Saturday Night Fever.” “Feels So Good” sold 2 million copies.
Before Chuck became a Grammy winner, he was an accomplished musician. He grew up in Rochester, New York, and initially performed with his brother Gap Mangione. They called themselves the Mangione Brothers.
Chuck went to Eastman School of Music in Rochester and went on the play with the great Art Blakey and many others.
His composition “Chase the Clouds Away” was the theme for the Summer Olympics in 1976, and won a Grammy in 1977 for Bellavia. His song “Give It All You Got” was also used in the Winter Olympics in 1980 when the “Miracle on Ice” happened for the United States Ice Hockey team in Lake Placid, New York.
Animated Chuck Mangione
If you’re a fan of the TV show “King of the Hill,” you know him as well. He played himself several times on the show.
According to his website, Chuck Mangione passed away earlier this week at the age of 84. The main page on the site reads, “Charles Frank “Chuck" Mangione November 29, 1940 ~ July 22, 2025.”
His obituary on the website reads, “To honor his memory and continue his legacy, please enjoy listening to your favorite Chuck songs.”
