Jazz icon and “King of the Hill” voice actor Chuck Mangione has died at the age of 84.
His attorney said that Mangione died in his sleep at home in Rochester, New York, The Associated Press reported.
A funeral home in the city released a statement on behalf of his family, which read in part, they were “deeply saddened to share that Chuck peacefully passed away in his sleep” on July 22, CNN reported.
Mangione was a two-time Grammy award winner who played flugelhorn and trumpet. He produced 30 albums, earning him 14 Grammy nominations, Variety reported.
His biggest hit was “Feels So Good,” which hit No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100 and was called one of the most recognized melodies since the Beatles’ “Michelle,” the AP reported.
Mangione credited “Saturday Night Fever” for part of his song’s success.
“I think ‘Feels So Good’ was such a hit because of the Bee Gees,” he said, according to Variety. “‘Saturday Night Fever’ had saturated radio; I think the top 6 out of 10 hits were from that album. Radio programmers couldn’t figure out what to put on instead and when somebody edited ‘Feels So Good’ from nine minutes down to three, they instantly started playing it as an alternative to what were the current top songs.”
He had one thing he would have done differently in the song.
“I do not mind having written the song at all. I just wish that I had written it in a different key, as the high D is hard to play. I am glad that I wrote something that brought joy to millions of people,” Variety reported.
Mangione was commissioned by the 1980 Winter Olympics to write “Give It All You Got” for the games, performing it at the closing ceremony, the AP reported.
He was a recurring character on Fox’s animated series “King of the Hill,” performing, as CNN described, a tongue-in-cheek version of himself.
The role introduced “Feels So Good” to a new audience.
“Eight months before ‘King of the Hill’ was on television, I received the script from them, describing my role as the spokesman for ‘Megalo-mart’ … My character would do things like play ‘Taps’ and switch right into ‘Feels So Good.’ I figured that since they were playing my music and to such a large audience, why not? So I jumped into the studio in New York; they would call from L.A., and then I’d see a thing that looked like me on the television screen. Many people watch that show, so it is great exposure," he said, according to Variety.
Mangione started playing music when he was 8, starting on piano, but was inspired to switch after seeing “Young Man With a Horn,” the publication reported.
His parents, who loved jazz, would invite stars of the time, such as Dizzy Gillespie, to their home for dinner. At one point Art Blakey needed a horn player and Gillespie reminded him of Mangione.
Mangione attended Eastman School of Music, graduating in 1963, and eventually returned to the school as a teacher and the director of its jazz ensemble.
He formed a jazz band while still in high school, along with his brother, who was on piano, releasing three albums in 1960 and 1961.
Mangione went solo in 1970, producing “Friends & Love... A Chuck Mangione Concert.” His 1975 album, “Chase the Clouds Away,” included the title song that would become part of the 1976 Summer Olympics.
His first Grammy came for his album “Bellavia” released in 1976.
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