Chuck Mangione, Iconic 'Feels So Good' Trumpeter, Passes Away at 84

Chuck Mangione, the Grammy-winning jazz bandleader and pianist who scored an unusual top-five success in 1978 with the jazz instrumental "Feels So Good," died at the age of 84, according to a message on his official website.

Mangione was born on November 29, 1940, in Rochester, New York, and began performing and recording as the Mangione Brothers with his sibling, keyboardist Gaspare "Gap" Mangione.  After graduating from the prestigious Eastman School of Music in his hometown, he played trumpet with famed bandleader Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers and various ensembles, including recording the album "Friends & Love…A Chuck Mangione Concert" with the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra in 1970. 

Mangione's reputation grew with subsequent recordings of his compositions, including the 1975 RIAA-certified gold album "Chase the Clouds Away," whose title track was used in coverage of the 1976 Summer Olympics, and the Grammy-winning "Bellavia" in 1977.

But it was Mangione's 1977 album "Feels So Good" and its pop radio title track that helped him become a household name.  Mangione plays the flugelhorn and is accompanied by his longtime quartet: guitarist Grant Geissman, bassist Charles Meeks, multi-instrumentalist Chris Vadala, and James Bradley Jr. The single, which featured percussion, debuted at No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart, while the album reached No. 2 on the all-genre Billboard 200 albums chart, trailing only the soundtrack of the Bee Gees' "Saturday Night Fever."  "Feels So Good" was certified double platinum by the RIAA after selling over two million records. 

Mangione's subsequent albums included the 1978 gold-selling soundtrack to Anthony Quinn's film "Children of Sanchez," the title track of which earned Mangione his second of two Grammy Awards.  1979's "Fun and Games," which was also certified gold, had the hit "Give It All You Got," which was included in ABC's coverage of the 1980 Winter Olympics and received two Grammy nominations; Mangione has 13 lifetime Grammy nominations, including two wins. 

Throughout his career, Mangione released 30 albums, the most recent of which was the 2000 release "Everything for Love."  His general popularity declined after his 1970s peak, but he remained a pop culture touchstone well into the 2000s, mocking his image with a recurring voice role in the animated TV comedy "King of the Hill," playing an exaggerated version of himself as he appeared on the cover of the "Feels So Good" album. 

In 2012, Mangione was inducted into the Rochester Music Hall of Fame. He once said, "If you're honest and play with love, people will sit down and listen … my music is the sum of all I have experienced."