“Give Us A Break!”: Legendary Jazz Musician Passes Away At 84

Jazz musician Chuck Mangione, a two-time Grammy winner best known for his 1970s hit Feels So Good, has lost his life at the age of 84.

Chuck passed away at home in his sleep on Tuesday (July 22), a spokesperson for the star said.

Throughout his career, the flugelhorn and trumpet player released more than 30 albums and earned 14 Grammy Award nominations.

He also had a recurring role on the animated sitcom King of the Hill, where he played himself as a celebrity spokesperson for the fictional Mega Lo Mart.

Jazz musician Chuck Mangione has passed away at the age of 84

Image credits: Mike Guastella/Getty Images

Chuck was inducted into the Rochester Music Hall of Fame in 2012 and received two Grammys: the first, for Best Instrumental Composition in 1977 for Bellavia, which he wrote for his mother; and the second, for Best Pop Instrumental Performance in 1979 for Children of Sanchez.

His 1978 hit Feels So Good reached No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100 and was nominated for Record of the Year at the Grammys.

Image credits: Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images

Speaking about the success of the song, he said it offered something fresh at a time when audiences felt saturated by a very popular band. “I think Feels So Good was such a hit because of the Bee Gees. 

“Saturday Night Fever had saturated radio; I think the top 6 out of l0 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.”

Chuck was best known for his 1978 hit Feels So Good

Image credits: Gary Gershoff/Getty Images

The musician added: “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.”

His jazz album Feels So Good hit No. 2 on the Billboard albums chart, behind the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack. and its title track appeared in Fargo, Doctor Strange, and a famous Memorex ad featuring Ella Fitzgerald.

The positive reaction to the song led to Check being commissioned to write and perform the theme song for the 1980 Winter Olympics, Give it All You Got.

Born in Rochester, New York, on November 29, 1940, the star began taking music lessons when he was 8. Although he was initially only interested in playing the piano, he switched instruments after seeing the film Young Man with a Horn.

He grew up listening to his father’s jazz records alongside his brother Gap, with whom he formed his first jazz band while he was in high school.

Chuck graduated in 1963 from the Eastman School of Music and later returned as a teacher and the director of the Eastman Jazz Ensemble.

Image credits: Chuck Mangione

His signature hat was given to him as a present from friends in 1969. “Before I went on tour, the record company asked, ‘Where’s the hat?’ Since then, I started wearing it all the time,” he explained.

“No, it is not attached to my head, and no, I do not wear it in the shower. And no, I do not have gangrene from wearing it all the time!”

His parents were jazz fans and would often invite the stars of the music genre to have dinner in their home, including Dizzy Gillespie, Carmen McRae and Art Blakey. He would later join the musicians’ Jazz Messengers group.

The New York-born musician won two Grammys in the late ’70s and had a recurring role on King of the Hill

Image credits: John Mathew Smith/Wikimedia

Tributes quickly poured in from social media users, who celebrated Chuck’s career and his legacy in jazz music.

“I was introduced to Jazz listening to Mr. Mangione In 1981. Thank you for being a legend sir. RIP,” wrote one fan.

“RIP Legend. You will certainly be missed,” said someone else.

Others expressed surprise at the number of celebrities who have passed away in recent days, with one person writing, “The Grim Reaper is on the hunt.”

All celebrity passings this week

Image credits: daysofthundr46/Wikimedia

Today, it was announced that Hulk Hogan, the legendary professional wrestler known for his work with WWE and World Championship Wrestling, had lost his life to cardiac arrest at his home in Clearwater, Florida, at the age of 71.

The wrestler, whose real name was Terry Gene Bollea, was a central figure in the 1980s professional wrestling boom. 

Image credits: Ozzy Osbourne

Ozzy Osbourne, lead vocalist of the heavy metal band Black Sabbath, passed away at his home in Buckinghamshire on Tuesday (July 22) aged 76. Widely regarded as one of the founding figures of heavy metal, Ozzy’s passing came just 17 days after his final live performance at the Back to the Beginning farewell concert.

Image credits: Suits Official

Actor Malcolm-Jamal Warner, best known for playing Theodore Huxtable on the hit NBC sitcom The Cosby Show, lost his life last Sunday (July 20) from drowning while he was on vacation in Limón Province, Costa Rica. The Judicial Investigation Agency (OIJ) confirmed that the star had been caught in a strong current. He was 54.

Social media users mourned the loss of the jazz musician

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