Don Costa
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Dominik P. "Don" Costa (born June 10, 1925 in Boston , Massachusetts , † January 19, 1983 in New York City ) was a successful American musician and record producer . He worked with show greats such as Frank Sinatra , Paul Anka , Santo & Johnny , Barbra Streisand and Dean Martin . Don Costa is the father of Nikka Costa .
Life
Don Costa was born in Boston on June 10, 1925, the youngest of five children. When he was 8 years old, he taught himself to play the guitar. At 15 he was a member of the CBS radio orchestra in Boston, but his real career began as a studio musician in New York. He and Bucky Pizzarelli played the guitars behind Vaughn Monroe on his biggest hit (Ghost) Riders in the Sky . His big break came when the vocal duo Eydie Gormé and Steve Lawrence hired him as arranger. Costa, Gormé and Lawrence joined ABC-Paramount , and Costa became the lead house arranger and producer. During his time at ABC-Paramount, Costa discovered the young Paul Anka ; so it does not seem to be a coincidence that Paul Anka later wrote the lyrics for Frank Sinatra's My Way . Don Costa arranged and produced from 1957 for Paul Anka (including the hits Diana and Lonely Boy ) and, from 1959, for the guitar duo Santo & Johnny (including the hits Sleep Walk and Tear Drop ).
Always in 1959, Costa moved with Lawrence and Gormé to the newly founded label United Artists and released some albums under his own name. His cover version of Never On Sunday sold over a million copies and was the song's most successful adaptation. The arranger and jazz trombonist Billy Byers called him the "Puccini of Pop" and meant that his music was full of melody, usually stocky with a choir.
In the early 1960s, Don Costa started his own production company, Don Costa Productions , and arranged many recordings, among other things. a. with Trini Lopez and Little Anthony & the Imperials .
Costa's main instinct to recognize and arrange the music of the time also impressed Frank Sinatra and Santo & Johnny.
Sinatra engaged him for the first time in 1961, directly from Lawrence and Gormé, as his arranger, and later as producer of various albums and singles, some of which were also arranged by Costa, on his newly founded label Reprise .
Don Costa also worked as a tour guide with Sinatra at times in the 1970s. However, he had to retire from this post as early as 1975 after a heart attack suffered during a European tour in Frankfurt and then limited himself to studio work. The last pieces arranged by Costa for Sinatra were written in 1982.
Don Costa arranged over 200 musical successes, including a. with Barbra Streisand and Dean Martin , in genres as diverse as pop, jazz, swing, disco and film music.
In addition to the well-known albums he arranged with Sinatra, such as Cycles (1968) and My Way (1969), he was also the producer of Ol 'Blue Eyes Is Back (1973). In 1960 his single, Theme From " The Unforgiven " (The Need For Love) hit the US 30 charts, and he won an Academy Award with Never On Sunday . He also composed the film music a. a. for the following films: Rough Night In Jericho (1967), Madigan (1968) and The Impossible Years (1968). One of his most popular collaborations with Frank Sinatra (and at the same time one of Sinatra's greatest successes) is the arrangement of the title Theme form New York New York , a cover version of the song sung by Liza Minnelli in the film of the same name.
In 1981 he released the single (Out Here) On My Own , arranged by Don Costa and sung by Nikka Costa , his 9-year-old daughter. The song sold over 3 million times.
When asked how Costa could be described, his producer Denny Diante said: “Very simple, Costa was a genius. He had big ideas, and he was also an incredible arranger. He knew what was selling and what was not. He also had a tremendous amount of knowledge about songs. "
Filmography
- 1967: When Jim Dolan Came In (Rough Night in Jericho)
- 1968: Only 72 hours left (Madigan)
- 1968: Everything That Is Forbidden (The Impossible Years)
- 1973: (The Soul of Nigger Charley)
Web links
- Don Costa in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- Biography at the-main-event.de
Individual evidence
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Costa, Don |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Costa, Dominik P. |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American musician and record producer |
| DATE OF BIRTH | June 10, 1925 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Boston , Massachusetts |
| DATE OF DEATH | January 19, 1983 |
| Place of death | New York City |