April 18

Here's to pre-rock guitarist and studio legend Tony Mottola. He picked up the guitar at age 9; by World War II he was a member of the CBS Radio Orchestra, performing with such artists as Frank Sinatra and Perry Como. Later, he joined the Doc Severinsen Orchestra on the Tonight Show. By then, he'd established a well-respected career in the background.

In the 50's, he began working on scores for movies and TV (his compositions for the Yul Brynner series Danger impressed studio heads enough to collect them for an album - the first ever soundtrack album for a TV show.) That began his solo career, playing the kind of breezy, easy listening that fits in well with the Ray
Coniff set, but never demanded center stage.
In fact, the closest to a chart hit he had was his rendtion of Burt Bacharach's "This Guy's in Love With You," which missed the top 20 on the 1968 East Listening charts. But some people remember it; here's a tribute performance, emulating that smooth drifting sound...