AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Meco

 Artist:Meco

Song:Star Wars Theme/Cantina Band

Album:Star Wars and Other Galactic Funk

I bet you remember when this 1977 disco cover of the Star Wars theme topped the chart. But you probably know nothing about the guy behind it. Meco Monardo was a jazz musician who went crazy after he saw Star Wars. He was primarily known for disco covers of movie themes. He was born Nov. 29, 1939 in Johnsonburg, PA which is in northern Pennsylvania. As a child, he was a big sci-fi movie fan. And his father played the trombone. After playing in the high school band, Meco won a scholarship to Eastman School of Music in Rochester, NY. He became friends with Chuck Mangione and Ron Carter. After a stint in the US Army, Meco moved to New York and joined Kai Winding's band. Winding was a jazz trombonist known for having multiple trombones in his band. Meco was a studio musician from 1965-74. He played on all kinds of records and also arranged and produced. In 1973 he formed a production company with Tony Bongiovi and Harold Wheeler. They produced the 1974 Carol Douglas hit Doctor's Orders. After Meco saw Star Wars, he wanted to record a disco version of the theme. Casablanca Records owner Neil Bogart agreed to do that. The 1977 single Star Wars Theme/Cantina Band topped the Billboard Hot 100 for two weeks. It was produced by Meco, Bongiovi and Wheeler. Wheeler played keyboards and Bongiovi played guitar. Meco was the conductor. They used studio musicians like David Spinozza, John Tropea, Will Lee, Neil Jason, Alan Schwartzburg, Jon Faddis, Lew Soloff and Randy Brecker. There was a touring band but the musicians were different. Meco had success with disco covers of movie themes like Close Encounters of the Third Kind, The Wizard of Oz and The Empire Strikes Back. Unfortunately the one Meco comp that was released is out of print. Universal's Hip-O label released Star Wars and Other Galactic Funk as a budget CD with a couple of bonus mixes of the Star Wars theme. Meco released seven albums on Casablanca and three for Arista. They were all disco covers of movie themes. Meco's final album in 1985 was a Christmas album and then he became disillusioned with the music business. He retired from music and became a commodities broker. Here's a video of Star Wars Theme/Cantina Band by Meco.