One Hit Wonders: Chuck Mangione & Hugh Masekela

Welcome to Rock and Roll Flashback!  I'm Bill Price, and in this edition of the One Hit Wonders Series on Rock and Roll Flashback, I will cover two instrumental artists from the 1960's who were also one hit wonders: Hugh Masekela and Chuck Mangione.

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Transcript

In this edition of Rock and Roll Flashback, I will cover two instrumental artists from the 1960's who were also one hit wonders: Hugh Masekela and Chuck Mangione.

Chuck Mangione was born on November 29th, 1940 in Rochester, New York. When he was an elementary school student, he took piano lessons, however after seeing the film titled “Young Man with a Horn”, he took up the trumpet. In high school he started a band with his brother Gap, and performed with Dizzy Gillespie and Miles Davis. Between 1958 and 1963 he attended the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, New York and began playing the flugelhorn. Later during the 1960's, Chuck performed with Art Blakey’s band. Then The Mangione Brothers Sextet Quartet, which was led by Chuck and his brother, recorded three albums that were released on the Riverside Records label.

In 1968 Chuck was a member of a band called The National Gallery that released an album titled “Performing Musical Interpretations of the Paintings of Paul Klee. During the 1970's, Mangione’s Quartet became popular as a recording and concert act. In 1975, the album titled “Bellavia” was recorded with Mangione earning his first Grammy Award in 1977. Like so many music bands, Chuck’s group went through several changes in personnel. During this period, they toured and recorded the hit albums “ Feels So Good” and “Fun and Games”. The title track from the “Feels So Good” album became a Top Ten instrumental hit, reaching the number four position on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1978.

That same year he composed the soundtrack for the film titled “ The Children of
Sanchez”. In 1979 the soundtrack album earned Chuck his second Grammy in the Best Pop Instrumental Performance category. In 1980, the Current Biography magazine referred to “Feels So Good” as the most recognized composition since “Michelle” by the The Beatles.

In 2015 Chuck retired from his music career and on July 2025, he passed away at the age of 84. Here is Chuck Mangione’s number four hit from 1978, “Feels So Good”.

HughMasekela was born on April 4th, 1939 in South Africa. Interestingly, his inspiration for playing the trumpet was identical to that of Chuck Mangione. The same film “Young Man with a Horn” influenced both Chuck and Hugh. At the age of fourteen Hugh took up playing the trumpet after Archbishop Trevor Huddleston, purchased the instrument for him. Additionally Huddleston asked the leader of the Johannesburg Municipal Brass Band, to provide Hugh the basics of trumpet playing, which he mastered quickly. Some of Hugh’s schoolmates also developed an interest in playing music instruments, which led to forming the Huddleston Jazz Band, thus becoming South Africa’s first youth orchestra. Interestingly when US trumpet artist Louis Armstrong became aware of the band, from his acquaintance with Huddleston, Louis sent one of his trumpets as a gift to Hugh.

By 1956 after leading several groups, Hugh joined Alfred Herbert’s African Jazz Revue. In early 1960, Masekela left South Africa. With the assistance of some friends, he was admitted to London’s Guildhall School of Music in 1960. When Hugh earned a scholarship in London, he then relocated to the US, in order to attend the Manhattan School of music in New York. During the period from 1960 to 1964 he studied classical trumpet.

In the US, he had some success with “Up-Up and Away”, which charted at number 71 in 1967. That same year, Hugh also performed at the Monterey Pop Festival. The following year “Grazing in the Grass” became a number one hit in 1968, selling four million copies. Interestingly the next year, The Friends of Distinction recorded a cover version with added lyrics, which climbed to number five on the pop chart. He was also featured in the film titled “Monterey Pop” and mentioned by Eric Burdon and the Animals in the song titled “Monterey”. He also played on several recordings that included The Byrds’ “So You Want to Be a Rock ‘n’ Roll Star”, “Lady Friend” and Paul Simon’s “Further to Fly’. The 1984 album release titled “Techno Bush” included the song titled “Don’t Go Lose It Baby”, that peaked at number two for two weeks on the dance charts.

In the 1980's Hugh toured with Paul Simon, supporting Simon’s “Graceland” album. Hugh was nominated three times for a Grammy Award and also for Best World Music Album for the 2012 album titled “Jabulani”, also for Best Musical Cast Show and Best Contemporary Pop Performance for “Grazing in the Grass”.
On December 3rd 2013 Hugh performed as a guest with the Dave Matthews Band in Johannesburg, South Africa.

Hugh Masekela passed away on January 23rd 2018 at the age of 78. Here is the number one instrumental hit from 1968, “Grazing in the Grass”.

This has been another episode of One Hit Wonders featuring Chuck Mangione and Hugh Masekela. Until next time I’m your host Bill Price.