NEW YORK – Chuck Mangione, celebrated flugelhorn player and composer best remembered for the 1977 hit “Feels So Good,” died peacefully in his Rochester home on Tuesday, July 22. He was 84.
His manager, Peter S. Matorin, confirmed Mangione passed away from natural causes. Chuck Mangione leaves behind a body of work filled with energy and warmth, his music spanning more than sixty years.
News of Mangione’s passing touched fans, musicians, and the Rochester community, where his distinctive flugelhorn sound and trademark fedora made him a familiar figure.
In a statement to the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle, Chuck Mangione’s family shared, “Chuck’s passion for music came through in his boundless energy and the joy he shared on stage. He was not just a global star, but a treasured member of our family.”
Chuck Mangione’s Beginning
Born Charles Frank Mangione on November 29, 1940, in Rochester to Italian-American parents, Chuck Mangione was steeped in jazz from an early age because of his father’s love for the genre.
Their family home often welcomed jazz legends, with Dizzy Gillespie, Carmen McRae, and Art Blakey joining them for home-cooked dinners.
Gillespie, a close friend of the family, once gave a young Chuck one of his unique trumpets, jumpstarting Mangione’s lifelong dedication to horn playing. Mangione often credited Gillespie as a major influence on his smooth, melodic style.
Chuck got his start with his brother Gap in the Jazz Brothers, a group they formed during high school. They developed their skills at the Pythodd Club, a famous jazz spot in Rochester. Their early 1960s recordings for Riverside Records showed off Chuck’s impressive trumpet style, which drew praise from fans of players like Gillespie and Clifford Brown.
After graduating from the Eastman School of Music in 1963, Mangione joined Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers, filling a spot once held by well-known names such as Freddie Hubbard and Lee Morgan.
1977’s Feels So Good
“Art needed a horn player, and Dizzy remembered me from Rochester,” Mangione said in an interview with The Celebrity Cafe. Playing alongside talents like Keith Jarrett and Chick Corea, Mangione found his voice and built the foundation for his career.
By the late 1960s, he was leading his bands and mixing jazz with pop and classical touches. The 1970 album Friends and Love, recorded with the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra, marked the start of his crossover success. But it was 1977’s Feels So Good that launched him into the spotlight.
The album’s title track, featuring Mangione’s warm flugelhorn, reached No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100—a rare spot for a jazz tune. With its Spanish-style guitar and groove, the song became a fixture in pop culture, featured in Doctor Strange, Friends, and even a Memorex ad with Ella Fitzgerald.
“I think ‘Feels So Good’ took off because radio needed something different from the Bee Gees,” Mangione once joked. The record would earn double-platinum status and secure Mangione as a leading pop-jazz figure.
Though some jazz critics called his music too accessible, Chuck Mangione never shied away from catchy, singable tunes. Songs like “Land of Make Believe” and “Chase the Clouds Away” (chosen for the 1976 Summer Olympics) showed his love for lush arrangements.
His 1978 soundtrack for The Children of Sanchez won him a Grammy for Best Pop Instrumental Performance and a Golden Globe.
Grammy for 1976’s “Bellavia
He received his first Grammy for 1976’s “Bellavia,” a song written for his mother, which highlighted his ability to move listeners with heartfelt melodies. Over his career, Mangione collected 14 Grammy nominations and released more than 30 albums, finishing with Everything for Love in 2000.
One of his biggest moments came in 1980 when he performed “Give It All You Got” during the Lake Placid Winter Olympics closing ceremony for a worldwide audience. The song, which won an Emmy, summed up his drive and optimism.
Chuck Mangione once laughed about the difficulty of playing “Feels So Good,” saying he might have picked a lower key if he’d known how famous it would become. “Still, I’m grateful I wrote something that made so many people happy,” he said.
Chuck Mangione’s charm reached beyond music. On the animated show King of the Hill, he voiced a cartoon version of himself, always working “Feels So Good” into every situation. This running gag made him recognizable to a younger audience and added to his legacy. In 2009, he donated his iconic fedora, musical scores, and a King of the Hill animation cel to the Smithsonian.
Tributes have come in from across Rochester and beyond. Mayor Malik Evans called the Mangione family a symbol of the city’s spirit, noting their grocer’s support during the 1964 riots.
Mangione Inspired
“Chuck and his family showed what our city is made of,” said Evans. “You can hear Rochester’s soul in his music.” Jazz Festival co-producers Marc Iacona and John Nugent described Mangione as “a defining voice of his generation.” Eastman School of Music dean Kate Sheeran said his influence is “part of our school and the music world.”
His niece, Ardis Mangione-Lindley, spoke of Chuck’s devotion to his hometown: “He travelled everywhere, but Rochester was always home.” Fans on X shared memories and Mangione quotes. User @mhenderson33 wrote, “If you’re honest and play with love, people will listen,” while @larwoolf thanked him for the flugelhorn tunes that “made the world ‘Feel So Good.’”
Chuck Mangione also inspired young musicians, regularly inviting school bands onstage or holding children’s matinee shows. A lifelong New York Yankees enthusiast, he played the National Anthem at Yankee Stadium and All-Star Games, once even practising with the team at George Steinbrenner’s invitation.
While some dismissed his music as “lightweight,” Chuck Mangione saw such opinions as proof he was doing something right. “I just write what I feel,” he told the Los Angeles Times in 1988. His music brought joy to millions, blending jazz and pop in a way few others matched. As Rochester says goodbye, Mangione’s warm flugelhorn sound lives on, always making the world feel a bit brighter.
