Meco

Early life and education

Meco Monardo, born November 29, 1939 in Johnsonburg, Pennsylvania to Italian-American parents, spent his boyhood building model ships, watching movies, and reading science fiction. His father, a valve trombone player in a small Italian band, provided his first music lessons. Though Meco originally wanted to play drums, his father steered him toward the trombone at age nine. He chose the slide trombone, which initially proved awkward for his small frame. While still in elementary school, he joined the high school band. At seventeen, he earned a scholarship to the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, New York, where he gained a strong foundation in both classical and jazz music.

Career

Meco co-founded the jazz band at the Eastman School of Music alongside Chuck Mangione and Ron Carter. After that, he attended West Point and performed with the Cadet Band. Following his time in the US Army, he moved to New York City, where he joined Kai Winding's four-trombone ensemble and then worked as a studio musician from 1965 to 1974. He was not initially drawn to pop music, but hearing Petula Clark's "Downtown" changed his mind.

He started arranging for other artists, including the horn section on Tommy James' "Crystal Blue Persuasion" and the Neil Diamond Coca-Cola commercials. Around 1973, Meco and Tony Bongiovi were part of a trio that founded the production company Disco Corporation of America. From 1974 to 1976, he worked as a record producer. With Bongiovi, Jay Ellis, and Harold Wheeler, he produced Gloria Gaynor's 1974 hit "Never Can Say Goodbye" and Carol Douglas' "Doctor's Orders."

On May 25, 1977, Meco saw Star Wars on its opening day and watched it four more times by the next night, with additional screenings over the weekend. In 1978, he released his fourth album, Superman and Other Galactic Heroes, his first on Casablanca Records, again with orchestral arrangements by Harold Wheeler. Side One featured a 16-minute disco arrangement of themes from Superman: The Movie, while Side Two contained four original Wheeler compositions.

The single "Can You Read My Mind" was released but did not become a hit. As a session musician, Meco played trombone for Tommy James, Diana Ross, and David Barretto. He later contracted the horns and performed on Diana Ross' 1980 album Diana as a favor to producer Nile Rodgers. His trombone solo on the single "I'm Coming Out" stands out because such solos were rare on post-big-band pop records.