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back. I also made some of Joe with Terry Amadio singing. I lost contact with her when I was drafted into the Army in August 1951 and sadly she was engaged to be married soon after I was discharged from the Active Army in July 1953. I don't think she continued singing much longer. What a shame because she was one of the best but I don't think she believed in herself as much as she should have.
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in
Rutherford NJ late forties to early fifties. Twice a week there were guest singers, one of which was Terry Amadio, a close friend of mine. Dom Cerrito was owner of the grill. I made records on 45 disks of Joe Pica for people that requested a song. the records were given free ... People kept coming
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Down the Shore in Long Branch, NJ, appearing Friday and
Saturday nights at the Kensington Lounge was one of the best piano players I ever heard: Joe Pica, the Wizard of the Keys. He sang and played songs I remembered all of my life: 'Oh How I Miss You Tonight,' 'Go Home, Little Girl, Go Home,' and
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A native of New Jersey, Joseph Pica was the son of James Pica, a tailor, who had immigrated from Italy in 1899, and his wife Safira, who had been born in the U.S. but was of
Italian descent. Joseph was the youngest of four siblings.
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In about 1960, by that time married to Eva, Pica moved to
Florida, where he played piano at the Crystal Lounge in Clearwater before becoming the owner of Joe Pica Red Carpet Steak House and Lounge.
60:(1946), a theater owner in Newark hired Pica to play Jolson songs on the radio for three weeks prior to the film's debut. Free tickets were given to those who could guess the names of the songs.
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Had she not married and we continued our friendship I know I could have helped her to get to the right people that would have brought her to national and possibly international fame.
47:, also in Newark. According to one source, "At the age of nine he presented two successful classical concerts but in his early teens he switched from classical to pop style."
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Joe Pica the pianist is sometimes confused with Joe Picca (1919–1979) who had an accordion shop in Bound Brook, New Jersey, and composed piano
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In the 1950s, Pica recorded more than a dozen singles and at least one album, all issued by either
Original Records or Bergen Records in
137:"Back in the Good Old Days" / "Springtime in the Rockies" (with Shorty Warren and the Arlene Wright Trio) (78 rpm, Trope 5154, c. 1951)
340:, Westport: Greenwood, 1985, pp. 9, 20, 106. Note: Unless otherwise noted, all release dates are taken or inferred from this source.
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To me Joe Pica was the best piano player and Terry Amadio was the very best female singer in my, D. Tony
Ciaramella, lifetime.
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176:"I Learned a Lesson I'll Never Forget" / "Doodle Doo Doo" (with the Balladairs Group) (45 rpm, Original OR-518, 1955)
19:(September 19, 1923 – December 13, 1973), nicknamed "The Wizard of the Keys," was a popular United States East Coast
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140:"Go Home, Little Girl, Go Home" (with The Song Spinners) / "Memories" (45 rpm, Anchor 45-A-6, August 1952)
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Ancestry.com. 1930 United States
Federal Census . Provo, UT, USA: The Generations Network, Inc., 2002.
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116:'Down in the Schoolyard,' among others. It was in the late '50s, and he brings back many memories.
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in Newark. Four of his records made the Music Vendor pop charts, 1954-58.
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ARLD: The
American Record Label Directory and Dating Guide, 1940-1959
356:, vol 27, no. 5, Sept.-Oct. 1991, pp. 46-47. (includes photo of Pica)
239:"Rock a Rolla the Old Pianola" / "Brother Bill" (Original Records?)
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He may have graduated from
Abington Avenue Elementary School in
338:
The
American 45 and 78 RPM Record Dating Guide, 1940-1959
173:" (Instrumental) (45 rpm, Original OR-512, February 1955)
190:" (Instrumental)(45 rpm, Original OR-532, November 1956)
406:, Milford, NH: Big Nickel Publications, 1989, p. 8.
318:"Girls Club Helps 'Jolson' in Lengthy Jersey Run,"
162:" (Instrumental) (45 rpm, Original OR-511, c. 1954)
50:For thirteen years, Pica had his own radio show on
77:He died in 1973, shortly after his 50th birthday.
379:"Country & Western/Hillbilly/Folk/Rockabilly"
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236:" (Instrumental) (45 rpm, Anchor 157, c. 1959)
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200:"When Your Hair Has Turned to Silver" / "
156:Please Don't Talk About Me When I'm Gone
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186:"Don't Cry Little Girl, Don't Cry" / "
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457:20th-century American male musicians
432:American people of Italian descent
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442:Musicians from Newark, New Jersey
207:"Down in the Old School Yard" / "
179:"Down in the Old School Yard" / "
367:U.S. Social Security Death Index
273:U.S. Social Security Death Index
167:The Music Goes 'Round and Around
151:" (45 rpm, Anchor 45-A-18, 1953)
229:" (45 rpm, Anchor 156, c. 1959)
222:" (45 rpm, Anchor 155, c. 1959)
211:" (45 rpm, Anchor 152, c. 1958)
204:" (45 rpm, Anchor 150, c. 1958)
183:" (45 rpm, Bergen 103, c. 1956)
447:20th-century American pianists
88:Personal recollections of Pica
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365:"Joseph Picca," 203-01-5833,
225:"Rocka Rolla Old Pianola" / "
27:who flourished in the 1950s.
437:Barringer High School alumni
271:"Joseph Pica," 153-14-2379,
149:When I Grow Too Old to Dream
336:William R. Daniels, comp.,
195:I'm Always Chasing Rainbows
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252:(33 rpm, Original LP-01)
232:"Maybe" (Instrumental) / "
220:Oh, How I Miss You Tonight
209:Oh, How I Miss You Tonight
181:Oh, How I Miss You Tonight
300:, December 15, 1973, p. 6
322:, February 8, 1947, p. 3
291:"Joe Pica, Entertainer,"
65:Little Ferry, New Jersey
234:Yes Sir, That's My Baby
171:Chinatown, My Chinatown
93:Joe Pica played at the
452:American male pianists
352:“Wizard of the Keys,”
216:Somebody Stole My Girl
202:You Belong to My Heart
193:"Old Oaken Bucket" / "
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54:in Newark. To promote
45:Barringer High School
294:St. Petersburg Times
227:You Are My Sunshine
188:The Woodpecker Song
109:D. Tony Ciaramella
41:Newark, New Jersey
350:"Joseph Russato,"
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95:Three Acre Grill
57:The Jolson Story
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250:Pica on Pianola
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385:on 2008-05-16
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31:Life and work
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25:lounge singer
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387:. Retrieved
383:the original
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427:1973 deaths
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127:Discography
121:Dick Malone
416:Categories
389:2008-11-26
257:References
320:Boxoffice
82:accordion
119:—
107:—
17:Joe Pica
160:Caravan
132:Singles
84:solos.
21:pianist
145:Margie
244:Album
218:" / "
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147:" / "
52:WAAT
23:and
67:or
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