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In 1975, Calandra married the former Edith A. Ricchiazzi (1950-2023), sister of his business manager, Frank
Ricchiazzi. Edith was first attracted to Tommy because of his humor. She said she married him because he made her laugh. He was a funny guy. They had one son. Calandra died at age 56 on 19
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Calandra had long been interested in music production and in 1977 he founded the
Buffalo College of Musical Knowledge (BCMK) to produce promotional jingles and editorial commentaries in his basement studio at his North Buffalo home. He credits Jeff Kaye with giving him the direction he needed to
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finals, Calandra wrote and recorded "We're Gonna Win That Cup", recruiting entertainer Donna McDaniel to sing the song. The song was an instant hit. It was sung by Sabres players in the locker room and became one of
Buffalo's best known sports songs.
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Calandra was one of the key supporters of locally produced original music. Hundreds of young musicians made their first recording in the BCMK studio. BCMK was a workshop for
Buffalo's
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By the late 1980s the business had expanded to the point that
Calandra moved his BCMK studio and his six employees to Delaware Avenue in North Buffalo.
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Calandra was born in
Buffalo, NY, the youngest of ten children, born to Dominic and Carmella Middione Calandra. Both of his parents were born in
156:(November 25, 1941 – July 19, 1998) was an American music songwriter, performer, producer, recording engineer and mentor. Bass player for
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bands. Calandra said "the thrill for me is to do something that I love. Music, not money, will always come first at BCMK".
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and began playing around
Buffalo with a band named Royal Flames. He joined a band called the Premiers and in 1961 joined
243:. Hendrix once used Tommy's guitar in a practice session and wanted to buy it but Calandra would not sell it to him.
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Anderson, Dale (27 February 1971). "The Beak's Simple
Slophouse Style, Back to Doing That Old Country Rock".
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become successful with his musical editorials which were played on more than 500 radio stations nationwide.
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Bisco, Jim (14 September 1979). "NIGHTLIFE Raven got closer than any other
Buffalo rock group to stardom".
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in a band he created named Beak. They played at The One-Eyed Cat and other clubs around
Buffalo. In 1972,
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402:"TOM CALANDRA, PROMINENT FIGURE IN BUFFALO MUSIC, DIES AT 56; WROTE 'WE'RE GOING TO WIN THAT CUP'"
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in August 1969. In March 1970, they returned to Buffalo and performed a homecoming concert at
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In early 1971, Calandra began playing his clever funny songs with his honky-tonk piano and
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and the Ravens. Then he played with the Rising Sons, a blues band that played at the
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Lauricella, Mary Ann (13 November 1980). "They Left Out Brains When Doing 'Enos'".
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on 8th Avenue at 48th Street in New York City, where they changed their name to
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Lauricella, Mary Ann (5 May 1981). "Musical Editorials Aired on 500 Outlets".
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Anderson, Dale (26 December 1970). "WNY Rock Odyssey: How It Was in 1970".
623:"[BN] Chronicles: Remembering the 'Danny Moves Your Fanny' jingle"
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July 1998. Calandra and his wife are buried at Mount Calvary Cemetery in
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Anderson, Dale (17 May 1975). "Boosting Buffalo with Sabres 'Cup' Song".
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Madore, James T. (10 September 1990). "BCMK produces music and money".
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This article is about the musician. For The American journalist, see
176:. His father died when he was three years old. He is a graduate of
235:. At The Scene they became friends with other performers including
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radio jingles, founder of BCMK Recording Studios and BCMK Records.
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said they had one of the "best guitar players in the world".
496:"A TOAST TO TOM CALANDRA, A BRIGHT SPIRIT IN BUFFALO MUSIC"
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Their success at The Inferno led to them being booked at
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One of his best known original jingles was written for
704:"Tommy Calandra's entry at Buffalo Music Hall of Fame"
679:"Calandra 'Living A Fantasy At Growing BCMK Studios"
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16:American music songwriter, performer and producer
760:Lafayette High School (Buffalo, New York) alumni
426:Evarts, Jerry (8 August 1960). "As I See It".
718:"Raven's entry at Buffalo Music Hall of Fame"
114:music songwriter, performer, producer, mentor
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459:"Art Festival Offers Music, Ballet, Drama".
360:Buffalo Music Hall of Fame as a member of
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302:invited him to write musical editorials.
211:, they recorded and released a record on
610:. No. Broadcast Beat Sec III pg 34.
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785:20th-century American songwriters
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666:. No. Small Business pg A11.
775:Musicians from Buffalo, New York
621:Cichon, Steve (26 August 2022).
309:ice hockey team advanced to the
580:Miers, Jeff (9 December 2019).
522:"Raven The 1960s Buffalo sound"
400:Anderson, Dale (21 July 1998).
357:Buffalo Music Hall of Fame 1998
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188:Calandra learned to play the
528:. No. January 31, 2020
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569:. No. WEEK-END Pause.
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765:American record producers
735:Tommy Calandra at Discogs
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178:Lafayette High School
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608:Buffalo Evening News
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285:Kleinhans Music Hall
41:Thomas John Calandra
204:. With the help of
144:Edith A. Ricchiazzi
551:. No. pg B-9.
520:Falkowski, Rick.
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352:Awards and honors
298:program director
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237:Jimi Hendrix
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231:in honor of
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213:Swan Records
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130:Years active
81:(1998-07-19)
51:Tom Calandra
755:1998 deaths
750:1941 births
688:18 December
632:20 December
591:21 December
532:17 December
505:18 December
411:13 December
336:New Zealand
311:Stanley Cup
269:Peter Asher
206:disc jockey
190:Fender Bass
123:bass guitar
101:Garage rock
744:Categories
382:References
256:Jimmy Page
168:Early life
119:Instrument
97:Blues rock
62:1941-11-25
37:Birth name
281:Woodstock
225:The Scene
134:1955-1998
198:Inferno
162:Buffalo
262:Beatle
248:Boston
184:Career
140:Spouse
93:Genres
362:Raven
292:kazoo
267:sent
229:Raven
219:Raven
174:Italy
158:Raven
88:, USA
71:, USA
690:2023
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364:2009
328:WKBW
296:WKBW
254:and
239:and
194:Stan
76:Died
56:Born
246:In
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