Joe Pica (September 19, 1923 – December 13, 1973), nicknamed "The Wizard of the Keys," was a popular United States East Coast pianist and lounge singer who flourished in the 1950s.[1][2]

Life and work

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.[3]

He may have graduated from Abington Avenue Elementary School in Newark, New Jersey, and attended Barringer High School, 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."[2]

For thirteen years, Pica had his own radio show on WAAT in Newark.[2] To promote The Jolson Story (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.[4]

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 Little Ferry, New Jersey or Anchor Records in Newark.[5] Four of his records made the Music Vendor pop charts, 1954-58.

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.[2][6]

He died in 1973, shortly after his 50th birthday.[1]

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 accordion solos.[7]

Personal recollections of Pica

Joe Pica played at the Three Acre Grill 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 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.

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.

To me Joe Pica was the best piano player and Terry Amadio was the very best female singer in my, D. Tony Ciaramella, lifetime.

— D. Tony Ciaramella

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 'Down in the Schoolyard,' among others. It was in the late '50s, and he brings back many memories.

— Dick Malone

Discography

Singles

Album

  • Pica on Pianola (33 rpm, Original LP-01) [Track listing: "Somebody Stole My Gal" / "(The Gang that Sang) Heart of My Heart" / "Oh How I Miss You Tonight" / "I Want a Girl" / "Yes, Sir, That's My Baby" / "Five Foot Two, Eyes of Blue" / "Maybe" / "Sweet Sue, Just You"][5]

References

  1. 1 2 "Joseph Pica," 153-14-2379, U.S. Social Security Death Index
  2. 1 2 3 4 "Joe Pica, Entertainer," St. Petersburg Times / Pinellas Times, December 15, 1973, p. 6
  3. ↑ Ancestry.com. 1930 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: The Generations Network, Inc., 2002.
  4. ↑ "Girls Club Helps 'Jolson' in Lengthy Jersey Run," Boxoffice, February 8, 1947, p. 3
  5. 1 2 3 William R. Daniels, comp., The American 45 and 78 RPM Record Dating Guide, 1940-1959, Westport: Greenwood, 1985, pp. 9, 20, 106. Note: Unless otherwise noted, all release dates are taken or inferred from this source.
  6. ↑ "Joseph Russato," “Wizard of the Keys,” The Other Side, vol 27, no. 5, Sept.-Oct. 1991, pp. 46-47. (includes photo of Pica)
  7. ↑ "Joseph Picca," 203-01-5833, U.S. Social Security Death Index
  8. ↑ "Country & Western/Hillbilly/Folk/Rockabilly". Archived from the original on 2008-05-16. Retrieved 2008-11-26.
  9. ↑ Galen Gart, ARLD: The American Record Label Directory and Dating Guide, 1940-1959, Milford, NH: Big Nickel Publications, 1989, p. 8.
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