When my colleague at work mentioned Chuck Mangione's name, I knew that he had passed, and my heart sunk.
Although best remembered for his 1977 hit "Feels So Good" and his appearances on the animated TV series, King of the Hill, I will forever associate him with the year my family spent in Victoria, B.C. while Dad was on sabbatical.
Dad had an 8-track cassette of Mangione's 1978 soundtrack to Hall Bartlett film Children of Sanchez (which I have never seen to this very day) which he played in his 1972 Buick LeSabre. Children of Sanchez painted a vivid picture all on its own. Along with The Guess Who's Share the Land, that 8-track was the soundtrack of my year on the West Coast. When I think of the Pacific Ocean, Children of Sanchez comes at me in waves.
I had the chance to tell this to Mangione in person before he played at Scullers' Jazz Club which overlooks the Charles River between Boston and Cambridge. When I told him this, Mangione was having a drink at the bar, and I don't think he appreciated the interruption. But I think he understood I was being sincere especially when I mentioned "Bellavia" was my favorite of his compositions. It might have warmed him up a smidge because he wrote "Bellavia" for his mother.
Chuck Mangione and Children of Sanchez will always hold a special place in my heart. R.I.P.
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