TONY MOTTOLA
Tony Mottola had a long and varied career, centred in New York, where he was a mainstay of the city's recording and TV scene, beginning in the 1940s.
He's perhaps best known to the general public for his many recordings for the Command and Project 3 labels, both on his own and with producer Enoch Light.
Mottola was the preferred guitarist by both Frank Sinatra and Perry Como for their recording sessions and he was one of the two session greats (along with Al Caiola) who backed Johnny Mathis on his album, "Open Fire, Two Guitars."
Mottola was in the band for Johnny Carson's "Tonight" show and provided the soundtrack for the 1950s TV series "Danger." Tony Mottola passed away on August 10, 2004.
Although there have been periodic reissues of Mottola's albums on CD, not a lot is currently available. The best is a compilation released in 2001 on the Varese Vintage label. It's called "Heart and Soul Guitar," and you may peruse its contents HERE. The album is available from most of the major on-line merchants.
You can read an excellent biography and check out the extensive discography of Mottola recordings at the SPACE AGE POP MUSIC site.
SPACED OUT, the Enoch Light Web site has a 1996 interview with Mottola which you can access from the site's home page.
At the GUITAR MASTERS site, you'll find a MOTTOLA TRIBUTE PAGE which includes a brief career retrospective and a great picture.
This page was last updated: February 24, 2006
