Tony Gallo Group

TONY GALLO BIOGRAPHY (including review of latest Sampler)

Tony Gallo, a fine singer from Massachusetts, made a strong impression a few years ago with his debut CD, Something To Say. While that set emphasizes his interpretations of jazz standards, recently Gallo has been branching out into performing newer material that reflects his interest in naturally combining aspects of r&b, soul, pop and jazz. “I love the idea of putting it all together, with bluesy gospellish music meeting more contemporary pop jazz and some rock n roll attitude for good measure. I think that good music does not have to be categorized and I love mixing together styles.”

Born and raised in Lynn, Massachusetts, which is 13 miles north of Boston, Tony Gallo remembers, “I heard the Beatles’ music early on and loved rhythm and blues such as Sam & Dave. I heard a lot of music from my parents’ record collection and on the radio. I sang as a child and, since I wasn’t from a musical family, it was all unplanned.”

When he was 14, Gallo joined White Lightnin’. “We were a garage-style neighborhood rock cover band that became popular. Originally I was a bass player who also sang. I was not the lead singer but I always did sing some and did background vocals. Those of us who played string instruments took lessons from guitarist Ralph Granese who we all feel we owe a great deal of respect and gratitude. He got us thinking more outside of the box than the typical teenager.” Founded in 1978, White Lightnin’ is still active. “The guitar player and I are the last of the founding members; I still play with them part-time.”

During 1988-94, White Lightnin’ took a hiatus. Gallo got married, started a new sales/service job at a Food Broker and didn’t perform music, until he realized that he missed it too much. “When I got back into the music business, I sang at blues jams and open mikes. I became interested in playing harmonica since I was performing with blues bands. A few years later I started taking piano lessons. My teacher had gone to Berklee and he got me started playing standards which got me more and more interested in jazz. By the time I recorded Something To Say, I had been a solo artist for 3 full years and was collaborating with so many great musicians.”

Something To Say features Tony Gallo singing such songs as “All Blues,” “Night And Day,” Roy Brown’s exciting “Good Rockin’ At Midnight,” a funky reinvention of “Mood Indigo” and “St. Thomas” (for which he wrote the lyrics) while joined by top local musicians including pianist Bill Duffy. “I naturally think that my vocals have improved since Something To Say, but rhythmically I had a strong sense of it and an understanding of the forms of the tunes.”

During the past few years, Tony Gallo has been fusing his soulful funky style with great singer/songwriters tunes from the 1960s and ‘70s. “I’ve been revisiting and sometimes re-working the songs of Burt Bacharach, Stevie Wonder, Paul Simon & The Beatles and others from the period. Also recently I have been writing music, collaborating with other writers, and really appreciating the vast array great classic pop tunes.” Gallo’s Take Four – A Sampler features original compositions including the philosophical “Start Over,” “I Wouldn’t Blame You” (a heartfelt ballad), the rocking romp “Move On,”

“You Were Someone Else” (which features a funky groove), the soul ballad “When Something Is Wrong With My Baby” and the r&bish “Love’s Game.” His mature, emotional and versatile vocals display a highly original talent.

Tony Gallo, who works regularly at local clubs, festivals, and many private events, looks forward to recording more extensively in the future. “A new project is my Acoustic Group (sometimes referred to as ‘unplugged’) which uses acoustic guitar; percussion, piano or keyboard, harmonica and voices. Sometimes this takes on a lighter feel while we still perform an eclectic mix of music; just not with as strong of a back-beat. I could see us playing jazz, blues, folk and rock festivals.

With his highly appealing voice, open-minded attitude and versatility, Tony Gallo clearly has a great future. In conclusion he says, “I have been totally bit by the music bug and the sting gets stronger and stronger each year.” Scott Yanow (writer/critic, All Music Guide & Downbeat)