Smooth jazz icon Chuck Mangione, whose distinctive flugelhorn sound and memorable hits like “Feels So Good” made him a household name, died July 24, 2025, per udiscovermusic.com. He was 84.
The musician’s family confirmed his death in a statement to the Democrat & Chronicle, praising his “boundless energy, unabashed enthusiasm, and pure joy that radiated from the stage.” They noted his genuine appreciation for fans, often sitting at stage edges after concerts to sign autographs for however long it took.
Born in Rochester, New York, on November 29, 1940, Mangione graduated from the prestigious Eastman School of Music before joining Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers. He later formed the Jazz Brothers with his pianist brother Gap, establishing himself in the jazz world during the 1960s.
Mangione’s commercial breakthrough came in the 1970s. His composition “Chase the Clouds Away” served as background music for the 1976 Montreal Summer Olympics, while “Bellavia” earned him his first Grammy Award. His biggest hit, “Feels So Good,” released in 1977, became a cultural phenomenon, later featured in television shows including The Big Bang Theory and Friends, and the film Doctor Strange. The track earned a Grammy nomination for Record of the Year in 1979.
Throughout his five-decade career, Mangione won two Grammy Awards and received a Golden Globe nomination for his Children of Sanchez soundtrack in 1978. He composed music for the 1980 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid and became a pop culture figure through memorable appearances on King of the Hill, even recording a track called “Peggy Hill” in tribute.
After taking a nine-year hiatus beginning in 1989, Mangione returned to music following collaborator Dizzy Gillespie’s death in 1994. Though he stopped recording albums after 2000, he remained active in music until his death. In 2009, he donated memorabilia including his iconic felt hat to the Smithsonian, and was inducted into the Rochester Music Hall of Fame in 2012.
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