Bob Conti (born December 27, 1947) is an American percussionist known for his work with

Donna Summer Donna Adrian Gaines (December 31, 1948May 17, 2012), known professionally as Donna Summer, was an American singer and songwriter. She gained prominence during the disco era of the 1970s and became known as the "Queen of Disco", while her music ...

Diana Ross Diana Ross (born Diane Ernestine Earle Ross March 26, 1944) is an American singer and actress. Known as the "Queen of Motown Records", she was the lead singer of the vocal group the Supremes, who became Motown#Major divisions, Motown's most suc ...

, and his long-term collaboration with

Jose Feliciano Jose is the English transliteration of the Hebrew and Aramaic name ''Yose'', which is etymologically linked to ''Yosef'' or Joseph. Given name Mishnaic and Talmudic periods * Jose ben Abin * Jose ben Akabya *Jose the Galilean * Jose ben Halafta ...

. He composed and played percussion for Bad Girls, an album that went double platinum. He also produced The Genius of Jose Feliciano Vol 1 & Vol 2 on his own record label, Joyfull Productions.

Early life

Conti was born in Brooklyn and joined the American Legion's Drum and Bugle Corp at 12. He later moved to Los Angeles and attended Venice High School, where he played Baritone Sax in the high school dance band, "The Crescendos," and had his own band, "The Circle of One." After high school, Conti's music career took precedence over his college education at

Santa Monica College Santa Monica College (SMC) is a Public university, public community college in Santa Monica, California. Founded as a Junior college#United States, junior college in 1929, SMC enrolls over 30,000 students in more than 90 fields of study. The coll ...

Career

Conti's career started when he won a radio contest with his band, leading to performances with well-known artists and eventually recording an album with

Wilson Pickett Wilson Pickett (March 18, 1941 – January 19, 2006) was an American singer and songwriter. A major figure in the development of soul music, Pickett recorded more than 50 songs that made the US R&B charts, many of which crossed over to the '' ...

. Later, he was signed by

Jubilee Records Jubilee Records was an American independent record label, specializing in rhythm and blues and novelty records. It was founded in New York City in 1946 by Herb Abramson. His partner was Jerry Blaine. Blaine bought Abramson's half of the company ...

as a songwriter and lead vocalist. Conti then joined The Platters as saxophonist and lead vocalist. Throughout his career, Conti has performed with various artists in the studio and on tour, working on over 150 albums. He has also been a composer, publisher, musical director, television presenter, and bandleader. Bob Conti at Montreaux Jazz

Donna Summer years & Jose Feliciano

Conti performed with Donna Summer from 1977 to 2010, contributing to her double platinum Bad Girls album. On that album, he composed "Can't get to sleep at night". He then collaborated with José Feliciano from 1982 to 2016, producing several albums and touring worldwide. In addition to writing songs for him, Bob produced several of his albums, including ''The Genius of José Feliciano, Volume 1'' and ''Volume 2'' and From the Heart.

Present day

Since 2016, Conti has focused on charitable projects and established a non-profit organization called "We Celebrate US." In March 2017, he was appointed by the Mayor of Thousand Oaks, California, to the position of Cultural Arts Commissioner of the Thousand Oaks, California Cultural Affairs Commission/Alliance for the Arts, a term that ended in November 2019. In 2017 Bob was one of the producers of the City of Thousand Oaks' live stage show, the 2017 Excellence In The Arts Awards, and also provided some of his original music for the production.

Awards

Discography

Soundtracks and theme songs

Endorsements

* Roland Electronics/ Roland V-Drums * Toca Percussion * Latin Percussion Instruments * Nike Footwear * Peavey Electronics * Machudo Cajons

References

External links

Bob Conti official websiteBob Conti Fan Area website
** ** {{DEFAULTSORT:Conti, Bob 1947 births Living people American percussionists American pop musicians American jazz musicians American rhythm and blues musicians American new-age musicians Record producers from New York (state) Songwriters from New York (state) American jazz composers American television hosts American bandleaders American male jazz composers American male songwriters