Joseph William Tucci (born 1953), known under his alias Eric Matthew, is an American record label owner, record producer, engineer, songwriter and guitarist, previously involved in the New York

post-disco Post-disco is a term and genre to describe an aftermath in popular music history circa 1979–1986, imprecisely beginning with the backlash against disco music in the United States, leading to civil unrest and a riot in Chicago known as the Dis ...

scene of the early 1980s.

Biography

Tucci originally performed at weddings, bar mitzvahs and parties in the New York metropolitan area with his friends. Then, after producing a demo with fellow band member Gary R. Turnier, he landed a record deal with indie label

SAM Records SAM Records was a New York-based independent record company active between 1977–1983 and 1989–1991. The label was operated by Sam Weiss and Daniel Glass, who worked as a vice president. In the late 1970s, Columbia, as a CBS subsidiary, had ...

, owned by Sam Weiss, which by then had major label Columbia as their distribution company.Radar Records CD compilation booklet. Essentially a minimal rock combo with musical influences ranging from

deep funk Deep funk is a subgenre of funk music which features a "hard, lean" sound and emphasis on groove, improvisation, and musicianship over traditional songwriting. The term is also used to describe rare funk recordings sought out by collectors and D ...

pop Pop or POP may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Pop music, a musical genre Artists * POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade * Pop! (British group), a UK pop group * Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band Album ...

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

disco Disco is a music genre, genre of dance music and a subculture that emerged in the late 1960s from the United States' urban nightclub, nightlife, particularly in African Americans, African-American, Italian-Americans, Italian-American, LGBTQ ...

, the band, named Gary's Gang by Turnier and Tucci, consisted of a saxophonist, a trombonist, a flautist, a percussionist, and keyboardists. The second album, ''Keep on Dancing'', performed well on the music charts, peaking at #27 on the ''Billboard'' R&B Albums and #42 on the ''Billboard'' 200. This accomplishment led Tucci to establish his own record label and produce other artists. His productions included "Reach Up" by Toney Lee (on his own label) and the album '' Redd Hott'' by

Sharon Redd Sharon Redd (October 19, 1945 – May 1, 1992) was an American singer from New York City. She was the half sister of Snap! singer Penny Ford. Life and career Redd was born on October 19, 1945, in Norfolk, Virginia, to Gene and Katherine Redd. Ge ...

(for

Prelude Records Prelude Records was a New York–based independent record label that was active from 1976 to 1986. At one time, François Kevorkian held an A&R position at Prelude. The label's owner was Marvin Schlachter, and his business partner was Stan Hof ...

). With Gary Turnier he produced records like Tracy Weber's "Sure Shot,"

Sinnamon Sinnamon was an American female R&B vocal trio, consisting of Connecticut natives Barbara Fowler, Marsha Carter, and Melissa Bell from New York City. The group went through an abrupt development from a minimalist contemporary R&B sound of post- ...

's "

Thanks to You "Thanks to You" is a song by American female vocal trio Sinnamon, released as a single in 1982. It was a hit on the dance charts, hitting number one for two weeks in mid-1982.''Joel Whitburn's, Hot Dance/Disco: 1974-2003'', 2004 It also reached ...

," and Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde's "Genius Rap" in his garage. Tucci is married and has three daughters. His musical influences include

1960s pop This article includes an overview of the events and trends in popular music in the 1960s. In North America and Europe the decade was particularly revolutionary in terms of popular music, continuing the shift away from traditional pop that began ...

and the "zaniness of the later

Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...

albums."

Production and writing discography

References

External links

AllMusic Page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Matthew, Eric 1953 births American male composers 20th-century American composers Record producers from New York (state) American audio engineers American rock guitarists American male guitarists American soft rock musicians Post-disco musicians Musicians from Queens, New York American people of Italian descent Living people 20th-century American guitarists Engineers from New York City 20th-century American male musicians