Joe Delia
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Joseph Delia (born October 11, 1948) is an American singer, musician, multi-instrumentalist, composer, and
arranger In music, an arrangement is a musical adaptation of an existing composition. Differences from the original composition may include reharmonization, melodic paraphrasing, orchestration, or formal development. Arranging differs from orchestrat ...
. He is the lead vocalist and keyboardist of the eponymous
blues rock Blues rock is a fusion music genre, genre and form of rock music, rock and blues music that relies on the chords/scales and instrumental improvisation of blues. It is mostly an electric ensemble-style music with instrumentation similar to electri ...
band Joe Delia & Thieves, after previously touring as a session and
studio musician A session musician (also known as studio musician or backing musician) is a musician hired to perform in a recording session or a live performance. The term sideman is also used in the case of live performances, such as accompanying a record ...
with
Chuck Berry Charles Edward Anderson Berry (October 18, 1926 – March 18, 2017) was an American singer, guitarist and songwriter who pioneered rock and roll. Nicknamed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Father of Rock and Roll", he refined and de ...
,
Pat Benatar Patricia Mae Giraldo (née Andrzejewski; formerly and still professionally Benatar ; born January 10, 1953) is an American singer and songwriter. In the United States, she has two multi-platinum albums, five platinum albums, and 15 US ''Billboa ...
, and
Stevie Wonder Stevland Hardaway Morris (; Judkins; born May 13, 1950), known professionally as Stevie Wonder, is an American and Ghanaian singer-songwriter, musician, and record producer. He is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the 20th c ...
. He is also prolific composer of film and television scores, best known for his long-running collaborations with filmmaker
Abel Ferrara Abel Ferrara (; born July 19, 1951) is an American filmmaker. He is best known for the provocative and often controversial content in his movies and his use and redefinition of neo-noir imagery. A long-time independent filmmaker, some of his best ...
on films like '' Ms. 45'', ''
King of New York ''King of New York'' is a 1990 neo-noir crime film directed by Abel Ferrara and written by Nicholas St. John. It stars Christopher Walken, Laurence Fishburne, David Caruso, Victor Argo and Wesley Snipes, with supporting roles played by Gianc ...
'', ''
Bad Lieutenant ''Bad Lieutenant'' is a 1992 American neo-noir crime drama film directed by Abel Ferrara, from a screenplay co-written with Zoë Lund. It stars Harvey Keitel as the title character "bad lieutenant", an unnamed and corrupt New York police off ...
'', ''Body Snatchers'' and '' Zeros and Ones''.


Biography


The Bruthers

Born in
Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...
, Delia began his career as a teenager in the early sixties, playing piano and singing with his group The Bruthers, who signed to
RCA Records RCA Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Group Corporation. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside Columbia Records (its former longtime rival), Arista Records and Epic R ...
and released the 1966 single "Bad Way to Go". Managed by promoter Sid Bernstein, The Bruthers went on to work as a backup band on tours with rock 'n' roll artists
Stevie Wonder Stevland Hardaway Morris (; Judkins; born May 13, 1950), known professionally as Stevie Wonder, is an American and Ghanaian singer-songwriter, musician, and record producer. He is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the 20th c ...
,
The Crystals The Crystals are an American vocal group that originated in New York City. Considered one of the defining acts of the girl group era in the first half of the 1960s, their 1961–1964 chart hits – including " There's No Other (Like My Baby)", ...
,
Chuck Berry Charles Edward Anderson Berry (October 18, 1926 – March 18, 2017) was an American singer, guitarist and songwriter who pioneered rock and roll. Nicknamed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Father of Rock and Roll", he refined and de ...
,
Little Eva Eva Narcissus Boyd (June 29, 1943 – April 10, 2003), known by her stage name Little Eva, was an American singer, well known for her 1962 hit "The Loco-Motion". Biography Boyd was born in Belhaven, North Carolina in 1943 and had twelve siblin ...
and
the Isley Brothers The Isley Brothers ( ) are an American soul group originally from Cincinnati, Ohio, that began as a vocal trio consisting of the brothers O'Kelly Isley Jr., Rudolph Isley and Ronald Isley in the 1950s. With a career spanning over seven decades, ...
. "Bad Way to Go" was included on the compilation album, '' Pebbles, Volume 8''. ''Bad Way to Go'', compiling The Bruthers' sole single and some unreleased studio recordings, was released
Sundazed Music Sundazed Music is an American independent record label founded and based in Coxsackie, New York. It was initially known as a '60s-centric surf, garage, and psych label. Over time with the additions of imprints such as Modern Harmonic, American ...
in 2003.


Studio work

During the seventies, Delia studied composition, arranging, piano and bass violin under the likes of
Don Sebesky Donald John Sebesky (December 10, 1937 – April 29, 2023) was an American composer, arranger, conductor, and jazz trombonist. He was a multi-instrumentalist and could play a number of other instruments: keyboards, electric piano, organ, accord ...
,
Eddie Gómez Edgar Gómez (born October 4, 1944) is a Puerto Rican jazz double bassist, known for his work with the Bill Evans Trio from 1966 to 1977. Biography Gómez moved with his family from Puerto Rico at a young age to New York, where he was raised. ...
, and
Jimmy Garrison James Emory Garrison (March 3, 1934 – April 7, 1976) was an American jazz double bassist. He is best remembered for his association with John Coltrane from 1961 to 1967. Career Garrison was born in Miami, Florida, and moved when he was 1 ...
. He was later chosen for the position of Composer in Residence at
Sarah Lawrence College Sarah Lawrence College (SLC) is a Private university, private liberal arts college in Yonkers, New York, United States. Founded as a Women's colleges in the United States, women's college in 1926, Sarah Lawrence College has been coeducational ...
for two years under the direction of Shirley Kaplan and June Ekert. He eventually made his way into the studio scene in New York City, playing keyboards and writing arrangements for such diverse artists as
Dusty Springfield Mary Isobel Catherine Bernadette O'Brien (16 April 1939 – 2 March 1999), better known by her stage name Dusty Springfield, was a British singer. With her distinctive mezzo-soprano voice, she was a popular singer of blue-eyed soul, Pop mus ...
,
Grace Slick Grace Slick (born Grace Barnett Wing; October 30, 1939) is an American painter and retired musician whose musical career spanned four decades. She was a prominent figure in San Francisco's psychedelic music scene during the mid-1960s to the earl ...
,
Janis Ian Janis Ian (born Janis Eddy Fink; April 7, 1951) is an American singer-songwriter who was most commercially successful in the 1960s and 1970s. Her signature songs are the 1966/67 hit "Society's Child, Society's Child (Baby I've Been Thinking)" an ...
,
Pat Benatar Patricia Mae Giraldo (née Andrzejewski; formerly and still professionally Benatar ; born January 10, 1953) is an American singer and songwriter. In the United States, she has two multi-platinum albums, five platinum albums, and 15 US ''Billboa ...
,
Helen Schneider Helen Schneider (born December 23, 1952) is an American singer and actress working mainly in Germany. Life and career Helen Leslie Schneider was born in Brooklyn, New York City, the daughter of Dvora and Abraham Schneider. Schneider studied ...
,
The Left Banke The Left Banke was an American baroque pop band, formed in New York City in 1965. They are best remembered for their two U.S. hit singles, "Walk Away Renée" and "Pretty Ballerina". The band often used what the Music journalism, music press refer ...
, Cory Daye and Engelbert Humperdinck, as well as writing jingles and scoring many industrial films. In Denmark, Delia is best known for his collaboration in the early 1980s with the popular Danish songwriter Kim Larsen when Larsen unsuccessfully tried to break into the American music industry. The eventual result was two albums credited to Kim Larsen and Jungle Dreams; the albums both sold well – but only in Denmark.


Film and television

Among Delia's earliest experiences in the music business were co-writing and singing for
The Muppets The Muppets are an American ensemble cast of puppet characters known for an surreal humor, absurdist, slapstick, burlesque, and self-referential humor, self-referential style of Musical theatre, musical Variety show, variety-sketch comedy. Cre ...
' first appearance on ''
The Ed Sullivan Show ''The Ed Sullivan Show'' is an American television variety show that ran on CBS from June 20, 1948, to March 28, 1971, and was hosted by New York City, New York entertainment columnist Ed Sullivan. It was replaced in September 1971 by the ''CB ...
''., composing jingles for major advertising campaigns, and co-composing a children's musical titled ''Lollapalooza'' which was produced by
Joseph Papp Joseph Papp (born Joseph Papirofsky; June 22, 1921 – October 31, 1991) was an American theatrical producer and director. Papp is a pioneering figure in American theater, known for creating Shakespeare in the Park, which aimed to make classi ...
and Bernard Gertsen for the New York Shakespeare festival. After scoring two low-budget features for director
Abel Ferrara Abel Ferrara (; born July 19, 1951) is an American filmmaker. He is best known for the provocative and often controversial content in his movies and his use and redefinition of neo-noir imagery. A long-time independent filmmaker, some of his best ...
during the 1970s, the two teamed up on a third film, '' Ms. 45'' (1980). This working relationship continued for over twenty years, resulting in scores for most of Ferrara's body of work, including '' China Girl'', ''
King of New York ''King of New York'' is a 1990 neo-noir crime film directed by Abel Ferrara and written by Nicholas St. John. It stars Christopher Walken, Laurence Fishburne, David Caruso, Victor Argo and Wesley Snipes, with supporting roles played by Gianc ...
'', '' Dangerous Game'', '' The Addiction'', '' The Funeral'', ''
Subway Stories ''Subway Stories: Tales from the Underground'' is a film made in 1997 and produced by Home Box Office for television. It began as a contest among New Yorkers who submitted stories about their experiences within the New York City Subway. HBO pick ...
'' and '' The Blackout'', on which Delia wrote the original score and collaborated on songs with rap artist
Schoolly D Jesse Bonds Weaver Jr. (born June 22, 1962), better known by the stage name Schoolly D, is an American rapper from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Biography Schoolly D was born Jesse Bonds Weaver Jr. in West Philadelphia and raised in Philadelph ...
. Delia appears as himself in ''A Short Film About the Long Career of Abel Ferrara'',Joe Delia
IMDb, official website. Retrieved December 24, 2010
(which is included the Artisan DVD release of ''King of New York''). Delia wrote music for a 1985 episode of ''
Miami Vice ''Miami Vice'' is an American crime drama television series created by Anthony Yerkovich and produced by Michael Mann for NBC. The series stars Don Johnson as James "Sonny" Crockett and Philip Michael Thomas as Ricardo Tubbs, Ricardo "Rico" Tub ...
,'' directed by Ferrara, in which Delia makes an uncredited appearance as a musician. Delia's collaboration with Ferrara came to a hiatus ever since the latter fired him during the making of ''
New Rose Hotel "New Rose Hotel" is a short story by William Gibson, first published in '' Omni'' in July 1984 and later included in his 1986 collection ''Burning Chrome''. "New Rose Hotel" presents a bleak future as extrapolated from contemporary economic and ...
'' (1998). He eventually reunited with Ferrara with the 2017 documentary ''Alive in France''. Other credits during the nineties include the HBO film '' The Enemy Within''; and ''Drunks'', starring Richard Lewis and
Faye Dunaway Dorothy Faye Dunaway (born January 14, 1941) is an American actress. She is the recipient of List of awards and nominations received by Faye Dunaway, many accolades, including an Academy Award, a Primetime Emmy Award, three Golden Globe Awards, ...
. He also scored the television series ''
Dellaventura ''Dellaventura'' is an American crime drama television series created by Richard Di Lello, Julian Neil and Bernard L. Nussbaumer, that aired on CBS from September 23, 1997, to January 13, 1998. The show was based on the life of NYPD detective An ...
'', starring
Danny Aiello Daniel Louis Aiello Jr. () (June 20, 1933 – December 12, 2019) was an American actor. He appeared in numerous motion pictures, including ''The Godfather Part II'' (1974), ''The Front'' (1976), ''Once Upon a Time in America'' (1984), ''Hide in ...
, and scored the second season of the sci-fi series ''
War of the Worlds ''The War of the Worlds'' is a science fiction novel by English author H. G. Wells. It was written between 1895 and 1897, and serialised in '' Pearson's Magazine'' in the UK and '' Cosmopolitan'' magazine in the US in 1897. The full novel wa ...
''. He composed music for twenty-six episodes of the BBC children's show ''Growing Up Wild/Madison's Adventures'', was musical director for
Richard Belzer Richard Jay Belzer (August 4, 1944 – February 19, 2023) was an American actor, comedian, and author. He was best known for his role as BPD Detective, NYPD Detective/sergeant and investigator John Munch, whom he portrayed for 23 years in the NBC ...
's HBO and Showtime specials, and scored the Emmy Award-winning ten-part series ''Lost Civilizations'' for NBC/
Time–Life Time Life, Inc. (also habitually represented with a hyphen as Time-Life, Inc., even by the company itself) was an American multi-media conglomerate company formerly known as a prolific production/publishing company and direct marketeer seller ...
. Delia's later film scores include
Jenniphr Goodman Jenniphr Goodman is a film director best known for directing and co-writing the 2000 in film, 2000 film ''The Tao of Steve''. She received her B.A. in creative writing and film making in 1984 through Pitzer College. She is also a graduate of New Y ...
's comedy hit ''
The Tao of Steve ''The Tao of Steve'' is a 2000 American romantic comedy film written by Duncan North, Greer Goodman, and Jenniphr Goodman, directed by Jenniphr Goodman, and starring Donal Logue and Greer Goodman. The film was produced by Ted Hope and James Sc ...
'', released by Sony Classics; ''
Fever Fever or pyrexia in humans is a symptom of an anti-infection defense mechanism that appears with Human body temperature, body temperature exceeding the normal range caused by an increase in the body's temperature Human body temperature#Fever, s ...
'', by
Alex Winter Alexander Winter (born 1965) is a British-born American actor and filmmaker. As an actor, he is best known for playing Bill S. Preston, Esq., in the 1989 film '' Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure'' and its sequels '' Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey' ...
; ''
Ricky 6 ''Ricky 6'' is a 2000 American-Mexican-Canadian film co-production loosely based on the life of Ricky Kasso, a suburban teenager accused of Satanism and murder in the 1980s. The film was written and directed by Peter Filardi, and based on the 198 ...
'', written and directed by Peter Filardi; ''A Jersey Tale'', by Michael Tolajian; '' My Best Friend's Wife'', by Doug Finelli; '' Bitter Jester'', produced by Richard Belzer; ''Bridget'', by
Amos Kollek Amos Kollek (; born 15 September 1947) is an Israeli film director, writer and actor. Biography Amos Kollek was born in Jerusalem. He is the son of Teddy Kollek, the long-time mayor of Jerusalem. Kollek studied psychology and philosophy at the ...
; the jazz segments for the PBS film '' Partners of the Heart'', by
Bill Duke William Henry Duke Jr. (born February 26, 1943) is an American actor, director, and producer. Known for his physically imposing frame, Duke works primarily in the action and crime drama genres often as a character related to law enforcement. As a ...
; and '' Carlito's Way: Rise to Power'' (a prequel to
Brian De Palma Brian Russell De Palma (; born September 11, 1940) is an Americans, American film director and screenwriter. With a career spanning over 50 years, he is best known for work in the suspense, Crime film, crime, and psychological thriller genres. ...
's ''
Carlito's Way ''Carlito's Way'' is a 1993 American crime drama film directed by Brian De Palma and written by David Koepp, based on the novels '' Carlito's Way'' (1975) and '' After Hours'' (1979) by Judge Edwin Torres. It stars Al Pacino, Sean Penn, Penelop ...
'') directed by Michael Bregman and executive produced by
Martin Bregman Martin Leon "Marty" Bregman (May 18, 1926 – June 16, 2018) was an American film producer and personal manager. He produced many films, including '' Scarface'', '' Sea of Love'', ''Venom'', '' Serpico'', '' Dog Day Afternoon'', '' The Four Seaso ...
. He composed theme music for a season of ''
Pee Wee's Playhouse ''Pee-wee's Playhouse'' is an American comedy children's television series starring Paul Reubens as the childlike Pee-wee Herman that ran from 1986 to 1990 on Saturday mornings on CBS, and airing in reruns until July 1991. The show was develope ...
'', while continuing to score feature films. He composed for three seasons on the
History Channel History (formerly and commonly known as the History Channel) is an American pay television television broadcaster, network and the flagship channel of A&E Networks, a joint venture between Hearst Communications and the Disney General Entertainme ...
's most successful series '' Digging for the Truth'', and wrote the score for the
Discovery Channel Discovery Channel, known as The Discovery Channel from 1985 to 1995, and often referred to as simply Discovery, is an American cable channel that is best known for its ongoing reality television shows and promotion of pseudoscience. It init ...
series ''
Weapon Masters ''Weapon Masters'' is a television show that was premiered on the Discovery Channel on December 31, 2007, and on the Military Channel. The hosts, Chad Houseknecht and Mike Loades, a weapons historian, choose a different historical weapon each w ...
''. Delia scored the
PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of educat ...
series ''
Nova A nova ( novae or novas) is a transient astronomical event that causes the sudden appearance of a bright, apparently "new" star (hence the name "nova", Latin for "new") that slowly fades over weeks or months. All observed novae involve white ...
'', the
BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...
web series ''
Becoming Human ''Becoming Human'' is a British supernatural comedy-drama web series and a spin-off from the TV series '' Being Human''. Created by Toby Whithouse, it was directed by Alex Kalymnios, written by Brian Dooley, Jamie Mathieson and John Jackson, ...
'', National Geographic Channel's "Pythons", and the PBS/
National Geographic Channel National Geographic (formerly National Geographic Channel; abbreviated and trademarked as Nat Geo or Nat Geo TV) is an American pay television network and flagship channel owned by the National Geographic Global Networks unit of Disney Enter ...
joint productions ''Blue Holes'' and ''
King Solomon's Mines ''King Solomon's Mines'' is an 1885 popular fiction, popular novel by the English Victorian literature, Victorian adventure writer and fable, fabulist Sir H. Rider Haggard. Published by Cassell and Company, it tells of an expedition through an ...
''.


Later bands and production work

Delia toured internationally with rock singer
David Johansen David Roger Johansen (January 9, 1950 – February 28, 2025) was an American singer, songwriter, and actor best known as lead singer of the seminal proto-punk band the New York Dolls. He is also known for his work under the pseudonym Buster Po ...
, in the 1980s, producing and co-writing his solo album '' Sweet Revenge'', and continued with the co-creation of the '' Buster Poindexter Show''. Over the next five years he served as musical director and piano player for the live show, and is credited as musical director and co-arranger of the self-titled ''Buster Poindexter'' album which yielded the hit song " Hot Hot Hot". Partnering with Scandinavian singing star
Kim Larsen Kim Mellius Flyvholm Larsen (23 October 1945 – 30 September 2018) was a Danish singer, songwriter, author, and guitarist. He began his musical career in 1968 after a brief period as an elementary school teacher and became known from 1969 as ...
in the early eighties, Delia produced and co-wrote two albums that topped the pop charts throughout Europe, including a 1981 number one single in France ("Donnez Moi du Feu"), sold-out tours, and platinum albums in France, Sweden, Denmark and Norway. In the early nineties, Delia produced a series of albums on BMG/Music Masters for jazz greats
Stanley Turrentine Stanley William Turrentine (April 5, 1934 – September 12, 2000) was an American jazz tenor saxophone, tenor saxophonist and record producer. He began his career playing R&B for Earl Bostic and later soul jazz recording for the Blue Note Reco ...
,
Freddie Hubbard Frederick Dewayne Hubbard (April 7, 1938 – December 29, 2008) was an American jazz trumpeter. He played bebop, hard bop, and post-bop styles from the early 1960s onwards. His unmistakable and influential tone contributed to new perspectives fo ...
, Jim Hall,
Louis Bellson Louie Bellson (born Luigi Paolino Alfredo Francesco Antonio Balassoni, July 6, 1924 – February 14, 2009), often seen in sources as Louis Bellson, although he himself preferred the spelling Louie, was an American jazz drummer. He was a composer ...
and his own album ''Scene of the Crime'', which he produced with
Max Weinberg Max Weinberg (born April 13, 1951) is an American drummer and television personality, most widely known as the longtime drummer for Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band and as the bandleader for Conan O'Brien on ''Late Night with Conan O'Brien'' an ...
(of
Bruce Springsteen Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen (born September 23, 1949) is an American Rock music, rock singer, songwriter, and guitarist. Nicknamed "the Boss", Springsteen has released 21 studio albums spanning six decades; most of his albums feature th ...
's
E Street Band The E Street Band is an American rock band that has been the primary backing band for rock musician Bruce Springsteen since 1972. In 2014, the E Street Band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. For the bulk of Springsteen's recordin ...
). In 2010, Joe Delia toured with his new band Thieves, featuring Steven Roues, Billy Roues, Klyph Black, James Benard and Pj Delia.


Discography

;with The Bruthers * "Bad Way to Go" / "Bad Love" (1966, RCA) * ''Bad Way to Go'' (2003, Sundazed) ;as Killer Joe * ''Scene of the Crime'' (1991, Hightone) ;as Joe Delia & Thieves * ''Smoke & Mirrors'' (2011, Amusing Muse)


Filmography


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Delia, Joe 1948 births Living people 20th-century American composers 20th-century American male musicians 20th-century American songwriters 21st-century American composers 21st-century American male musicians American film score composers American male film score composers American male songwriters American music arrangers American television composers Composers from New York City American male television composers Musicians from Brooklyn Sarah Lawrence College alumni Songwriters from New York (state)