Ralph Santo Grasso (March 5, 1934 – September 14, 2021) was an American guitar player and a

session guitarist 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 ...

from

Newark, New Jersey Newark ( , ) is the List of municipalities in New Jersey, most populous City (New Jersey), city in the U.S. state of New Jersey, the county seat of Essex County, New Jersey, Essex County, and a principal city of the New York metropolitan area. ...

. During his career he worked as a session musician and he also worked on television and

film score A film score is original music written specifically to accompany a film. The score comprises a number of orchestral, instrumental, or choral pieces called cues, which are timed to begin and end at specific points during the film in order to ...

Early life

Grasso was born March 5, 1934, and grew up in Newark, New Jersey. He claimed in an interview that his family was poor without heat or hot water. He also claimed the family lived in an empty store front and shared a toilet with fourteen families. When he was a boy someone gave him a guitar and he said, "It was a small, three-quarter guitar with a Hawaiian scene painted on it." Ralph's father had musician friends who gave him guitar lessons. In 1952 both he and brother Robert signed up for the Naval Reserve and he auditioned for the Navy bandmaster. Grasso was talented and he was admitted to the Navy Band. His guitar playing won him an international Navy music contest.

Career

While in the Navy Grasso made an 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 entertainment columnist Ed Sullivan. It was replaced in September 1971 by the '' CBS Sunday Nig ...

. He became friends with a singer named

Randy Sparks Lloyd Arrington Sparks (July 29, 1933 – February 11, 2024), known professionally as Randy Sparks, was an American musician, singer-songwriter, and founder of The New Christy Minstrels and The Back Porch Majority. Biography Sparks was born on ...

and was talked into moving to

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

in 1958. In Los Angeles Grasson became friends with

Hugo Montenegro Hugo Mario Montenegro (September 2, 1925 – February 6, 1981) was an American orchestra leader and composer of film soundtracks. His best-known work is interpretations of the music from Spaghetti Westerns, especially his cover version of Ennio M ...

and the two wrote a

. Beginning in the 1950s Grasso worked on movie scores, television shows and as a session musician for

Frank Sinatra Francis Albert Sinatra (; December 12, 1915 – May 14, 1998) was an American singer and actor. Honorific nicknames in popular music, Nicknamed the "Chairman of the Board" and "Ol' Blue Eyes", he is regarded as one of the Time 100: The Most I ...

and other artists. During his career he appeared regularly on "

The Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour ''The Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour'' is an American music and comedy television variety show that was hosted by singer Glen Campbell from January 29, 1969, to June 13, 1972, on CBS. He was offered the show after he hosted a 1968 summer replacemen ...

," and "

The Jonathan Winters Show ''The Jonathan Winters Show'' is the first of two American television network variety show television programs to be hosted by comedian Jonathan Winters. The television series was broadcast from October 1956 to June 1957 on NBC. Synopsis This '' ...

". He also did work for artists

Jimmie Rodgers James Charles Rodgers ( – ) was an American singer, songwriter, and musician who rose to popularity in the late 1920s. Widely regarded as the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Father of Country Music", he is best known for his di ...

and

Ella Fitzgerald Ella Jane Fitzgerald (April25, 1917June15, 1996) was an American singer, songwriter and composer, sometimes referred to as the "First Lady of Song", "Queen of Jazz", and "Lady Ella". She was noted for her purity of tone, impeccable diction, phra ...

and he did film scores for

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977) was an American singer and actor. Referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one of the most significant cultural figures of the ...

's films. Grasso also performed for US Presidents:

Dwight D. Eisenhower Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower (born David Dwight Eisenhower; October 14, 1890 – March 28, 1969) was the 34th president of the United States, serving from 1953 to 1961. During World War II, he was Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionar ...

Nixon Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 until his resignation in 1974. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as the 36th vice president under P ...

Gerald Ford Gerald Rudolph Ford Jr. (born Leslie Lynch King Jr.; July 14, 1913December 26, 2006) was the 38th president of the United States, serving from 1974 to 1977. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, Ford assumed the p ...

Jimmy Carter James Earl Carter Jr. (October 1, 1924December 29, 2024) was an American politician and humanitarian who served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party ...

and

Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan (February 6, 1911 – June 5, 2004) was an American politician and actor who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He was a member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party a ...

. He also performed for Vice President

Walter Mondale Walter Frederick "Fritz" Mondale (January 5, 1928April 19, 2021) was the 42nd vice president of the United States serving from 1977 to 1981 under President Jimmy Carter. He previously served as a U.S. senator from Minnesota from 1964 to 1976. ...

and

Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother Elizabeth Angela Marguerite Bowes-Lyon (4 August 1900 – 30 March 2002) was Queen of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 to 6 February 1952 as the wife of King George VI. She was al ...

. In 1974 he started a company called Seagull Publishing in Los Angeles.

Personal life

Grasso moved to Quail Creek resort community in Southern Arizona and gave guitar lessons and held clinics and workshops. He was married to Leah in 1983 and they were married for 38 years (until his death). He died September 14, 2021, after having heart surgery.

References

External links

Allmusic Credits Ralph Grasso

Video Ralph on his Fender guitar
{{DEFAULTSORT:Grasso, Ralph 1934 births 2021 deaths American male guitarists 20th-century American guitarists 21st-century American guitarists Musicians from Newark, New Jersey American session musicians