Meco

On Wednesday May 25, 1977, Meco watched the 20th Century-Fox soon-to-be blockbuster hit Star Wars on its opening day. By Thursday night, he had seen the film four more times, and attended several more screenings over the weekend.

He then got the idea to make a disco version of the score by John Williams and contacted Neil Bogart at Casablanca Records to pitch the project. Only after both the picture itself as well as the original score had become huge hits did Bogart agree to help Meco realize his idea. Contact was established with Millennium Records, then a Casablanca subsidiary, and this became Meco's first record company. Here Meco rejoined with Tony Bongiovi as well as Harold Wheeler who had also been part of the team behind "Never Can Say Goodbye" in 1974. Lance Quinn was also part of the Meco team, and the different roles played by the four musicians is described by Meco himself in a 1999 interview with his fan Web site:

Tony and Lance are the two guys who would not let me be "too musical". Tony would say: "It's not dumb enough—It's too good." Tony is a frustrated drummer and Lance is a guitar genius, so they would make sure the rhythm section was always "smoking" under the very sophisticated arrangements and concepts that Harold and I started with.[3]

In a matter of just three weeks they arranged and recorded Star Wars and Other Galactic Funk. Although the album was nominated for "Best Instrumental Pop performer" in 1977, the award ultimately went to John Williams for the original soundtrack album.

For a period of four months there was even a show band assembled to perform to Meco's disco music in public venues. However, the band was not involved in the making of the music. This initiative was organized by Norby Walters, a booking agent for discos. The band members (pictured in this article) toured the U.S. and Canada as a high energy show band called Lemon Tree. Norby Walters booked and also managed the band before the Star Wars project. Band personnel was Carmine Giovinazzo, Stan Glogicheski, Tommy Rocco, Tony Abruzzo, and Tony "Butch" Gerace.

In the fall of 1977, Meco's second album was released. It was another rearranged science-fiction movie soundtrack, Encounters of Every Kind, based on John Williams music of the movie Close Encounters of the Third Kind, from which three singles were released: "Topsy," "Meco's Theme," and "Theme from 'Close Encounters.'"

Meco's third album came in early 1978, and this time it was the music from The Wizard of Oz, which got transformed into a disco album by the same name, as Meco described: "It is my best work, bar none." From this album came the hit single "Themes from The Wizard of Oz: 'Over the Rainbow'/'We're off to See the Wizard.'"

In the fall of 1978, Millennium merged with RCA. Since he had developed a deep-bonded working relationship with Neil Bogart and other staff at Casablanca Records (Millennium and Casablanca having cooperated closely), Meco decided to move to Casablanca. Casablanca released the fourth Meco album, Superman & Other Galactic Heroes, featuring two hit singles, "Superman Theme" and "Love Theme From Superman." This was yet another Meco makeover of an original John Williams score.

In 1979, the fifth album, Moondancer, was released, and with it the hit singles "Moondancer," "Grazing in the Grass," and "Devil's Delight." In 1980, Meco's sixth album, Music From Star Trek and Music from The Black Hole, was released, featuring the song "Theme From 'Star Trek.'" The movie Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979) featured an original soundtrack composed by Jerry Goldsmith. Meco also created Meco Plays Music from The Empire Strikes Back, which was a 10" EP containing a mash-up of various themes from the John Williams score to The Empire Strikes Back for RSO Records.

The last album that Meco made for Casablanca, his seventh, which came out in 1981, was Impressions of An American Werewolf in London, based on the soundtrack from the 1981 feature film An American Werewolf in London. After this LP, Meco's tenure with Casablanca was over.

Meco also recorded for RSO Records (Empire Strikes Back and Christmas in the Stars) as well as Arista Records (Ewok Celebration, Pop Goes the Movies, Swingtime's Greatest Hits) and with Columbia on the single The Raiders March. His Hooked on Instrumentals was released on CD and Cassette on the K-Tel label in the US, and Mercury released a CD compilation of his greatest hits, The Best of Meco in 1997.[2]

According to Meco, "When disco was new, it was fresh and exciting because it was different. But pretty soon it became too cookie-cutter and wore itself out." He left the music industry in 1985. After three years of "doing nothing but playing golf," he started working as a commodities broker in Florida.[2]

• Star Wars and Other Galactic Funk (1977) - AUS #19[4]
• Encounters of Every Kind (1977) - AUS #75[4]
• Meco Plays The Wizard of Oz (1978) - AUS #72[4]
• Superman & Other Galactic Heroes (1978)
• Moondancer (1979)
• Meco Plays Music from the Empire Strikes Back (10" EP – 1980)
• Christmas in the Stars: Star Wars Christmas Album (1980)
• Music from Star Trek and Music from the Black Hole (1980)
• Across The Galaxy (1980)
• Impressions of An American Werewolf in London (1981)
• Pop Goes the Movies (1982) - AUS #88[4]
• Swingtime's Greatest Hits (1982)
• Ewok Celebration (1983)
• Hooked on Instrumentals (with Harold Wheeler) (1983) - AUS #93[4]
• The Best of Meco (1997)
• Dance Your Asteroids Off: The Complete Star Wars Collection (2000)
• Star Wars Party (2005) (This release is only sold on the Internet, a retail release with identical musical content was released as Music Inspired by "Star Wars")
• Meco Presents Camouflage / Showdown (2010) (Two LPs reissued together on one CD, both originally released in 1977 on Honey Bee Records.)

• "Topsy" (1977)
• "Main Title Theme from Superman" (1979)
• "Moondancer" (US 12" Promo) (1979)
• "Devil Delight" (1979)
• "Theme from Star Trek" (1980)
• "Christmas in the Stars" (US 7" Promo)
• "The Raiders March" (from the Motion Picture "Raiders of the Lost Ark" (1981)
• "Anything Goes / Music Makers" (1984)