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Billy Cioffi
A Short Biography
Billy Cioffi was born and raised in Albany, New York playing in local bands when he was signed to a recording contract at sixteen with his band, The Grey Things, to New York based Laurie Records had a top ten regional hit. As a teenager, he toured the East Coast corridor as the opening act of sixties and seventies musical icons, The Allman Brothers, The Velvet Underground, The Byrds, the Lovin� Spoonful and The Rascals among many others while he was barely in his mid teens. After a brief stop over in Boston, he relocated in Los Angeles whereupon he was asked to play and record with rockabilly legend Gene Vincent. Cioffi soon found himself doing recording sessions in Hollywood with the likes of Sir Douglas Sham and members of his Quintet and various other session players for RCA Records. It was working with Vincent that Cioffi briefly met Chris Darrow who was also working on Vincent�s recordings and in a strange twist of Karma though Mickey McGee would become the Co-Producer of The Monte Carlos CD. It is truly a strange world!
Cioffi joined the band Hokus Pokus who were snapped up in bidding war by MGM Records and released one album which is now a highly sought after collector item. Through out the seventies Cioffi busied him self with session work and songwriting chores while various groups like The Hello People recorded his songs. �I was learning to be a writer� he recalls, �and it was not easy and the competition was stiff�.
Cioffi was working as staff songwriter when out of left field lightning struck and he was asked to form a band with writing partner Euro trash Detroit legend Scott Richardson (Mickey Gilley later cut one of their songs) to inaugurate the comeback of Phil Spector�s legendary vocalist Darlene Love for a New Years Eve show. This was the debut of the Monte Carlos and it was to shape Cioffi�s musical career and life for the next decade. Once the reviews hit the newsstands the following week, The Monte Carlos, with Cioffi as its guitarist/ leader, were bombarded with offers to tour and record with the greatest of Rock�s legends. Soon his life was an endless series of planes, concert halls, and studios. During their tenure as the premier back up band Cioffi played and performed with Chuck Berry in the United States, Japan, South America, Moscow and Europe;. Bus toured with Bo Diddley: conducted and recorded with Ben E King, and conducted for Lesly Gore as well as served five years as musical director for the New York City Doo Wop Shows at Universal Amphitheater in Los Angeles. He has performed at this marvelous venue over thirty times. His compact four and five piece juggernaut became so in demand artists such as Freddy Cannon, Tommy Roe, Brian Hyland, Johnny Tilotson and The Shirelles would often demand promoters fly the band thousands of miles and so they would get the sound that only the Monte Carlos could deliver sometimes as many as 200 dates a year. It was during this time Cioffi formed a special bond with one of his idols who was soon to become a dear friend, the late and recent Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee Del Shannon. The Montes became Del�s band of choice and Shannon asked Billy and the band to perform on some of his last recordings where he played guitars, helped out on production on five sides and sang backgrounds with the likes of Tom Petty, George Harrison Jeff Lynn and The Smithereens as well as working with violinist extraordinaire Richard Green. The Shannon recordings were released posthumously. �I miss Del everyday. He was such an influence in my musical life and just a great guy!� says Cioffi. �I remember when he played me the mixes sitting in his Cadillac and said �listen Billy it�s the Monte Carlos and the Beatles!� I have never been prouder.�
Along the way, Cioffi worked as a guitarist for the Turtles for some gigs while working on recording projects with the group�s leader, his friend, Mark Volman. �Really nice fun guys!� and over the years has played guitar in concerts for Mitch Ryder side by side with guitar legend Steve Hunter. �They are great souls!� According to Billy Cioffi.
Cioffi continued writing and placed compositions in a number of films and TV shows among them: Poltergeist 3, The Skate Board Kid, Blood Fist and over a dozen other films. His music has been heard in several TV series among them the Award winning Canadian children�s show Boogie�s Diner and most recently the Emmy award wining, Shield. He recorded a solo album �Dangerous Type� which was a Billboard Pick and three Monte Carlos CD�s �The Monte Carlos� and �American Episodes� which received extensive airplay throughout the US on Americana format radio charting on the Gavin Reports and making semi finals in four Grammy categories. �How that happened is a complete mystery to me! Some people in NARAS nominated us and actually voted for us! Go figure!�
Cioffi is now a senior at Arizona State University where he is majoring in English Lit and Creative Writing while preparing for Graduate School and working on a novel and some creative nonfiction. He had a feature role in the film The Governor, Phoenix�s entry in the PHOENIX FILM FESTIVAL, as well as writing some of the music. He continues to write for PROVOKE magazine as well as work on music and appears with his band as well as solo
2007 Cioffi
A selected Billy Cioffi solo discography
The Dangerous Type � Billy Cioffi -GAL Records 1985
The Monte Carlos � Billy Cioffi & the Monte Carlos-Triple 777 �1996
American Episode � Billy Cioffi & the Monte Carlos-1997- Triple 777
Amurakin Music- Billy Cioffi and The MONTE CARLOS (Cioffi and McGee)-2004- Triple 777
NOW �.
�OBJECTS IN THE MIRROR ARE CLOSER THAN THEY APPEAR� AEZRA RECORDS 2007
Billy Cioffi and the Monte Carlos
