The Tony Orlando Interview

My guest today is an icon of show business entertainment.

He has no qualms with this considering the hard scrabble life that he ascended from. He came out of the functional dysfunction of Hell's Kitchen where you needed to be a street scholar- learning what to do and what not to do. He grew up with street gangs that were much more ruthless than West Side Story would depict along with the Puerto Rican rhythms that his mother brought state side. The ability to swing, the Cha Cha Cha, when music was danse music. Not electronic beats that have been forced into the ears of younger generations.

Eventually his family moved to New Jersey which is the size of Israel. A Mecca of individual artistic expression sandwiched in between the Big Apple and Sigma Sound in Philadelphia.

My guest was content to walk away from the stage. He was already a known musical entity when he decided to be a producer which he did in 1969 until Candida came a calling and a resurgence ensued.

He found his groove as a master live performer intoxicating the audiences with stage presence, individual sound, eccentric leadership qualities and the smokey soul sound of Stax/Motown that made The Dawn of a New Day.

He knows fame and fortune and he knows the hardships that come with it. The relationships that come and go, trying to find equilibrium after coming off the road and readjusting to domestic life, continually reinventing yourself to stay relevant, building a legacy outside of being one of the slickest entertainers the world has ever known.

As he looks at The Ozarks and the sun begins to set he recognizes the bravery of our veterans. Often underserved and never calling fanfare to themselves my guest has put it upon himself to raise the profiles of military men and woman and their families.

They don't decide why we should go to war even if there is no reason. They are thrust into foreign territories  and come back maimed and psychologically fractured. With love from my guest and collaborations with other free thinking artists he has forged a path to relevancy in the digital age. Still knocking Michael Anthony Orlando Cassavites welcome to the JFS