Ormie King’s Legends • A Friend Remembers Joe Cappiello
Post-Standard, The (Newspaper) – August 10, 2006, Syracuse, New York Page 12
Today’s Legends of Auburn story was written by Renee Campbell, a longtime friend of Joe Cappiello. Ormie King says, “I had the good fortune to play football, with his son, David Cappiello [1938-], and he was truly a ‘chip off the old block’ as he mirrored his dad’s career. Dave was an outstanding halfback on our undefeated football team and also was a gifted musician who played at many of our reunions over the years as well as an outstanding sports orthopedic surgeon in Asheville. N.C.. Joe Jr. [1944-] is vice president of JCAHO, a national hospital organization.”
Life was good in so many ways for Joe Cappiello [1912-2006]. He lived a long and productive life, he raised two successful sons. He was loved and cared for by friends and family, and he ended his 94 years just as he wished, living at home with his dog, Bianca. But Joe Cappiello had a gift and a passion that defined his life – his love of music and his ability to share it with others. Weaving his musical tapestry through so many generations, Joe Cappiello touched so many in a manner that only a master musician can do. He brought to life the magic of music through the ivory keys of the piano. He opened the minds of the young and old to appreciate the wonders of music. The joy, the discipline, the hard work and the persistence that music demands were shared with so many over the decades. He could not traverse the aisles of Wegman’s without someone coming up to him to remind him that they were a former student or that he played at their wedding. And he remembered them all.
Joseph Lawrence Cappiello was the son of Salvatore “Sam” [1884-1975] and Gilda [1893-1980] Cappiello, born February 16, 1912, at 7 Hulbert Street, Auburn. His parents built and co-owned the Cappiello Bakery located behind their residence on Hulbert Street with Salvatore’s brother, Angelo Cappiello [1888-1946]. During the Depression years, young Joe worked with the city street department and carried out family responsibilities in the bakery, cutting and weighing dough for bread. The Cappiello Bakery prospered and was rivaled by the Antonacci Bakery as the premiere Italian bakery in Auburn. Joe attended Auburn Academic High in the Class of 1931. He was a left halfback on the football team as well as captain of the track team. The Y-Field Reunion in 2002 proved to be a special occasion for Joe and provided the opportunity to reminisce about his former teammates and adversaries. Joe was proud to be part of the colorful past of sports in Auburn and to be in the company of so many well-known athletes.
Joe met Mary Colella [1916-1962], his future wife, at a dance hall above the bakery. Her brother, Louie [Lucian Milton Colella 1916-2006], had brought her to the dance and introduced them. Joe asked Louie if he could take Mary home that evening, under his watchful eye, of course. Following that night, when the couple started seeing each other exclusively, Mary’s mother [Antonetta Perillo Colella 1892-1998] directed that her brother must accompany them as a chaperone. In those days, Italian girls didn’t go on dates that were not chaperoned. Joe married Mary on November 23, 1935 in St. Francis Church. They lived at 6 Adams Avenue beginning in 1946, and together raised two sons, David and Joe.
Joe first took piano lessons from his cousin, Concetta lacovino [1900-1997]. His second teacher was Mrs. Vanderhoof, whose studio was located on William Street in a home that was converted into a parking lot for Westminster Church. Shortly thereafter, Joe became a founding member of the Joe Manzone Orchestra, an Auburn landmark throughout the late ’30s and early ’40s. Joe later started his own band with Mike Cervo (trumpet), Louie Scala (clarinet and sax), Herbie LaHood (drums), Bruce Doan (sax) and Mike Signorelli (sax). Joe played the piano, did the arranging, and the band stayed together for many years, even though the membership would change. Many notable musicians would come and go and return again. For Joe, the band was a bunch of good friends doing what they loved to do – entertain and make music.
At the height of his teaching career, Joe carried a roster of more than 100 students. Long into the evenings, on Saturdays and even on Sundays, the sounds of music would pour from Joe’s studio on the second floor of the house on Adams Avenue. No one really knows the number of students who passed through the studio on Adams Avenue. The number is irrelevant. What is important is the impact the music made on so many.
The house is quiet now. Music no longer wafts through the neighborhood. The maestro is gone. Joe Cappiello died with dignity and peace on May 31. You just know there is a hell of a jam session going on in heaven!
Post note: Ormie King’s Local History Room, with its several thousand photos and news clips, is open for your pleasure and reminiscing at the Cayuga Community College Library. For further information and library house, call 255-1743 ext. 2296.
EXTERNAL LINKS:
Look Back at Some Legendary Auburn Musicians by Ormie King 29 November 2015
Ormie King: Memories of Legendary Auburn Bands 27 September 2018