Joe Pica nicknamed "The Wizard of the Keys," was a popular East Coast pianist

Pianist

A pianist is a musician who plays the piano. A professional pianist can perform solo pieces, play with an ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers, solo instrumentalists, or other performers.-Choice of genres:...

 and lounge singer who flourished in the 1950s.

Life and work

A native of New Jersey, Joseph Pica was the son of James Pica, a taylor, who had immigrated from Italy in 1899, and his wife Safira, who had been born in the U.S. but was of Italian descent. Joseph was the youngest of four siblings.

He may have graduated from Abington Avenue Elementary School in Newark, New Jersey

Newark, New Jersey

Newark is the largest city in the American state of New Jersey, and the seat of Essex County. As of the 2010 United States Census, Newark had a population of 277,140, maintaining its status as the largest municipality in New Jersey. It is the 68th largest city in the U.S...

, and attended Barringer High School

Barringer High School

Barringer High School, formerly Newark High School, is a four-year comprehensive public high school in Newark, in Essex County, New Jersey, United States, operating as part of the Newark Public Schools. Some consider it to be the third oldest public high school in the United States...

, also in Newark. According to one source, "At the age of nine he presented two successful classical concerts but in his early teens he switched from classical to pop style."

For thirteen years, Pica had his own radio show on WAAT in Newark. To promote The Jolson Story (1946), a theater owner in Newark hired Pica to play Jolson songs on the radio for three weeks prior to the film's debut. Free tickets were given to those who could guess the names of the songs.

In the 1950s, Pica recorded more than a dozen singles and at least one album, all issued by either Original Records or Bergen Records in Little Ferry, New Jersey

Little Ferry, New Jersey

Little Ferry is a borough in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 census, the borough population was 10,626.-Geography:Little Ferry is located at ....

 or Anchor Records

Anchor Records

Anchor Records was a U.K.- based record label co-founded by Ian Ralfani and the American Broadcasting Company, which owned ABC Records in the United States, in 1974. ABC Records marketed Anchor albums in the USA, and Anchor Records issued many ABC albums in the United Kingdom as "ABC Records...

 in Newark.

In about 1960, Pica moved to Florida, where he played piano at the Crystal Lounge in Clearwater before becoming the owner of Joe Pica Red Carpet Steak House and Lounge.

He died in 1973, shortly after his 50th birthday.

Joe Pica the pianist is sometimes confused with Joe Picca (1919–1979) who had an accordion shop in Bound Brook, New Jersey, and composed piano accordion

Accordion

The accordion is a box-shaped musical instrument of the bellows-driven free-reed aerophone family, sometimes referred to as a squeezebox. A person who plays the accordion is called an accordionist....

 solos.

Singles

• "Back in the Good Old Days" / "Springtime in the Rockies" (with Shorty Warren and the Arlene Wright Trio) (78 rpm, Trope 5154, c. 1951)
• "Go Home, Little Girl, Go Home" (with The Song Spinners) / "Memories" (45 rpm, Anchor 45-A-6, Aug. 1952)
• "Margie" / "When I Grow Too Old to Dream" (45 rpm, Anchor 45-A-18, 1953)
• "Please Don't Talk about Me When I'm Gone" / "Caravan" (Instrumental) (45 rpm, Original OR-511, c. 1954)
• "The Music Goes 'Round and Around" / "Chinatown, My Chinatown" (Instrumental) (45 rpm, Original OR-512, Feb. 1955)
• "I Learned a Lesson I'll Never Forget" / "Doodle Doo Doo" (with the Balladairs Group) (45 rpm, Original OR-518, 1955)
• "Down in the Old School Yard" / "Oh, How I Miss You Tonight
  Oh, How I Miss You Tonight
  "Oh, How I Miss You Tonight" is a popular song, published in 1925, written by Benny Davis, Joe Burke, and Mark Fisher.The song is considered a pop standard, and has been recorded by many people, among them Frank Sinatra, Doris Day, Glenda Collins, and a Jim Reeves/Deborah Allen duet....
  
  " (45 rpm, Bergen 103, c. 1956)
• "Don't Cry Little Girl, Don't Cry" / "The Woodpecker Song" (Instrumental)(45 rpm, Original OR-532, Nov. 1956)
• "Old Oaken Bucket" / "I'm Always Chasing Rainbows" (45 rpm, Anchor 148, Nov. 1958)
• "When Your Hair Has Turned to Silver" / "You Belong to My Heart" (45 rpm, Anchor 150, c. 1958)
• "Down in the Old School Yard" / "Oh, How I Miss You Tonight
  Oh, How I Miss You Tonight
  "Oh, How I Miss You Tonight" is a popular song, published in 1925, written by Benny Davis, Joe Burke, and Mark Fisher.The song is considered a pop standard, and has been recorded by many people, among them Frank Sinatra, Doris Day, Glenda Collins, and a Jim Reeves/Deborah Allen duet....
  
  " (45 rpm, Anchor 152, c. 1958)
• "Somebody Stole My Girl" / "Oh, How I Miss You Tonight
  Oh, How I Miss You Tonight
  "Oh, How I Miss You Tonight" is a popular song, published in 1925, written by Benny Davis, Joe Burke, and Mark Fisher.The song is considered a pop standard, and has been recorded by many people, among them Frank Sinatra, Doris Day, Glenda Collins, and a Jim Reeves/Deborah Allen duet....
  
  " (45 rpm, Anchor 155, c. 1959)
• "Rocka Rolla Old Pianola" / "You Are My Sunshine" (45 rpm, Anchor 156, c. 1959)
• "Maybe" (Instrumental) / "Yes, Sir That's My Baby" (Instrumental) (45 rpm, Anchor 157, c. 1959)
• "Rock a Rolla the Old Pianola" / "Brother Bill" (Original Records?)

Album

• Pica on Pianola (33 rpm, Original LP-01) [Track listing: "Somebody Stole My Gal
  Somebody Stole My Gal
  "Somebody Stole My Gal" is a popular song from 1918, written by Leo Wood. In 1923 Ted Weems & his Orchestra had a five-week run at number one with his million-selling version of Leo Wood’s 1922 standard...
  
  " / "(The Gang that Sang) Heart of My Heart" / "Oh How I Miss You Tonight" / "I Want a Girl" / "Yes, Sir, That's My Baby" / "Five Foot Two, Eyes of Blue" / "Maybe" / "Sweet Sue, Just You"]