Jimmy Scalia
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Jimmy Scalia
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Bergen Record article about Jimmy is HERE
Jimmy Scalia, 46, the official Darin archivist, sanctioned
by the Darin estate,
has been an admirer of
Bobby Darin since childhood.
He and his wife reside in the New Jersey/NewYork area
with their children and family dog. I have watched
Jimmy grow in his career as a video and audio archivist. Below is the story
of how this all came to be.
My Buddy.....
In 1993, I met Jimmy on the phone long distance. Once you know Jimmy,
you never forget him and can easily become a lifelong friend. He has
a zest for life that is contagious and he respects all forms of creativity.
Jimmy and his family are generous people and I am proud to know them.
Back to how I met Jimmy... we were both members of
a video collectors voice mail service and we were desperately looking
for Bobby Darin on video, which at the time was not an easy task. Throughout
the years, we accumulated a lot of BD video and always shared what
we found with each other. Our friendship is very special, we are like family.
Jimmy always came through for me when he found something we wanted
, and now
that I am down to one VCR he has continued to share with me. I have also
received lots of audio from Jimmy
that he has mastered with his cutting edge equipment that he has spent a small
fortune on. Jimmy has a gift for that as well as a devotion to Bobby Darin.
Jimmy also is gifted with people.
His personality is very warm and giving. It would be fair to say
that he is very close to the Darin estate.
In 1998, I was introduced on the phone
to Harriet Wasser, Bobby's lifelong friend. This came about through
Steve Taskler, the webmaster of the Johnny Mercer website. I could
not forget my brother Jimmy so I introduced Hesh to Jimmy.
Hesh took an instant liking to Jimmy, which is not hard to do, and
took him under her wing, so to speak. Jimmy in turn took
very good care of Harriet. He and Dina would often appear with her
in various places around NY.
Harriet bragged on Jimmy
to Darin manager Steve Blauner and
they discovered they had a lot in common music wise and became
great friends. Jimmy helped Steve archive Bobby's library and has done a tremendous service
for the Darin estate and has been called the
"Darin east coast connection", recording and archiving on video tape
Bobby's induction to the
Songwriter's Hall Of Fame, a tribute to Bobby by
The New York Sheet Music Society and The Bobby Darin Award ceremony.
His outgoing personality has provided me with
a lot of information.
Jimmy has helped me this way while I have been working
on the site,
He is very good with people
and getting the job done.
Jimmy's life long ambition of being in the music business has
blossomed in the last few years. He definitely has a knowledge of all of types
of music and media. Not to rest on his laurels, Jimmy is
constantly improving his techniques, honing his craft
and buying new audio/video equipment. He has worked for various artists such as
Julius La Rosa Bob Crewe and Buddy Greco. Jimmy also converted much of
Greco's
audio library to digital, and created discs for him including
the art work. Due to the tragic events of
September 11, Jimmy produced a compilation
disc of Bobby Darin's
American and Patriotic songs which were distributed to NY radio stations.
Jimmy
has met many celebrities such as Margaret Whiting and Keely Smith
and even did a rare interview with Keely. He also
has a gift for writing and has created
numerous articles
for Intune Magazine and has upcoming interviews with Toni Arden and Buddy Greco. Jimmy
is also an accomplished
songwriter and has composed many songs. Jimmy is involved in several organizations. He is
a active
member of The Society
Of Singers , Women in Music, and Songwriters Hall of Fame.
To sum it up, Jimmy Scalia is a
go getter. His diverse knowledge of all of types
of music from every decade and the latest
technology, in combination with his
magnetic charm and a drive for perfection,
all add up to someone you can trust. I highly recommend him
for any job, but more than anything I appreciate his friendship.
Please bookmark this page and check back for
new additions.
Jimmy at the 2003 Songwriter's Hall Of Fame Ceremony with Ahmet Ertegun (Founder of Atlantic Records)
and Clive Davis ( Founder of Arista records & J records)
Click on images
for bigger pictures
The Magic of Bobby Darin: A 30 episode Radio special hosted by Jimmy Scalia with Special guests Steve Blauner and Harriet Wasser
Jimmy ( and his wife) at the 2004 Songwriter's Hall Of Fame Ceremony with Garth Brooks, Trisha Yearwood, Neil Sedaka,
Don McClean, John Oates, Regis & Joy Philbin, Niles Rodgers, Michael McDonald and Dionne Warwick.
(Click on images
for bigger pictures)
Jimmy's most recent accomplishments include
providing material to academy award
winning actor Kevin Spacey and
his staff for the Darin Bio movie "Beyond The Sea".
He has also been
working with Grammy award winner JOEL DORN on an upcoming Darin CD/DVD
" Bobby Darin Aces Back To Back" which is scheduled for
release September 14, 2004 on the Hyena Label.
Joel Dorn (back left) with Jimmy Scalia (back right) in New York (July 2004) at a session for the upcoming Darin CD/DVD
"Aces Back To Back".
Visit Jimmy Scalia's Official
Website and email him at jimmyscalia@yahoo.com
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