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Song made by Valley men in 1960 to resurface on TV
By GUY D’ASTOLFO
Listen closely to the score of Thursday’s episode of NBC drama “Aquarius” and you will hear an obscure piece of Youngstown music history.
A song titled “Crying Guitar,” written and recorded in 1960 by Struthers natives Tony March and the late John Goske. will be included in the background music of the series, which is set in 1967 Los Angeles and features David Duchovny as a detective.
March, 90, still lives in Struthers and is still writing music. Goske’s widow, Helen, who lives in California and still manages her late husband’s music, offered the song to a producer of “Aquarius,” who accepted it.
“Crying Guitar” has no lyrics. It’s just two guitars playing a pop melody with a Hawaiian vibe. It’s well-suited to the noir-ish period drama “Aquarius.”
March (his real name is Marchionda) was born in Italy but came to the United States as a child, and has been in the music business his whole life.
He had a band in the 1950s and ’60s, and also owned Discount Records, a record shop, on Youngstown’s South Side.
March managed several musical acts in the 1950s and ’50s that achieved some fame, including the Del Rays, the Edsels, Mike Roncone and Del Sinchak. He also owns a music publishing company (Fiore) and a record company (Tammy).
March is the publisher of “Crying Guitar” and will split the “Aquarius” residuals with Goske’s widow.
Typical of the soft-pop music of the era, “Crying Guitar” got some airplay on local radio stations but never made much impact.
“It goes up and down the scale,” said March. “The melody would be appealing if you were sitting and had your eyes closed.”
The song is just one small piece of March’s output. He recorded and produced more than 50 songs since the 1950s.
He’s currently working on a song titled “You Excite My Soul,” which he believes could be a hit.