ENTERTAINMENT Valley favorite Frank Gallo plays on

October 9, 2016 at 12:05a.m.

By GUY D’ASTOLFO

Frank Gallo has been a fixture on the Mahoning Valley music scene for seven decades.

Since the early 1950s, he has been performing Italian-style music with his orchestra at festivals, parks, dances, concerts and weddings – lots and lots of weddings.

Gallo estimates he has played at 1,000 weddings in his career, a rate of one a week for a long time.

“I played at the Brier Hill festival, and a young girl came up to me and said ‘Mr. Gallo, you played at my grandma’s wedding,’” said Gallo, with a chuckle.

Today, at age 88, Gallo has curtailed his schedule, but still managed to play 17 dates this year. Health issues have prevented him from playing his main instrument, the trumpet, for the past couple of years but he still sings and serves as the front man at shows. He also continues to insert the comedy shtick that he has perfected through the years into his act.

“I still do the festivals, but I have to fight through the physical limitations,” he said. “My desire is as strong as it was when I was in my 20s, but the other parts don’t work.”

Gallo’s first gig was when he was about 15. “I got a whole dollar,” he recalled.

He grew up in Brownsville, Pa., and moved with his family to Youngstown’s West Side shortly after he graduated from high school. Gallo still lives on the West Side.

After a stint in the Navy, Gallo officially began his music career as a trumpet player in his uncle’s group, the Tony Romo Band. In fact, it was his uncle Tony who gave him his first trumpet at age 10.

Gallo would go on to start his own band, and also added a comedy element with his routine as “Uncle Vitullio,” a character he created.

He also became quite good at impersonating stars of the days, such as Dean Martin and Louie Prima, and his audiences came to expect it.

Gallo has also long been a regular on the Italian Radio Hour show, every Sunday from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on local station WPIC-AM 790, with Joe Godina and Butch Nichols. He still appears on the show every week.

Another date that is still on his schedule every June is the Dean Martin Day festival in the late star’s hometown of Steubenville.

Gallo and his band also still play the concert series at local parks, and the Warren Italian Festival, as well as the Youngstown Our Lady of Mount Carmel festival

In a career full of highlights, one that stands out was working with the cast of “The Sopranos” (he actually did this twice) at Mountaineer Casino and Resort. He had a good rapport with the actors, especially Steve Schirripa, who played mobster Bobby Baccalieri on the HBO series. Gallo was invited to play more shows with the cast but was unable to accept because of his knee problems.

Gallo has also recorded several albums over the years, the most recent being a compilation of his best-known tunes.

Italian-style music and comedy has always been Gallo’s focus, and he has worked with many national and regional stars over the years, including Pittsburgh’s popular act, The Gaylords.

The music and memories remain strong with his fans and continues to draw a crowd.

In May, Gallo and Butch Nichols performed at a dinner-show at Leo’s Ristorante in Niles, featuring the Gaylords as the headliner.

“I was amazed at the response we got,” said Gallo, who helped promote the show.

“I was expecting maybe 100 would show up but we had 365 people.”