PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Peter Nero, a Grammy-winning pianist who performed pop songs across classical and jazz forms and served as Philly Pops bandleader for more than three decades, has died. Nero was 89 years old.
Nero died Thursday at the Home Care Assisted Living Facility in Eustis, Fla., according to his daughter, Beverly Nero, The Philadelphia Inquirer reported. The services will be private.
Nero colored his renditions of pop songs – from Cole Porter and George Gershwin to the Beatles and Bob Dylan – with classic, swing, Broadway, blues and jazz melodies. He often called his sound “nondescript” and was not offended when others called him “middle of the road”. (He once told a newspaper, “Middle of the road and doing good business.”)
Recruited by Philadelphia concert promoter Moe Septee, Nero founded the Philly Pops Orchestra in 1979, the year Arthur Fiedler died. Fiedler is credited with practically inventing the modern version of the pop orchestra in Boston, and Nero hoped to rival it in popularity.
“I’d like to kick their ass,” Nero said at the time.
Nero’s orchestra was not as large as Boston’s, but it boasted routine sales in Philadelphia, no doubt aided by Nero’s lively playing style and warm stage presence.
In his work as a performer and conductor, Nero frequently returns to Broadway tunes, Hollywood themes and Gershwin, the subject of the first Philly Pops concert. But he also dipped into Motown’s catalog and further into bands such as Procol Harum and an album devoted to 70s disco and love songs.
In 1975 he lamented to the Washington Post: “I find it impossible to use a lot of the new material that comes out. There’s rock in my repertoire…but a lot of rock bands sell a sound , not music. You disassemble the melody and there is nothing to work with.
He led the Philly Pops until 2013, stepping down from his leadership role when the orchestra said they could no longer afford him.
By his own admission, Nero struggled early in his career — as Bernie Nerow — during stints in New York and Las Vegas. But he found his groove in his late twenties playing on the New York club circuit.
He was signed to RCA by Stan Greeson, who saw a potential star and had him change his name to Peter Nero. A steady stream of early 1960s club shows led to regular radio and television appearances and two dozen RCA albums over a decade span.
Nero won the Grammy Awards in 1961 for Best New Artist and in 1962 for Best Performance by an Orchestra or Instrumentalist for his record “The Colorful Peter Nero”.
A 1963 album, “Hail the Conquering Nero”, peaked at No. 5 on the Billboard pop album chart. It included versions of “My Bonnie Lies Over the Ocean” and “Mack the Knife”.
It also charted with a version of “Theme from ‘The Summer of ’42′”, a song written by Michel Legrand for the 1971 film. Nero’s version reached No. 21 on the Billboard pop singles chart.
Nero also wrote the score for the 1963 Jane Fonda film “Sunday in New York” and had a guest appearance in the film.
Born Bernard Nierow in 1934, Nero grew up in Brooklyn. He began taking piano lessons at age 7, and by age 11 he was reportedly able to play Haydn’s Piano Concerto in D Major from memory. He then won a scholarship to take classes at Juilliard, won several talent contests, and graduated from Brooklyn College.
Headlining, Nero disliked having a set list and chose songs on the spot. The idea of mixing styles and genres carried over to Philly Pops.
“My Philly Pops programs might start with ‘Die Meistersinger,’ then ‘Chariots of Fire,’ then Enesco’s Romanian Rhapsodies, then a TV theme,” Nero told the New York Times in 1982. come and go, and audiences bought it from the start.