He was born in San Piero Patti, Sicily. His family emigrated to the United States in 1920 and settled in Santa Rosa, California. He started his musical career playing the baritone, like his father, but he quickly branched out into other instruments, notably the French horn and the piano. He received a bachelor's degree from San Francisco State College, and then studied composition with Darius Milhaud at Mills College in Oakland, California.
After he graduated, he was hired as an arranger and composer by guitarist and bandleader Johnny Richards. He spent World War II playing with Paul Desmond in an army band.
After WWII Rugolo went to work for Stan Kenton who headed one of the most progressive big bands of the time. Rugolo provided arrangements and original compositions that drew on his knowledge of 20th century music, sometimes blurring the boundaries between the ballroom and the concert hall.
While Rugolo continued to work occasionally with Kenton in the 1950s, he spent more time creating arrangements for pop vocalists, including June Christy, Peggy Lee and the Four Freshmen. During this period he also worked for a while on musicals at MGM, and served as an A&R director for Mercury Records in the late 1950s. Among his many albums were Adventures In Rhythm, Introducing Pete Rugolo, Rugolomania, Reeds In Hi-Fi and Music For Hi-Fi Bugs.
Oscar And Pete's Blues
Pete Rugolo Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
They're a bad thing,
The blues,
When they threaten,
Just start bettin'
You'll lose.
You hide yourself
Behind a prayer,
And find you there.
I feel the blues,
They're called Pete Kelly's Blues,
Bad news!
There's no exit,
You can't drive away the blues.
If you're born with,
You will die with
The blues,
Think what you choose!
That happy dream is yours, they say,
If you can pay the dues.
That's why I'm stuck with,
Fresh out of luck with,
The blues,
Pete's Blues,
Pete Kelly's blues,
Pete Kelly's blues.
The lyrics to Pete Rugolo's song "Oscar And Pete's Blues" delve into the deep emotional turmoil that is the blues. There is a sense of hopelessness and despair that runs throughout the song, with the singer acknowledging the inevitability and permanence of the blues. The first verse illustrates how the blues can consume a person, causing them to feel as though they are doomed to lose no matter what they do. The second verse speaks directly to the singer's personal experience with the blues, using the titular character of Pete Kelly to lend a sense of familiarity and authenticity to the song.
The third verse speaks to the notion that the blues can be a burden that one is born with and cannot escape. There is a suggestion that happiness is possible, but only for those who are willing to pay a price. The final verse brings the focus back to Pete Kelly's blues as a symbol of the singer's own struggles with the condition. In essence, the lyrics of this song offer a powerful reflection on the nature of the blues, showing how it can be a constant and inescapable force in a person's life, but also suggesting that there may be a measure of hope for those who are willing to confront it.
Line by Line Meaning
They're a sad thing,
The feeling of the blues is sad and oppressive.
They're a bad thing,
The feeling of the blues is negative and harmful.
The blues,
The feeling of sadness and despair.
When they threaten,
When you feel the blues coming on.
Just start bettin'
There's no way you can beat the blues, so don't bother trying.
You'll lose.
The blues will always win in the end.
You hide yourself
Trying to avoid or ignore the feeling of the blues.
Behind a prayer,
Turning to religion to escape the blues.
The blues will come
Even if you try to hide from it, the feeling of the blues will find you.
And find you there.
It will track you down and consume your thoughts.
I feel the blues,
The artist is currently experiencing a feeling of sadness and despair.
They're called Pete Kelly's Blues,
The artist is specifically referring to the feeling of the blues in this song.
Bad news!
This feeling of the blues is negative and harmful to the artist.
There's no exit,
There's no way to escape the feeling of the blues.
You can't drive away the blues.
There's no way to shake off this feeling of sadness.
If you're born with,
Some people are just predisposed to feeling the blues.
You will die with
This feeling of sadness may never truly leave you.
The blues,
The feeling of sadness and despair.
Think what you choose!
Some people may believe that they can think their way out of the blues through positivity and mental strength.
That happy dream is yours, they say,
Some may believe that thinking positively will lead to happiness and contentment, despite the blues.
If you can pay the dues.
This belief may require a certain amount of mental and emotional effort to achieve.
That's why I'm stuck with,
The artist is resigned to the fact that they are stuck with the blues.
Fresh out of luck with,
The artist currently has no way to escape their feelings of sadness.
The blues,
The feeling of sadness and despair.
Pete's Blues,
The artist is directly referring to the feeling of blues as felt by Pete Kelly in this song.
Pete Kelly's blues,
The artist continues to focus on the character of Pete Kelly and his experiences with the blues.
Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: SAMMY CAHN, RAY HEINDORF
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind