Meco Monardo

Meco Monardo is an American producer, arranger, and composer best known for his disco music. He is a Grammy Award-winning musician who has worked with some of the biggest names in music, including Michael Jackson, Barry Manilow, Diana Ross, and Donna Summer. He is also known for composing the theme from the 1977 movie "Star Wars".

Meco Monardo's career began in the early 1970s, when he worked as a studio engineer and producer for producer Bob Crewe. He then began working on his own music, releasing his debut album, Star Wars Theme/Cantina Band, in 1977. This album featured a cover version of the title track, which became a hit single and sold over two million copies in the United States. This success led to further hits, including the disco singles "Popcorn" and "Theme from Close Encounters of the Third Kind".

In 1979, Meco released his most successful album, Disco Dance Party. This album featured a number of popular disco songs, including the hit single "A Fifth of Beethoven", which topped the Billboard dance chart and sold over a million copies. Other popular songs from the album include "Do It Again", "Themes from 'Star Trek'", and "Rhapsody in Blue".

In the 1980s, Meco moved away from disco music and focused on more traditional pop and rock music. He released several albums throughout the decade, but none were as successful as his earlier work.

An interesting fact about Meco Monardo is that he released an album called Music of the Star Wars Trilogy in 1997, which featured his own arrangements of the music from the Star Wars films. This album won him a Grammy Award for Best Pop Instrumental Performance.