Paul Prestopino
Paul Prestopino (Sept. 20, 1939 - Jul. 16, 2023) was a multi-instrumental musician and an audio engineer from the artist colony in Roosevelt, New Jersey. He was a regular participant in the lively 1960s Folk Revival scene in New York City's Greenwich Village and toured and recorded as a multi-instrumental backup musician with the nationally popular Mitchell Trio and Peter, Paul & Mary[1]. Prestopino's "day job" from 1970 until 1989 was as a technician with the Record Plant Remote[2] (the Record Plant's studio-on-wheels), where he served as a sound and maintenance engineer[3] for countless musicians. He was not a regular studio musician, but given his skill as an accompanist and his availability at the venue of many non-studio recordings, Prestopino was frequently invited on the spot to add a track or accompaniment whenever certain stringed instruments were desired. Thus, he ended up playing for (and was given credit on) multiple hit records by bands and singers such as Aerosmith, Rick Derringer, Alice Cooper, Pete Seeger, John Denver[4], Tom Paxton, and Judy Collins.[5][6] On these recordings, he played (mostly) various fretted instruments including guitar, banjo, dobro and mandolin.
Paul Prestopino was the son of artist Gregorio Prestopino, who moved his family from New York City to Roosevelt, NJ in 1949.
Paul Prestopino attended the Washington Square Park reunion annually in New York City, and later in life, played frequently in small musical venues within driving range of his home
List of places Prestopino played, and bands he was in later in life
- New Jersey Folk Festival
- New England Folk Festival
- Howell Farm Fiddler's Contest (with Jugtown Mountain String Band)
- Magnolia Street String Band
- Jugtown Mountain String Band
- Spook Handy's band
- Roosevelt String Band
- Hold the Mustard (English Country Dance band)
- Many ad hoc bands for the contra dances in Princeton and Philadelphia, including Palmer's Square
- Head for the Hills (weekend retreat in the Poconos sponsored by Princeton Country Dancers)
- Rum & Onions (annual open-band Halloween orchestra sponsored by Princeton Country Dancers)
- NEFFA
Notes
- ↑ Peter Paul & Mary obituary for Paul Prestopino from Facebook, July 20, 2023
- ↑ The Friends of Record Plant NYC FB group announce the passing of longtime Record Plant maintenance tech and master musician Paul “Presto” Prestopino. by The Record Plant Diaries staff on Facebook, July 17, 2023.
- ↑ Presto’s “Imaginative” ADT Chango from the Record Plant Diaries, Jul. 13, 2021, referring to an ingenious rig-up Paul Prestopino created in July of 1971.
- ↑ Paul Prestopino first contributed guitar and mandolin accompaniment to John Denver's Rhymes & Reasons album in 1969, and he also is credited for playing on eight subsequent album releases of works by John Denver, as per the list of credits on AllMusic, per the album liner notes, and per the articles about the albums in Wikipedia.
- ↑ Paul Prestopino's List of Credits from 1962 to 2018 on AllMusic.com, last access 7/23/2023.
- ↑ List of 58 recording credits from 1963 to 2015 on RateYourMusic.com, last access 7/23/2023.