Frank Pisani

Frank Pisani is an American recording artist and principal songwriter credited on the 1977 Dellwood album Sky. He was not the same artist as the 1950s Chicago singer.

Background

Frank Pisani first appears in surviving records as principal songwriter and co-arranger of six recordings made at Media Sound Studios in New York. No verified record identifies his birthplace, instruments, earlier groups, or whether Frank Pisani was a legal name. Original billing presents Pisani as a solo artist, though no personnel list confirms whether the sessions used a standing group or studio players; Dellwood later acquired the masters and prepared them for release as Sky.

Sky

Dellwood Records issued Frank Pisani’s singular album, Sky, in 1977 as a promotional pressing.

Pisani arranged the six tracks with Steve Brown and producer Mark Berry, but the package does not identify the performing lineup.

“Death of the Sun” surges through interlocked guitar and Hammond riffs under Mellotron strings. “Her Song” glides through a lighter setting as chordal flourishes curl between sung phrases. “Grabing Air” pleads through exposed, full-throated singing and sustained phrases. “Lament” stomps through compact hard riffs and blunt accents.

A1. “Death of the Sun” (7:06) – Brown, Pisani
A2. “Special Love” (3:18) – Crutchfield, Pisani
A3. “Her Song” (6:30) – Brown, Pisani

B1. “Grabing Air” (4:37) – Pisani
B2. “Lament” (3:19) – Ventura, Pisani
B3. “The Pack” (5:00) – Ventura, Pisani

No session month appears in the original credits. Mark Berry produced Sky at Media Sound Studios, Studio A, New York City. Berry also engineered and mixed the sessions. Brooklyn producer-engineer Mark S. Berry returned from AIR Studios to New York in the mid-Seventies and joined Vanguard Records, where he mixed the 1977 self-titled album by Cosmology.

Sky appeared in an uncredited graph-paper sleeve. Segmented color blocks form the title lettering on the front; a white track panel sits on a yellow field on the back.

Sky carries Dellwood’s own imprint at 200 West 57th Street, the Manhattan address shared with Prelude and Guinness. Prelude vice president Stan Hoffman owned Dellwood, which distributed and packaged releases for Marvin Popkin’s Guinness tax-shelter label. Investors leased masters at inflated appraisals and claimed tax losses against unsold records. Popkin obtained master recordings and sent them to Hoffman. No surviving credit identifies who transferred Pisani’s recordings to Dellwood.

Dellwood also assigned Jasper Wrath recordings to the Arden House and Zoldar & Clark names on two 1977 albums.

Paisley Press first issued Sky on CD in February 2024 as a PP172 digital remaster.

Confusion

Contrary to multiple databases, the 1977 Dellwood artist was distinct from the 1950s Chicago singer of the same name, who cut several singles (as Frank Pizani) and sang in the pop/vocal group The Highlights, then later recorded an undated folk-pop album, The Partnership, with John Allyn on two-press Drury Lane. 

Discography:

• Sky (1977)
• “Fightin’ Jane” / “Please Don’t Make It Funky” ‎(1980)
• “I Love You Papa” / “Tribute to Durante (You Gotta Start Off Each Day)” ‎(1983) 

Sources:

• Discogs: Frank Pisani
• RYM: Frank Pisani
• 45cat: Frank Pisani
• MusicBrainz: Frank Pisani