Arcesia
Encyclopedia
John Anthony Arcesi was an American
singer of Jazz and Popular songs.
on February 11, 1917. John's father Antonio Arcesi,, and his mother, Maria Marchinne, were born in Sezze, Italy. Antonio traveled alone to America at the turn of the century leaving his wife and first born son Ignatius behind in Italy until he could establish himself. Upon reuniting in America, Antonio and Maria had four more children. Josephine, Loretta, Louis and Johnny. Johnny's mother died of pneumonia when he was only 10 months old. When Johnny was still a child, his father Antonio (Tony) played an Enrico Caruso disc on a Victrola and this inspired Johnny. As a result he became a child prodigy and local celebrity, singing whenever possible in public or private in the Sayre, Athens and Towanda area of Pennsylvania, as well as Waverly, New York, and as far as Scranton, Pennsylvania
and Elmira, New York
. He turned professional at about the age of 10 after winning a talent show/contest that was produced in Sayre at the Sayre Theatre by the great 'Blackstone the Magician', Harry Blackstone,Sr. in c.1927. Young Johnny sang for every club or organization in the area that wanted talent to perform for their various causes, i.e., The Elks, Lions, et,al. He would also sing for the patients at the local Robert Packer Hospital in Sayre. In 1933, after a fire almost destroyed the family home the previous year, young Johnny, at the age of 16, with his father's blessing, decided to travel alone to NYC to become a band vocalist. His childhood idols and inspirations were Bing Crosby
, Russ Columbo
, Red McKenzie, as well as other popular singers of the day.
", and "Love Is Like a Cigarette". One of his first important live performances and radio broadcasts was with the Claude Hopkins Orchestra at the Roseland Ballroom in Manhattan. Hopkins let Johnny sing with the band for several nights after an impromptu audition backstage. Johnny was employed at Mills Music Publishing Company in the Brill Building as a song demonstrator and office assistant during the day, and singing in various clubs in NYC at night. Irving Mills, upon meeting Johnny during a band rehearsal with Joe Venuti in NYC, suggested the name Arcesi sounded too 'Italian'. Thus, Don Darcy was the name John used from 1935–45, and he recorded as Johnny Darcy from 1946-1950. He was sometimes listed as Don D'Arcy. In 1935 Major Bowes, impressed by young Don when he refused to perform on his amateur show and asserted and demonstrated his professionalism at audition, gave him three sustaining (non sponsored) 15 minute spots a week, broadcasting on WHN in NYC. Shortly thereafter Darcy was offered the same spots, thirty minute shows, on WOR in Newark, New Jersey where he performed from c.1935-36. During this time Darcy developed a loyal fan base of regional listeners, received fan mail and other offers, and learned about the subject of 'payola' first hand.
Upon leaving WOR, and after turning down an offer to broadcast nationally on CBS radio, Darcy desired to go on the road and learn the band business. For the next several years Darcy was the male vocalist for Joe Venuti's Orchestra c.1936-40, after having worked with Charlie Barnet
, 1934, Lud Gluskin
, 1935, Louis 'King' Garcia
, 1936, and others. With the Venuti Orchestra, among many engagements playing the largest hotels and ballrooms in the country, Darcy opened the show for several months at Billy Rose's 'Casa Manana' extravaganza in Fort Worth, Texas in 1936 to celebrate the 100th anniversary of Texas' statehood. Both Paul Whiteman
and Joe Venuti's bands shared the stage for this event. Darcy performed the same function at Rose's Cleveland Aquacade the following year. Contrary to what has been previously written, the only association Darcy had with Rhode Island was any number of one nighters with the various bands he performed with over the next several years, i.e., Dick Gasparre, 1940, Joe Marsala
, 1941–42, Sonny Dunham
, 1943–44, Boyd Raeburn
, 1944–45, Art Mooney
, 1946–48, and Johnny Bothwell
in 1948-49. Darcy also worked in brief association with the bands of Frank Trumbauer, Hal McIntyre and Sam Donahue. He recorded on various labels with these bands, such as Hit, Guild, Grand, Signature and Century Records. Darcy also recorded on American and Langworth Transcriptions. The Century Records dates produced four sides entitled, 'Doink,Doink', 'This Strange Desire', 'A Haunting Melody', and his first recorded version of his original song 'Noahs' Ark', a song he co-wrote with Bud Green c. 1940. The Century dates were recorded in NYC at RCA studios and marked his first collaboration with Lloyd Shaffer. He later recorded 'Noah's Ark' under the title 'Rockin' the Ark'.
, after being heard on late night weekend broadcasts on KNX-LA with just voice and piano. Pianists Harper McCabe and Ed Greenburg accompanied Arcesi on these shows. Alan Livingston was President of the Capitol label at the time, with Lee Gillette as head of A&R. John recorded nine singles, with Lloyd Shaffer conducting the arrangements. Shaffer had previously worked with Perry Como on Como's "Chesterfied" show. His first single with Capitol was entitled "Wild Honey" for which he received positive reviews. Arcesi also received positive reviews in Variety for his live performance work at the Thunderbird Hotel in Las Vegas in October 1952, before the notoriety of the incident written of below. Following his engagement in Las Vegas, he appeared in New York City at the French Casino, and then followed with a stint at the Boulevard Cafe in Queens. He received positive reviews at these locales for his live stage work. However, he also received much derision from audiences at these shows because of the Las Vegas incident. Upon returning to Hollywood, California after the New York engagements, Arcesi performed at the Crescendo nightclub. The opening act at these shows was the infamous Lord Buckley. In March 1953 Arcesi recorded four sides with Nelson Riddle, who arranged and conducted the date just prior to being signed to Capitol himself. The titles for this recording date: "Tombstone", "Cowpo", "Rockin' the Ark", and "Ol' Man River", the first three songs written by Arcesi. He was also voted third most promising 'new singer' by Billboard Magazine that year, following Al Martino and Steve Lawrence. His last public broadcasts with voice and solo guitar were on KABC-LA in 1959. These shows, broadcast on Saturday and Sunday nights were also heard over the AFRTS.
John's renown eventually spread as far as the West Coast
where audiences in (among other places) Los Angeles
and Las Vegas
soon became enamored with the roguishly handsome star. An article in the December 1, 1952 issue of TIME Magazine expounds at length on a gimmick cooked up by the Arcesi's press agent, Ed Scofield, whereby the mere sound of his voice could send impressionable young women into a trance upon hearing the song "Lost In Your Love". The interview from CBS-TV on a show called "Everywhere I Go", hosted by Dan Seymour in 1952, reveals that Mr. Arcesi had nothing to do with or knowledge of the stunt enacted at the Thunderbird Hotel in Las Vegas, and despite the publicity generated from the incident, it had a very negative effect on his reputation and career. This interview can be viewed on the website listed below.
In 1971, following the death of his beloved wife the previous year, an album entitled Reachin' Arcesia was recorded in Hollywood on Cherokee Ave. at Artists Recording Studios between May 15 and July 26 of that year and released by Alpha Records in small quantity. 300 copies were pressed and released in November 1972. This LP has been 'bootlegged' by various entities, and has been erroneously released under the title 'Arcesia Reaching' with the second side as side one and the first side as side two, thereby skewing the intent of the singer and producer in presenting the songs as intended. A 45 rpm single from the LP, 'Reaching' b/w 'Pictures In My Window' was released in limited quantity in 1979 in Honolulu on the Orpheus-Alephia label, the current holders of the rights thereto. (The record was subsequently reissued without authorization in 1997 by the German label One Little Indian Records
). The stark white cover of the original LP release (containing only the artist's name and album title) belied the decidedly unusual music inside. As one might expect, the leader of Arcesia was in fact the 54-year-old John Arcesi himself, who spent the better part of the 1960s devoting himself to writing, painting, songwriting and occasional rare vocal appearances at benefits in Palm Springs, California. The co-producer and engineer on the record was Alexander Furth. Furth also produced the 1968 single of 'Love Is Like A Mountain'( aka 'Reaching') b/w 'It's All Accordin'.
For the most part, the eleven songs on Reachin' Arcesia are highly emotive and passionate, with emphasis on fuzz guitar and organ
. Lyrics are stream-of-consciousness musings on subjects such as life's struggle and redemption, ("Desiree"), the power of woman,("White Panther"), and life's transience ("Butterfly Mind", "Soul Wings"). Although overlooked at the time of its original issue and derided in some corners upon its re-release, the album has now gained a degree of cachet, particularly amongst some fans of so-called outsider music
. Arcesi himself was happy with the outcome of the recording, knowing he had produced an original work that would take time to be understood for what it was, and still is. Several prominent radio DJs, including Irwin Chusid
and Tony Coulter from WFMU
(located in Hudson Valley
, New York
) have championed the LP - Chusid's 2000 book Songs in the Key of Z
contains a brief blurb about Arcesia.
Arcesi lived in Honolulu,Hawaii from 1974-82 where he continued to write songs and essays, draw, paint and create in his spare time. He then spent the remaining months of his life in Palm Springs, California where he had lived during the sixties with his wife of 21 years, the late Louise Marie de Lesseps Arcesi.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
singer of Jazz and Popular songs.
Early life
Born John Anthony Arcesi in Sayre, PennsylvaniaPennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
on February 11, 1917. John's father Antonio Arcesi,, and his mother, Maria Marchinne, were born in Sezze, Italy. Antonio traveled alone to America at the turn of the century leaving his wife and first born son Ignatius behind in Italy until he could establish himself. Upon reuniting in America, Antonio and Maria had four more children. Josephine, Loretta, Louis and Johnny. Johnny's mother died of pneumonia when he was only 10 months old. When Johnny was still a child, his father Antonio (Tony) played an Enrico Caruso disc on a Victrola and this inspired Johnny. As a result he became a child prodigy and local celebrity, singing whenever possible in public or private in the Sayre, Athens and Towanda area of Pennsylvania, as well as Waverly, New York, and as far as Scranton, Pennsylvania
Scranton, Pennsylvania
Scranton is a city in the northeastern part of Pennsylvania, United States. It is the county seat of Lackawanna County and the largest principal city in the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre metropolitan area. Scranton had a population of 76,089 in 2010, according to the U.S...
and Elmira, New York
Elmira, New York
Elmira is a city in Chemung County, New York, USA. It is the principal city of the 'Elmira, New York Metropolitan Statistical Area' which encompasses Chemung County, New York. The population was 29,200 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Chemung County.The City of Elmira is located in...
. He turned professional at about the age of 10 after winning a talent show/contest that was produced in Sayre at the Sayre Theatre by the great 'Blackstone the Magician', Harry Blackstone,Sr. in c.1927. Young Johnny sang for every club or organization in the area that wanted talent to perform for their various causes, i.e., The Elks, Lions, et,al. He would also sing for the patients at the local Robert Packer Hospital in Sayre. In 1933, after a fire almost destroyed the family home the previous year, young Johnny, at the age of 16, with his father's blessing, decided to travel alone to NYC to become a band vocalist. His childhood idols and inspirations were Bing Crosby
Bing Crosby
Harry Lillis "Bing" Crosby was an American singer and actor. Crosby's trademark bass-baritone voice made him one of the best-selling recording artists of the 20th century, with over half a billion records in circulation....
, Russ Columbo
Russ Columbo
Ruggiero Eugenio di Rodolpho Colombo , known as Russ Columbo, was an American singer, violinist and actor, most famous for his signature tune, "You Call It Madness, But I Call It Love", his compositions "Prisoner of Love" and "Too Beautiful For Words", and the legend surrounding his early...
, Red McKenzie, as well as other popular singers of the day.
Professional Career & Rise to Fame
Arcesi first made a name for himself as a vocalist for prominent bands in New York City. His first professional recordings, c.1934, were on the Columbia label with Lud Gluskin and Orchestra. These titles were "Hands Across the Table" and "Moonlight On The River Danube". His next recordings were on the Bluebird label with Louis 'King' Garcia in 1936, recording five vocals for the date: "It's Great to Be in Love Again","Christopher Columbus","Swing Mr. Charlie","There Is No Greater LoveThere Is No Greater Love
"There Is No Greater Love" is a 1936 jazz standard composed by Isham Jones, with lyrics by Marty Symes. It was the last hit song for Jones's orchestra before the bandleader turned the orchestra over to Woody Herman, beginning the latter's 50 year career as a bandleader.The song is often played as a...
", and "Love Is Like a Cigarette". One of his first important live performances and radio broadcasts was with the Claude Hopkins Orchestra at the Roseland Ballroom in Manhattan. Hopkins let Johnny sing with the band for several nights after an impromptu audition backstage. Johnny was employed at Mills Music Publishing Company in the Brill Building as a song demonstrator and office assistant during the day, and singing in various clubs in NYC at night. Irving Mills, upon meeting Johnny during a band rehearsal with Joe Venuti in NYC, suggested the name Arcesi sounded too 'Italian'. Thus, Don Darcy was the name John used from 1935–45, and he recorded as Johnny Darcy from 1946-1950. He was sometimes listed as Don D'Arcy. In 1935 Major Bowes, impressed by young Don when he refused to perform on his amateur show and asserted and demonstrated his professionalism at audition, gave him three sustaining (non sponsored) 15 minute spots a week, broadcasting on WHN in NYC. Shortly thereafter Darcy was offered the same spots, thirty minute shows, on WOR in Newark, New Jersey where he performed from c.1935-36. During this time Darcy developed a loyal fan base of regional listeners, received fan mail and other offers, and learned about the subject of 'payola' first hand.
Upon leaving WOR, and after turning down an offer to broadcast nationally on CBS radio, Darcy desired to go on the road and learn the band business. For the next several years Darcy was the male vocalist for Joe Venuti's Orchestra c.1936-40, after having worked with Charlie Barnet
Charlie Barnet
Charles Daly Barnet was an American jazz saxophonist, composer, and bandleader.His major recordings were "Skyliner", "Cherokee", "The Wrong Idea", "Scotch and Soda", "In a Mizz", and "Southland Shuffle".-Early life:...
, 1934, Lud Gluskin
Lud Gluskin
Ludwig Elias Gluskin was a jazz bandleader.Gluskin drummed for bands in France in the 1920s, including at the Casino de Paris...
, 1935, Louis 'King' Garcia
King Garcia
Louis "King" Garcia was a Puerto Rican jazz trumpeter who spent most of his career in the United States.Garcia played early in his life in the Municipal Band of San Juan, whose director was Juan Tizol's uncle, Manuel Tizol. He moved to the U.S. early in the 1920s, where he played with the Original...
, 1936, and others. With the Venuti Orchestra, among many engagements playing the largest hotels and ballrooms in the country, Darcy opened the show for several months at Billy Rose's 'Casa Manana' extravaganza in Fort Worth, Texas in 1936 to celebrate the 100th anniversary of Texas' statehood. Both Paul Whiteman
Paul Whiteman
Paul Samuel Whiteman was an American bandleader and orchestral director.Leader of the most popular dance bands in the United States during the 1920s, Whiteman's recordings were immensely successful, and press notices often referred to him as the "King of Jazz"...
and Joe Venuti's bands shared the stage for this event. Darcy performed the same function at Rose's Cleveland Aquacade the following year. Contrary to what has been previously written, the only association Darcy had with Rhode Island was any number of one nighters with the various bands he performed with over the next several years, i.e., Dick Gasparre, 1940, Joe Marsala
Joe Marsala
Joe Marsala was an Italian-American jazz clarinetist and songwriter, born and based in Chicago. He was active during the big band era. Marsala is notable as one of the early employers of drummer Buddy Rich. Among his other musicians included pianist Joe Bushkin and guitarist Jack Lemaire, Carmen...
, 1941–42, Sonny Dunham
Sonny Dunham
Elmer "Sonny" Dunham was an American trumpet player and bandleader.Born in Brockton, Massachusetts, the son of Elmer and Ethel Dunham, he attended local schools and took lessons on the valve trombone at the age of 7. He changed to the slide trombone at age 11, and was playing in local bands by...
, 1943–44, Boyd Raeburn
Boyd Raeburn
Albert Boyd Raeburn was an American jazz bandleader and bass saxophonist.Boyd Raeburn was born in Faith, South Dakota, and became one of the greatest and least-known of jazz bandleaders during the 1940s...
, 1944–45, Art Mooney
Art Mooney
Art Mooney was an American popular bandleader. His biggest hits were "I'm Looking Over a Four Leaf Clover" and "Baby Face" in 1948 and "Nuttin' For Christmas," with Barry Gordon, in 1955...
, 1946–48, and Johnny Bothwell
Johnny Bothwell
Johnny Bothwell was an American jazz alto saxophonist and bandleader....
in 1948-49. Darcy also worked in brief association with the bands of Frank Trumbauer, Hal McIntyre and Sam Donahue. He recorded on various labels with these bands, such as Hit, Guild, Grand, Signature and Century Records. Darcy also recorded on American and Langworth Transcriptions. The Century Records dates produced four sides entitled, 'Doink,Doink', 'This Strange Desire', 'A Haunting Melody', and his first recorded version of his original song 'Noahs' Ark', a song he co-wrote with Bud Green c. 1940. The Century dates were recorded in NYC at RCA studios and marked his first collaboration with Lloyd Shaffer. He later recorded 'Noah's Ark' under the title 'Rockin' the Ark'.
Capitol Records
In 1952 Darcy reverted to his original birth name of John Arcesi when he signed with Capitol RecordsCapitol Records
Capitol Records is a major United States based record label, formerly located in Los Angeles, but operating in New York City as part of Capitol Music Group. Its former headquarters building, the Capitol Tower, is a major landmark near the corner of Hollywood and Vine...
, after being heard on late night weekend broadcasts on KNX-LA with just voice and piano. Pianists Harper McCabe and Ed Greenburg accompanied Arcesi on these shows. Alan Livingston was President of the Capitol label at the time, with Lee Gillette as head of A&R. John recorded nine singles, with Lloyd Shaffer conducting the arrangements. Shaffer had previously worked with Perry Como on Como's "Chesterfied" show. His first single with Capitol was entitled "Wild Honey" for which he received positive reviews. Arcesi also received positive reviews in Variety for his live performance work at the Thunderbird Hotel in Las Vegas in October 1952, before the notoriety of the incident written of below. Following his engagement in Las Vegas, he appeared in New York City at the French Casino, and then followed with a stint at the Boulevard Cafe in Queens. He received positive reviews at these locales for his live stage work. However, he also received much derision from audiences at these shows because of the Las Vegas incident. Upon returning to Hollywood, California after the New York engagements, Arcesi performed at the Crescendo nightclub. The opening act at these shows was the infamous Lord Buckley. In March 1953 Arcesi recorded four sides with Nelson Riddle, who arranged and conducted the date just prior to being signed to Capitol himself. The titles for this recording date: "Tombstone", "Cowpo", "Rockin' the Ark", and "Ol' Man River", the first three songs written by Arcesi. He was also voted third most promising 'new singer' by Billboard Magazine that year, following Al Martino and Steve Lawrence. His last public broadcasts with voice and solo guitar were on KABC-LA in 1959. These shows, broadcast on Saturday and Sunday nights were also heard over the AFRTS.
John's renown eventually spread as far as the West Coast
West Coast of the United States
West Coast or Pacific Coast are terms for the westernmost coastal states of the United States. The term most often refers to the states of California, Oregon, and Washington. Although not part of the contiguous United States, Alaska and Hawaii do border the Pacific Ocean but can't be included in...
where audiences in (among other places) Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
and Las Vegas
Las Vegas, Nevada
Las Vegas is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and is also the county seat of Clark County, Nevada. Las Vegas is an internationally renowned major resort city for gambling, shopping, and fine dining. The city bills itself as The Entertainment Capital of the World, and is famous...
soon became enamored with the roguishly handsome star. An article in the December 1, 1952 issue of TIME Magazine expounds at length on a gimmick cooked up by the Arcesi's press agent, Ed Scofield, whereby the mere sound of his voice could send impressionable young women into a trance upon hearing the song "Lost In Your Love". The interview from CBS-TV on a show called "Everywhere I Go", hosted by Dan Seymour in 1952, reveals that Mr. Arcesi had nothing to do with or knowledge of the stunt enacted at the Thunderbird Hotel in Las Vegas, and despite the publicity generated from the incident, it had a very negative effect on his reputation and career. This interview can be viewed on the website listed below.
Producer
Sadly, the fleeting nature of fame meant Arcesi's notoriety passed almost as soon as it arrived and very little was subsequently heard from him for well over a decade. During these years however, using the name/alias Tony Conti as a producer and songwriter he developed and recorded other artists, most notably a group called 'The Bombers', an R&B vocal quartet. With this group he wrote and produced a 9 song LP called "Songs for Strange Lovers", released on Arcesi's own Orpheus Records label in 1955.In 1971, following the death of his beloved wife the previous year, an album entitled Reachin' Arcesia was recorded in Hollywood on Cherokee Ave. at Artists Recording Studios between May 15 and July 26 of that year and released by Alpha Records in small quantity. 300 copies were pressed and released in November 1972. This LP has been 'bootlegged' by various entities, and has been erroneously released under the title 'Arcesia Reaching' with the second side as side one and the first side as side two, thereby skewing the intent of the singer and producer in presenting the songs as intended. A 45 rpm single from the LP, 'Reaching' b/w 'Pictures In My Window' was released in limited quantity in 1979 in Honolulu on the Orpheus-Alephia label, the current holders of the rights thereto. (The record was subsequently reissued without authorization in 1997 by the German label One Little Indian Records
One Little Indian Records
One Little Indian Records is a London-based independent record label that rose from the ashes of punk record company Spiderleg Records. It was set up in 1985 by members of various anarchist punk bands, and managed by ex-Flux of Pink Indians Derek Birkett. The first success came with A.R. Kane and...
). The stark white cover of the original LP release (containing only the artist's name and album title) belied the decidedly unusual music inside. As one might expect, the leader of Arcesia was in fact the 54-year-old John Arcesi himself, who spent the better part of the 1960s devoting himself to writing, painting, songwriting and occasional rare vocal appearances at benefits in Palm Springs, California. The co-producer and engineer on the record was Alexander Furth. Furth also produced the 1968 single of 'Love Is Like A Mountain'( aka 'Reaching') b/w 'It's All Accordin'.
For the most part, the eleven songs on Reachin' Arcesia are highly emotive and passionate, with emphasis on fuzz guitar and organ
Organ (music)
The organ , is a keyboard instrument of one or more divisions, each played with its own keyboard operated either with the hands or with the feet. The organ is a relatively old musical instrument in the Western musical tradition, dating from the time of Ctesibius of Alexandria who is credited with...
. Lyrics are stream-of-consciousness musings on subjects such as life's struggle and redemption, ("Desiree"), the power of woman,("White Panther"), and life's transience ("Butterfly Mind", "Soul Wings"). Although overlooked at the time of its original issue and derided in some corners upon its re-release, the album has now gained a degree of cachet, particularly amongst some fans of so-called outsider music
Outsider music
Outsider music, a term coined by Irwin Chusid in the mid-1990s, are songs and compositions by musicians who are not part of the commercial music industry who write songs that ignore standard musical or lyrical conventions, either because they have no formal training or because they disagree with...
. Arcesi himself was happy with the outcome of the recording, knowing he had produced an original work that would take time to be understood for what it was, and still is. Several prominent radio DJs, including Irwin Chusid
Irwin Chusid
Irwin Chusid is a journalist, music historian, radio personality and self-described "landmark preservationist." His stated mission has been to "find things on the scrapheap of history that I know don't belong there and salvage them." Those "things" have included such previously overlooked but...
and Tony Coulter from WFMU
WFMU
WFMU is a listener-supported, independent community radio station headquartered in Jersey City, New Jersey, United States, broadcasting at 91.1 MHz FM, presenting a freeform radio format...
(located in Hudson Valley
Hudson Valley
The Hudson Valley comprises the valley of the Hudson River and its adjacent communities in New York State, United States, from northern Westchester County northward to the cities of Albany and Troy.-History:...
, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
) have championed the LP - Chusid's 2000 book Songs in the Key of Z
Songs in the Key of Z
Songs in the Key of Z is the title of a book and two compilation albums written and compiled by Irwin Chusid. The book and albums explore the field of what Chusid coined as "outsider music"...
contains a brief blurb about Arcesia.
Retrospective
So far, music historians have been unable to reconcile these two strikingly different phases of John Arcesi's career or to fill in the rather large gap in the above timeline. It is known that after John recorded "Reachin' Arcesia" he visited with his family in Waverly, New York and Maryland in 1972, endowing them with copies of his final LP before returning to Palm Springs and then to Hawaii. Between 1971 and 1974 Arcesi was very successful in the Fine Arts field in Palm Springs, representing the work of Jose Montanes, Ivar, Igor,Valdez, Frank Fuller and other lesser known painters.Arcesi lived in Honolulu,Hawaii from 1974-82 where he continued to write songs and essays, draw, paint and create in his spare time. He then spent the remaining months of his life in Palm Springs, California where he had lived during the sixties with his wife of 21 years, the late Louise Marie de Lesseps Arcesi.