Pizzarelli began his professional career at 17 when he joined the
Vaughn Monroe dance band in 1944. In 1951, he did his first recording as a sideman outside the Monroe orchestra with Joe Mooney. In 1952, Pizzarelli became a staff musician for NBC, playing with
Skitch Henderson. and recorded two albums, including a live performance in August 1971, at
The Town Hall in
New York City. Beginning in the 1970s, he began recording as a leader, issuing many tributes to musicians of the 1930s. He toured several times with
Benny Goodman until Goodman's death in 1986. He performed with Benny Goodman at the
White House in
Washington, D.C., and he performed for presidents
Ronald Reagan,
Bill Clinton, and First Lady
Pat Nixon. "Jersey Jazz Guitars" was the name of a 1985 concert held at the
Rutgers University Nicholas Music Center in
New Brunswick, New Jersey. The ticket featured Pizzarelli,
Les Paul,
Tal Farlow, and Pizzarelli's son, John. The concert was aired on New Jersey's public radio station as part of their three-part
New Jersey Summerfare Series. Pizzarelli and Les Paul had performed together before, as they were neighbors and friends. The show aired for one hour in August 1985, with son John adding his vocals on two selections. Pizzarelli continued to play into his 90s, making several appearances even after a stroke in 2016, officially retiring after a final brief appearance with
Michael Feinstein in 2018. He died of
COVID-19 on April 1, 2020, in Saddle River, New Jersey. He had been battling several serious health problems in recent years.
Guitars Pizzarelli's first guitar was an archtop
Gibson, an expensive instrument at the time. Since his first professional assignment with Vaughn Monroe, he favoured 1930s and 1940s Epiphone DeLuxe models and used them throughout his career for six-string, rhythm guitar work – as notably heard on his 2007 record ''Five for Freddie: Bucky Pizzarelli's Tribute To Freddie Green
. Inspired by George Van Eps, in 1969 he started playing the seven-string guitar. In later years he owned and used a vast range of guitars but was mostly seen playing a Benedetto Bucky Pizzarelli Signature'' made by
Robert Benedetto, who also makes guitars for
Howard Alden and
Frank Vignola. The extra string on Pizzarelli's guitar provided him with a
bass line during performances. Pizzarelli also played a custom seven-string American archtop guitar made by
luthier Dale Unger, who also makes custom guitars for Pizzarelli's partner,
Ed Laub. == Collaborations ==