Biography
Greg Piccolo, a onetime vocalist and saxophonist with Roomful of Blues, came into the world on May 10, 1951, in Westerly, Rhode Island. At thirteen he was already blowing saxophone in the six-piece rock outfit the Rejects. Two years after that, he linked up with Duke Robillard to sing in the Variations, a British Invasion cover band. In 1970 Piccolo rejoined Robillard to launch the original lineup of Roomful of Blues, modeled on Buddy Johnson’s R&B ensemble. The group underwent further changes in 1971, the same year Piccolo switched to saxophone. The band toured steadily through the Northeast and slowly cultivated a national audience. Robillard exited in 1979 and blues guitarist Ronnie Earl took his place; by then Piccolo functioned as the de facto leader. Dressed Up to Get Messed Up contains several of his original compositions. The unit remained intact into the early 1990s, when Piccolo struck out alone. He issued two acid-jazz solo albums, Heavy Juice on Black Top Records in 1990 and Acid Blue on Fantasy in 1995. In 2000 he delivered the solo tribute Homage to classic tenor players. Throughout the new millennium he has stayed busy as a sideman, among other gigs performing with Jimmie Vaughan’s Tilt-A-Whirl Band at shows across the United States.