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Nick De Caro (23 June 1938 — 4 March 1992) was an American arranger, producer, accordionist, musician, and songwriter.
De Caro's first big hit as producer and arranger was "Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me" by Mel Carter on Imperial in 1965. The featured guitar payer on the track was his brother, Frank. In 1967, the De Caro brothers became a major part of the catalog of A&M, the label founded by Jerry Moss and Herb Alpert.
In 1969, De Caro & Orchestra released the album Happy Heart (produced by him and Tommy LiPuma) with A&R records. Highlights included "I'm Gonna Make You Love Me", Brian Wilson's "Caroline, No", "Hey Jude" (the Beatles), James Last's "Happy Heart", and Nick's own song "Love Is All".
In 1974, he released a solo album titled Italian Graffiti with Wilton Felder on bass, Harvey Mason, and Paul Humphrey on drums, David T. Walker on guitar, and conducted by Harry Bluestone.
He also collaborated with Japanese singer/songwriter Tatsuro Yamashita, with whom he produced the 1990 album Love Storm— a collection of songs, written mostly by Yamashita and Alan O'Day, along with two originals written by De Caro, "Silent Night, Lonely Night" and "Love Magic". He also toured Japan with his orchestra and also performed and recorded with Japanese singer Agawa Yasuko. In 1991, he released his second Japanese album Private Ocean (engineered by Al Schmitt.)
During his career, he collaborated on more than 380 albums and worked with the likes of Dolly Parton, Arlo Guthrie, Barbra Streisand, Johnny Cash, Randy Newman, the Rolling Stones, and The Doobie Brothers.
An accordionist, De Caro has also performed on over 70 albums for Grammy-winning artists and albums.
In June 1992, 3 months after his death, Roux records released a compilation album, In Loving Memory Of Nick DeCaro, featuring such songs as "Well Of Loneliness", "Play The Game", "Touch Me Lightly", and "Tea For Two."
In 2012, Universal Music released "Nick DeCaro – Works" featuring such artists as Chris Montez, Livingston Taylor, Randy Edelman, Ben Sidran, and Claudine Longet.
Selected albums
- Italian Graffiti (1974)
- Love Storm (1990)
- Private Ocean (1991)