User:HiddenChef/sandbox

Mike Condello

Born in Brooklyn, New York, on May 6, 1946, Mike Condello began pursuing his passion for music at the age of fourteen after moving with his family to Phoenix, Arizona, a few years prior.

He began teaching himself to play guitar, soon getting to the point where he felt comfortable enough to start the King’s Four – his first band. He quit high school and begin playing professionally with his Mike Condello Combo. During their stint as the house band for a local teen club, he had a very fortuitous meeting with one Bill Thompson.

If the name sounds familiar, then you probably grew up in Phoenix. He’s “Wallace” from “The Wallace and Ladmo Show.” Shortly thereafter, Condello found himself in the role of music director for a teen show on Phoenix area TV station, KPHO. This soon led to him serving as the music director for the Wallace and Ladmo show.

In his dream job as the show’s music director, he wrote it’s theme song and was asked to play back up to many of the huge acts that were guests on the show. Mike also created a plethora of other bands for the show such as Commodore Condello’s Salt River Navy Band, Hub Kapp and the Wheels, The Ladmo Trio, The Buggs, and a bunch of others.

As if that wasn’t enough, Condello released two solo albums. He eventually moved to LA and worked on albums by The Tubes, Keith Moon, Juice Newton, Jackson Browne, and The Jetzons.

Mike Condello passed away suddenly and unexpectedly on August 17, 1994.