Tommy Calandra (November 25, 1941 – July 19, 1998) was an American music songwriter, performer, producer, recording engineer and mentor.
As a teenager, he began playing drums and piano and later bass guitar and joined the band Sonic Tones.
Their success at The Inferno led to them being booked at The Scene on 8th Avenue at 48th Street in New York City,[5] where they changed their name to Raven in honor of Stan Szelest.
In March 1970, they returned to Buffalo and performed a homecoming concert at Kleinhans Music Hall.
[8] In early 1971, Calandra began playing his clever funny songs with his honky-tonk piano and kazoo in a band he created named Beak.
[3] In 1972, WKBW program director Jefferson Kaye invited him to write musical editorials.
He credits Jeff Kaye with giving him the direction he needed to become successful with his musical editorials which were played on more than 500 radio stations nationwide.
[12] Calandra began receiving requests for the same jingle for air personalities at radio stations throughout the US, Canada and as far away as New Zealand.
[13] By the late 1980s the business had expanded to the point that Calandra moved his BCMK studio and his six employees to Delaware Avenue in North Buffalo.