Photo courtesy of Twitter
The blockbuster hit A Star is Born features actor Bradley Cooper and singer Lady Gaga. But behind the scenes, a dedicated team of artists collaborated to create the movie’s critically-acclaimed soundtrack. Members of that team included Lady Gaga herself and Mr. Anthony Rossomando, a Connecticut native.
Mr. Anthony Rossomando grew up in Hamden, where he was raised by his father, former Wallingford music teacher Mr. Fred Rossomando. On January 6, Mr. Anthony Rossomando, along with Lady Gaga, Mr. Mark Ronson, and Mr. Andrew Wyatt, won the Golden Globe for Best Original Song for “Shallow,” featured on the A Star is Born soundtrack.
The song beat “All the Stars,” “Girl in the Movies,” “Requiem for a Private War,” and “Revelation.” In total, A Star is Born received five nominations, yet won only one award.
Mr. Fred Rossomando recalled the excitement he and his wife felt watching Mr. Anthony Rossomando win the award on television. “We were just absolutely thrilled,” he explained. “He’s been doing this for 20 years, so this is the beginning of hopefully a really long extended career.”
Mr. Anthony Rossomando has already had a long and prolific musical career. It began when he dropped out of the University of Massachusetts Amherst to join The Damn Personals, a popular indie rock band in Boston. After around eight years, he left The Damn Personals to join The Libertines, and later Dirty Pretty Things, an English rock band from London. He was the lone American among the three British musicians. With Dirty Pretty Things, he released a gold record named “Bang Bang You’re Dead.”
Through professional connections, he eventually met Lady Gaga and performed with her on stage. “He played a gig with her, and it was kind of a whirlwind. He learned the songs quickly. He was on tour himself. But they met in New York and then they went to Philadelphia that afternoon and played,” Mr. Fred Rossomando explained. “When Hillary Clinton was going to be nominated that night, there was a big concert that Lady Gaga gave in honor of the nomination of Hillary Clinton, and Anthony was part of the band. So that was the beginning of their friendship.”
Before his music career, Mr. Anthony Rossomando practiced music throughout his childhood. According to Mr. Fred Rossomando, his son was a creative child and a very dedicated musical student. Mr. Fred Rossomando said, “I’m a pianist, so I gave him piano lessons. Then after three years of piano, he went first to French horn and then the trumpet and stayed with that right through high school and early college. But he also picked up the guitar while in high school. I play guitar as well, so I taught him. I gave him one lesson, and he figured out the rest. He had that gift of picking up music quickly and performing it well.”
Mr. Fred Rossomando also has a compelling life story. He worked as a music teacher in the Wallingford public school system until 2003, when he retired from public school teaching. Mr. Fred Rossomando had a strong connection to Choate because he often sent talented music students from Wallingford public schools to practice and perform at Choate. In addition, he was friends with a trumpet teacher from Choate, Mr. Richard Green, who taught his son for around four years. Mr. Rossomando remembered, “Dick Green was a terrific trumpet teacher. Anthony really liked him, and he made great progress with Mr. Green.” Mr. Green still teaches music at Choate.
The Rossomando family hopes that “Shallow” will win more awards in the near future. The song has been nominated for “Song of the Year” and “Record of the Year” at the Grammy’s, which will be held on February 10. In addition, Oscar nominations will be revealed on January 22, and “Shallow” is a likely contender for “Best Original Song.”
Reflecting on his pride for his son’s accomplishments, Mr. Fred Rossomando said, “He’s brought a lot of joy to a lot of people.”
