Johnny Costa (born John Costanza; January 18, 1922 – October 11, 1996) was an American jazz pianist. Given the title "The White Art Tatum" by fellow jazz pianist Art Tatum, Costa is best known for his work as musical director of the children's television series Mister Rogers' Neighborhood.
Biography
Costa was raised in Arnold, Pennsylvania. His father, an Italian-born laborer, helped fund his son's music studies by selling the family home to purchase him an accordion. Costa learned to play accordion at age seven and was reading music three years later. Frank Oliver, Costa's high school music teacher, urged him to learn the piano after discovering that Costa had perfect pitch. After high school, he performed in the Pittsburgh area and joined a New York City orchestra.
Costa's first recording was The Amazing Johnny Costa, a Savoy LP released in 1955 and reissued on CD as Neighborhood in 1989. Although his increasingly lucrative career was beginning to bring him international attention, the amount of time away from his family and friends led him to live and perform only in western Pennsylvania. He stopped traveling and gave up his job as musical director of The Mike Douglas Show. and that he could experiment with his own musical styles and techniques, even for a kids' show. Costa enjoyed full musical freedom on Mister Rogers' Neighborhood. He also arranged and harmonized music that Rogers, a trained musician, wrote for the show.
After his death, Michael Moricz took over as musical director on Mister Rogers' Neighborhood until the show ended in 2001. Much of Costa's music continued to be used, including the celesta music at the beginning of each episode. At Moricz's request, the show's closing credits continued to list Costa alongside Moricz as its musical directors.