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John Pisano performing with
the USAF "Crew Chiefs" on
"The Bob Hope Show" broadcast
from Thule, Greenland
December, 1955
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AIR FORCE DAYS
“I never really considered myself to be a professional musician until I started playing with the U.S. Air Force band. I had played weddings and stuff, but I didn’t join the musician’s union until 1956, when I got out of the service.
In 1952, after being in the Air Force for about eight months, I auditioned for the band. It was the only authorization for a guitarist in the Air Force, and I got the gig. We did a lot of recruiting broadcasts.
There was also an official Air Force cocktail group, ‘The Crew Chiefs.’ It consisted of an accordion, clarinet, bass, drums and piano. The group was very good… we had nothing to do but rehearse! We did some touring and recruiting, and ended up doing one of the Bob Hope U.S.O. shows in Greenland, in 1955. We also did the Steve Allen Show in L.A. It was a good learning experience.”
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