Dee Anthony

Who was Dee Anthony?

Dee Anthony was an American talent manager who started in the business with fellow Bronx native Jerry Vale. After meeting Tony Bennett in 1954 at a nightclub in Yonkers, New York, he ended up representing the singer for more than a decade. From the 1960s to the mid-1990s, Anthony managed a number of music artists, including Humble Pie, Traffic, Jethro Tull, Joe Cocker, Gary Wright, Montrose, Devo and Armageddon, with his most notable client being Peter Frampton.

He was born on April 9, 1926, and grew up in the Bronx as Anthony D'Addario, changing his name in the late 1950s. During World War II, he served in the United States Navy in the submarine service. After completing his military service, he started booking events for his friend Jerry Vale, ultimately becoming the road manager for crooner Tony Bennett. He started Bandana Enterprises with his brother in 1968, which managed artists such as Joe Cocker, Ten Years After and the J. Geils Band.

The English band Humble Pie had brought Anthony on in 1969 to help them gain entry into the American music scene, hoping to build on Anthony's success with helping other British groups, including Spooky Tooth and Traffic, reach into the U.S. record market. Anthony had the band tour extensively around the United States, and Humble Pie produced the moderately successful live album Performance Rockin' the Fillmore in 1971 which helped them gain recognition with American record purchasers.