From London to the Hudson Valley: A Musician’s Passion for the Arts

Pete Santora has hopes of getting back on the stage soon to perform his latest album “RePeteing the Beatles.” Source: petesantora.com

Pete Santora is no stranger to performing. From Broadway to films and television, to playing his own music around the Hudson Valley, Santora has followed every one of his passions. 

Originally from the Bronx, Santora signed his first record deal at just 16 years old while hanging out at a record store with his bandmates. “I was fortunate enough to get into a band in the Bronx, which was the best band in the Bronx due to the lead guitarist and the drummer … the rhythm guitar guy left and so they needed somebody and I auditioned for them and they took me in.”

Upon signing with Mercury Records, the band opened up for artists such as Lesley Gore, known for the hit song “It’s My Party,” as well as Buffy Sainte-Marie, an Indigenous Canadian-American singer and songwriter. “It’s exciting at 16 to do that and I guess here I got bitten by the bug.”

This “bug” led him to his next venture: musical theatre.

In 1977, Santora was given the opportunity to perform in the Original Broadway production of “Beatlemania,” where he portrayed one of his personal heroes, George Harrison. Santora performed with the original production nationally as well as internationally, where he was able to perform in London and meet Paul McCartney.

In addition to “Beatlemania,” Santora also appeared in musicals such as “42nd Street” and “Hey Jude.” Off the stage, he can also be seen in the blockbuster films, “Goodfellas,” “Prizzi’s Honor,” “Godfather 3” and numerous episodes of “Law and Order.”

After many years of playing the Beatles’ music on the Broadway stage, he decided to record the songs his way: “I figured if I am going to tackle something, let me tackle the greatest group in the world.”

During the months of being locked indoors, Santora focused on his songwriting and uploaded many of his songs to YouTube. While in his eyes it wasn’t the same as performing, he was still able to get music out to an audience. This is when the recording and the ideas for his own version of the Beatles’ music began.

Santora recorded 14 songs, consisting of a variety of tracks from different time frames of the Beatles’ career, all recorded during the pandemic. The album, which was released this year, is titled “RePeteing The Beatles.”

In total, Santora recorded 30 songs, originals and covers, during the past year. 

However, even with the new album, COVID-19 has created many obstacles for Santora as well as other musicians in the Hudson Valley. “With the way that business has been going, making money in the music business is very difficult, but I am hoping and a lot of people are hoping that when this thing breaks, the acts will be getting back in and getting back on track and doing the performing they love to do just as much as I do.”

When the pandemic began, Santora never thought he would live to see the day that Broadway would close down. To him, it felt like, “there is no more sun today or for the rest of the year.” With musical theatre having such a special place in his heart, it hurt to see the stages he once performed on so empty.

But Santora is starting to see a light at the end of the tunnel, as little by little, musicians are able to get back out and perform: “It’s great to see that you can’t keep artists down. It’s from the heart, it’s from the soul and that’s really what makes it. It’s not so much about the money...it’s really a labor of love with musicians.”