Joey Carvello
Joey Carvello is an award-winning renowned first-generation disco deejay, former record executive, and author of the acclaimed memoir The Boston Hustle. He was introduced to disco in 1973 when he went to Zelda, which was the first velvet rope discotheque in Boston. Within a year he made his debut as a disco deejay at Yesterdays in Kenmore Square. Joey immediately became one of the “go to” deejays in the Boston market for record label artist representatives. During that time numerous artists came to promote their latest single including the Ritchie Family, the Village People, the Trammps, Carol Douglas, Grace Jones, and numerous others. In 1978 he was named Billboard Magazine’s “Disco Deejay of the Year/Boston”. Eventually that led to connecting with Prince and fellow Bostonian Donna Summer and her husband Bruce Sudano of Brooklyn Dreams.
In 1979 Joey was given his first record company opportunity at RFC/Warner Brothers Records where he was East Coast/Southeast Regional Director of Disco Promotion. Joey went on whirlwind promotional tours from Buffalo to New Orleans where he visited every major discotheque promoting twelve-inch club versions for artists such as Change featuring Luther Vandross, Gino Soccio, Ashford & Simpson, George Benson, Candi Staton, Rod Stewart, Third World, Talking Heads, Nicolette Larson, Prince, the Doobie Brothers, and many others.
From there he made it to radio where he joined national influential Kiss 108 in Boston as Music Director and was instrumental in igniting the second British invasion of 1980’s pop/dance artists including Tina Turner, Culture Club, Thompson Twins, Human League, and ABC among others. He returned to the recording industry that decade becoming Senior Director of Dance Music/Crossover Projects at Atlantic Records where he signed and/or promoted independent dance music label Big Beat Records, Donna Summer, Robin S, Jellybean, Little Louie and Marc Anthony, Kristine W, Doug Lazy, En Vogue, and many more gold and platinum artists.
Fast forward to 1997 Joey made a transition to the hip hop world as Vice President of Top Forty/Crossover Promotion at Priority Records where he worked with Snoop Dogg, Ice Cube, Master P, and more. He then closed out his recording industry career in 2006 where he was Senior Vice President of Promotion at TVT Records coordinating radio and club promotion campaigns for Lil Jon & the East Side Boyz, Ying Yang Twins, and 213 (Snoop Dogg/Nate Dogg/Warren G).
He is an original member of the vinyl-only deejay crew at New York City’s Mobile Mondays and Vinyl Nights and continues to be a highly sought-after vinyl-only deejay. As an author he is actively promoting The Boston Hustle at both independent and Barnes & Noble bookstores. The book now has an accompanying film script that is currently in the process of development and review.