Question of the Day - 08 December 2017

Yes, we too were sad to hear that Joey Scinta, 69, passed away after a series of strokes resulting from complications from congestive heart failure. He was admitted to a Las Vegas hospice unit a few days before his death; when he passed, he was surrounded by his family, listening to his favorite tunes on his wife Mary’s cell phone.

The Scintas all grew up in Buffalo, NY: Tony was a Buffalo police officer for 30 years before retiring and joining the rest of the family in Las Vegas; Joey graduated from Lafayette High School in 1967 and began his career by playing in local rock bands; Frankie, a budding singer, comic, and piano player, persuaded his older brother to ditch plans to move to Florida to sell home-security systems for a friend's business and create an act; and Chrissi joined the duo when she came of age and performed with them for decades, until she was permanently sidelined by throat troubles.

Joey played guitar and bass with several Buffalo rock bands; he opened for Yes, J. Geils, Procol Harum, Sly and the Family Stone, and other big acts. He was also a fabulous impersonator; his best-known impressions were of Joe Cocker, Neil Diamond, Mick Jagger, and Jerry Lewis.  

The story goes that Frankie Scinta received an offer to play at a Buffalo restaurant and piano bar, Maguire's Arches, owned by a former kicker for the Buffalo Bills, Paul Maguire. At the time, Joey was ready to quit the music business and join a friend in Florida installing burglar alarms. Frankie accepted the gig for both him and Joey—without even telling him about it.

“We took a bass guitar and electric piano into the basement and created our act,” Frankie said. “I was nineteen and Joey was twenty-seven.”

Appearing as the Scinta Brothers, they played music and sang, ad-libbed, and built a strong rapport with audiences. From there, they moved on to other clubs around Buffalo. Frankie first brought Chrissi onstage when she was five years old; when she came of age, Chrissi joined Joey and Frankie and they branched out into the Midwest. By the time they arrived in Las Vegas, they’d been touring together for 25 years and were seasoned performers.

In 2000, the Scintas began performing in the Shimmer Cabaret at the Las Vegas Hilton. From there, they headlined at the Rio, the Sahara, the Hilton again, and the D; they moved to the Plaza last year, where they pack the showroom every night. Joey’s last performance was on November 3.  

A couple hours after Joey’s death, Frankie was on stage, doing the show.

“We have a showroom full of people out there, and we’re going to go out and rock it,” Frankie Scinta said 30 minutes before the curtain. “That’s what Joey would have wanted.”

Joey Scinta is survived by his wife Mary, daughters Lisa and Nicole, sons Joey, Mike, and Nick, and his mother Mary.