Matthew Ianniello

Matthew Joseph "Matty the Horse" Ianniello (June 18, 1920 – August 15, 2012) was a New York mobster with the Genovese crime family who was once the acting boss of the Genovese Crime Family. During the 1960s and 70's, Ianniello controlled the lucrative adult entertainment business that were then centered in the Times Square section of Manhattan.

Young years

Matthew Ianniello was born in 1920 in Little Italy, Manhattan. He grew up in the Italian neighborhoods of New York.

Ianniello was married to Beatrice May and the couple had four children.

Ianiello allegedly got his nickname “Matty The Horse” in a youth baseball game. Ianiello was a gifted player with a hard swing. During one game, the opposing pitcher threw a hard pitch into the face of the batter. A fight erupted in which Ianiello knocked down the pitcher, who was older and taller than him. After this episode, someone remarked about Ianiello: “That boy is as strong as a horse.”

In 1940, Ianniello started working for his uncle as a waiter in a restaurant in the Brooklyn dockyards. In 1942 or 1943, Ianniello enlisted in the U.S. Army and served in World War II. In 1945 Ianiello returned home as a decorated war veteran, having received a Purple Heart and a bronze star. He went back to work at his uncle's restaurant and by 1949 became partners with his uncle in a second restaurant, Matty's Towncrest Restaurant.

The Horse

"The Horse" is an American instrumental song by Cliff Nobles and Company. It was released as the B-side of the single "Love is All Right" and is simply an instrumental version of that song. "The Horse" made an improbable trip up the pop music charts, peaking at #2 on both the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart (in June 1968) and the Black Singles chart. The song missed the top spot on the Hot 100 because of the success of Herb Alpert's "This Guy's in Love With You" from 29 June through 13 July 1968.

"The Horse" sold a million copies within three months of release, and attained the gold record award from the Recording Industry Association of America in August 1968. Ironically, even though Nobles is the title artist, he does not personally perform on the track. "The Horse" was simply "Love is All Right" without his vocal track. The horn section which is featured eventually became the group MFSB.

The track itself features a simple, unvarying rhythmic line played by different instruments, finished off each time around by a melodic, heralding horn section line.