Paul Prestopino

Paul Prestopino (September 20, 1939 – July 16, 2023) was a multi-instrumental musician and audio engineer from the artist colony in Roosevelt, New Jersey, and the son of artist Gregorio Prestopino.

Early life and career Prestopino's family moved from Brooklyn to Roosevelt in 1949. and attended the University of Wisconsin–Madison as a physics student where he also worked as a physics lab technician.

In 1958 to 1959, Prestopino played on Sundays in Washington Square Park in New York City's Greenwich Village with the Greenbriar Boys. He left the Greenbriar Boys before they became nationally known among others. On these recordings, he played various fretted instruments including guitar, banjo, dobro and mandolin. Prestopino first contributed guitar, autoharp, and mandolin accompaniment to John Denver's Rhymes & Reasons album in 1969, and he also is credited for playing on eight subsequent album releases of works by John Denver, including Take Me to Tomorrow and Aerie.