Chiccarelli got his first taste of the studio through a cousin who owned Boston's Fleetwood Studio. He also worked as an engineer at Music Designers Recording Studio in Boston. Chiccarelli moved west where he scored an assistant engineer gig at L.A.'s Cherokee Studios.[1] He got his career break engineering Frank Zappa's album Sheik Yerbouti. In an interview with HitQuarters, Chiccarelli said: "[Zappa's] engineer couldn't make the session and so he decided to take a chance on me. I'm so thankful ever since that day because he gave me a career."[3]
He is credited with discovering singer Tori Amos and signing her first band, Y Kant Tori Read, to a label deal.[4] However, Chiccarelli refuted this in an interview with HitQuarters saying, "That's a myth. Tori was already signed to Atlantic Records as a solo artist when I got involved."[3] In 1998, he mixed the Latin album Un Tributo (a José José), a tribute to José José.
In 2009 Chiccarelli produced sessions for Brandi Carlile as well as Minus the Bear's album Omni, released on May 4, 2010.[5] He produced four tracks on The Strokes' fourth album, Angles. He also produced the debut album from Australian group Boy & Bear. The band received five ARIA awards for the album.[6] He also engineered and mixed tracks on Morrissey's Swords album.
In 2011, Chiccarelli produced Jason Mraz's fourth album Love Is a Four Letter Word, released April 17, 2012[7] and Alanis Morissette's upcoming Havoc and Bright Lights[8] as well as the album Songs of Patience for Alberta Cross.[9] In 2012 he produced what became a Gold album, Departures, for Australian artist Bernard Fanning as well as tracks for Dwight Yoakam. His 2013 album projects include Divine Fits, Hellogoodbye, Saints Of Valory, Plain White T's, Need To Breathe, The Madden Brothers, Number One Charting Australian Album "Greeting from California", and Oxbow. In 2014 he has produced Morrissey's album, World Peace is None of Your Business as well as five songs on Spoon's album They Want My Soul, and tracks with The Rocketboys, Ivan & Alyosha, JEFF the Brotherhood and Victorian Halls. In 2015 he produced a duets album for Doug Seegers and Jill Johnson, becoming a Platinum Number One album in Sweden.
Album releases in 2016 included releases from Oxbow, Buffalo Sunn, Bleached, Cherry Glazerr, Night Riots, SPEAK and Broken Social Scene. Album sessions in 2017 included Flogging Molly, Jamie Lawson, The Wonders Years, Vance Joy and Morrissey. Album sessions in 2018 included debut album for Rare Americans, new albums for Broken Social Scene, Charly Bliss, Half Moon Run, Morrissey, The Shelters and Run River North. 2019 sessions included Morrissey, The Falls, The Jacks, Rare Americans, Little Dragon, Taylor Janzen and the Juno Award winning album for Half Moon Run's "A Blemish In The Great Light". 2020 Sessions include Didirri, The Dumes, Duncan Laurence, Jagwar Twin, Liily, and Classless Act. 2021 sessions include new albums for The Districts, Michael Bublé and Cayucas. 2022 sessions include Middle Class Rut, Oxbow, Orianthi, Tegan & Sara, The Blue Stones, Robert Randolph and Liz Brasher.
^ abBouwman, Kimbel (June 14, 2010). "Interview with JOE CHICCARELLI, producer for The Strokes, The Shins, The White Stripes, Frank Zappa". HitQuarters. Retrieved September 10, 2017.
^Rogers, Kalen (1994). Tori Amos: all these years : the authorized illustrated biography. Omnibus Press. p. 34. ISBN 978-0-7119-4827-3. Retrieved 1 August 2010.
^"Minus the Bear's New LP OMNI Out May 4th". Dangerbird. Archived from the original on 22 July 2011. Retrieved 2 June 2012.
^"Animal Magnetism". Time Off Magazine. 3 August 2011. Archived from the original on 7 October 2011. Retrieved Aug 4, 2011.
^"Jason Mraz new album Produced by Joe Chiccarelli". Next Wave Management. Retrieved 2 June 2012.
^"Alanis Morissette's New Album produced by Joe Chiccarelli". Next Wave Management. Retrieved 2 June 2012.
^"About Alberta Cross". Archived from the original on August 29, 2013. Retrieved 2 June 2012.
^"Joe Chiccarelli - Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved 20 November 2017.