Rudolph "Chip" Damiani (June 16, 1945 – February 23, 2014) was a founding member and drummer for the mid-1960s garage rock band from Boston, Massachusetts, the Remains.
Early years
Damiani was born in
Waterbury
Waterbury is a city in the U.S. state of Connecticut on the Naugatuck River, southwest of Hartford and northeast of New York City. Waterbury is the second-largest city in New Haven County, Connecticut. According to the 2020 US Census, in 202 ...
to Rudolph, a surgeon at Waterbury Hospital, and Jeanette Long Damiani. He was raised in Wolcott, Connecticut. He was married to the late Maria Brancati Damiani and was the father of Robbin, Christopher (1977 - 2020), and Michael.
Career
Damiani, together with his fellow students at
Boston University
Boston University (BU) is a Private university, private research university in Boston, Massachusetts. The university is nonsectarian, but has a historical affiliation with the United Methodist Church. It was founded in 1839 by Methodists with ...
,Chip Damiani, drummer for Westport rock group The Remains, dead at 69 /ref> singer/guitarist Barry Tashian, keyboardist Bill Briggs, and bassist Vern Miller, formed the band the Remains, in 1964. The band, in their finest day appeared on ''
The Ed Sullivan Show
''The Ed Sullivan Show'' is an American television variety show that ran on CBS from June 20, 1948, to March 28, 1971, and was hosted by New York entertainment columnist Ed Sullivan. It was replaced in September 1971 by the '' CBS Sunday Night M ...
''. They also were one of the opening acts for
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the most influential band of all time and were integral to the developmen ...
’ final U.S. tour in 1966, but this time without Damiani, who didn't think doing so was a good move for the band. He was one of the few musicians who appeared on the Ed Sullivan Show,
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...
Shindig!
''Shindig!'' is an American musical variety series which aired on ABC from September 16, 1964 to January 8, 1966. The show was hosted by Jimmy O'Neill, a disc jockey in Los Angeles,The Remains'' as a drummer and a backing vocalist. Their two successive singles ended up outside the '' Billboard'' Hot 100 and the band, not being satisfied with their label, Epic Records, quietly auditioned for
Capitol
A capitol, named after the Capitoline Hill in Rome, is usually a legislative building where a legislature meets and makes laws for its respective political entity.
Specific capitols include:
* United States Capitol in Washington, D.C.
* Numerous ...
. Damiani, however, didn't show up for their upcoming single and the tour. He eventually decided to quit to go back to university, and the band, having lost their faith in commercial success, broke up. Along with Damiani, the band reunited in 1998 for a European tour, which led to a permanent reunion in 2002. Most recently, Damiani was the president of Airtite Home Improvement, Inc.
Chip Damiani,
New Haven, Connecticut
New Haven is a city in the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound in New Haven County, Connecticut and is part of the New York City metropolitan area. With a population of 134 ...