Daniel Peter Seraphine (born August 28, 1948) is an American
drummer
A drummer is a percussionist who creates music using drum
The drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel-Sachs classification system, it is a membranophone. Drums consist of at least one mem ...
,
record producer
A record producer is a recording project's creative and technical leader, commanding studio time and coaching artists, and in popular genres typically creates the song's very sound and structure.Virgil Moorefield"Introduction" ''The Producer as ...
,
theatrical producer
A theatrical producer is a person who oversees all aspects of mounting a theatre Stagecraft, production. The producer is responsible for the overall financial and managerial functions of a production or venue, raises or provides financial backin ...
and
film producer
A film producer is a person who oversees film production. Either employed by a production company or working independently, producers plan and coordinate various aspects of film production, such as selecting the script, coordinating writing, di ...
. He is best known as the original drummer and a founding member of the rock band
Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
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, a tenure which lasted from February 1967 to May 1990.
Early life
Daniel Peter Seraphine was born in
Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
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, map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago
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to John and Mary Seraphine. The family lived in the
Dunning neighborhood on Chicago's northwest side. He started playing drums at the age of nine while attending St. Priscilla Catholic grade school. When he was 15 years old, Seraphine withdrew from
Steinmetz High School
Steinmetz College Prep (also known as Steinmetz High School or Steinmetz Academic Centre) is a public 4–year high school located in the Belmont Cragin community area on the Northwest Side of Chicago, Illinois. Steinmetz is a part of the Chicag ...
. Outside of school he joined a local gang called the JPs.
In December 1965, after deciding to quit as a professional drummer, he was invited to join Jimmy Ford and the Executives, Dick Clark's road band. Already in the band were
Terry Kath
Terry Alan Kath (January 31, 1946 – January 23, 1978) was an American guitarist, singer and songwriter, best known as a founding member of the rock band Chicago. He played guitar and sang lead vocals on many of the band's early hit singl ...
on
bass and
Walter Parazaider
Walter Parazaider (born March 14, 1945) is an American woodwind musician best known for being a founding member of the rock band Chicago. He plays a wide variety of wind instruments, including saxophone, flute, and clarinet. He also occasionally ...
on
saxophone
The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of brass. As with all single-reed instruments, sound is produced when a reed on a mouthpiece vibrates to pr ...
. After being let go from Jimmy Ford and the Executives when it merged with another local band, Little Artie and the Pharaohs (under the new name, The Mob) the three of them were invited to join a cover band called The Missing Links.
He studied privately with percussionist Bob Tilles at
DePaul University
DePaul University is a private university, private, Catholic higher education, Catholic research university in Chicago, Illinois. Founded by the Congregation of the Mission, Vincentians in 1898, the university takes its name from the 17th-centu ...
, where future members of
Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
, image_map =
, map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago
, coordinates =
, coordinates_footnotes =
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, subdivision_name ...
were also studying. Seraphine cites his influences as
Buddy Rich
Bernard "Buddy" Rich (September 30, 1917 – April 2, 1987) was an American jazz drummer, songwriter, conductor, and bandleader. He is considered one of the most influential drummers of all time.
Rich was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York ...
,
Tony Williams,
Elvin Jones
Elvin Ray Jones (September 9, 1927 – May 18, 2004) was an American jazz drummer of the post-bop era.
Most famously a member of John Coltrane's quartet, with whom he recorded from late 1960 to late 1965, Jones appeared on such widely celebrate ...
,
Grady Tate
Grady Tate (January 14, 1932 – October 8, 2017) was an American jazz and soul-jazz drummer and baritone vocalist. In addition to his work as sideman, Tate released many albums as leader and lent his voice to songs in the animated ''Schoolhou ...
,
Ringo Starr
Sir Richard Starkey (born 7 July 1940), known professionally as Ringo Starr, is an English musician, singer, songwriter and actor who achieved international fame as the drummer for the Beatles. Starr occasionally sang lead vocals with the ...
,
Mitch Mitchell
John Graham "Mitch" Mitchell (9 July 194612 November 2008)In his book about the Experience, Mitchell states he celebrated his 21st birthday while on tour on 9 July 1967, which makes his birth year 1946.Mitchell's obituaries in ''Billboard' ''T ...
, and
Hal Blaine
Hal Blaine (born Harold Simon Belsky; February 5, 1929 – March 11, 2019) was an American drummer and session musician, thought to be among the most recorded studio drummers in the music industry, claiming over 35,000 sessions and 6,000 singles. ...
.
He continued his education with big band drummer
Chuck Flores
Charles Walter "Chuck" Flores (January 5, 1935 - November 24, 2016) was an American jazz drummer. One of the relatively small number of musicians associated with West Coast jazz who were actually from the West Coast, Flores was born in Orange, Cali ...
, followed by two years of study under jazz drummer
Jo Jones
Jonathan David Samuel Jones (October 7, 1911 – September 3, 1985) was an American jazz drummer. A band leader and pioneer in jazz percussion, Jones anchored the Count Basie Orchestra rhythm section from 1934 to 1948. He was sometimes k ...
(also known as Papa Jo Jones) in the mid-1970s.
Chicago Transit Authority
Early in 1967, Seraphine approached his two new friends Walter Parazaider (saxophone and
woodwinds
Woodwind instruments are a family of musical instruments within the greater category of wind instruments. Common examples include flute, clarinet, oboe, bassoon, and saxophone. There are two main types of woodwind instruments: flutes and reed ...
) and Terry Kath about leaving the cover band they were in and starting a new band with a horn section. Kath switched from bass to
guitar
The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...
, his first love. After the addition of
Lee Loughnane
Lee David Loughnane (pronounced LOCK-nain; born October 21, 1946) is an American trumpeter, flugelhorn player, vocalist, and songwriter, best known for being a founding member of the rock band Chicago.
Early life and education
Lee David Loughna ...
(
trumpet
The trumpet is a brass instrument commonly used in classical and jazz ensembles. The trumpet group ranges from the piccolo trumpet—with the highest register in the brass family—to the bass trumpet, pitched one octave below the standard ...
),
James Pankow
James Carter Pankow is an American trombone player, songwriter and brass instrument player, best known as a founding member of the rock band Chicago.
Early life, family and education
Born in St. Louis, Missouri of German and Irish descent, Pa ...
(
trombone
The trombone (german: Posaune, Italian, French: ''trombone'') is a musical instrument in the Brass instrument, brass family. As with all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player's vibrating lips cause the Standing wave, air column ...
),
Robert Lamm
Robert William Lamm (born October 13, 1944) is an American keyboardist, guitarist, singer and songwriter best known as a founding member of the rock band Chicago. He wrote many of the band's biggest hits, including " Questions 67 & 68", " Does ...
(
keyboards
Keyboard may refer to:
Text input
* Keyboard, part of a typewriter
* Computer keyboard
** Keyboard layout, the software control of computer keyboards and their mapping
** Keyboard technology, computer keyboard hardware and firmware
Music
* Musi ...
) and
Peter Cetera
Peter Paul Cetera ( ; born September 13, 1944) is an American retired musician best known for being a lead vocalist and the bassist of the rock band Chicago from 1967 until his departure in 1985, before launching a successful solo career. His c ...
(
bass), the band began performing initially as a cover band called The Big Thing (sometimes called The Big Sound), before settling on Chicago Transit Authority, which was soon shortened to ''Chicago'' because of threatened legal action by the actual
Chicago Transit Authority
The Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) is the operator of mass transit in Chicago, Illinois, United States, and some of its surrounding suburbs, including the trains of the Chicago 'L' and CTA bus service. In , the system had a ridership of , o ...
.
Chicago
Their producer and manager,
James William Guercio
James William Guercio (born July 18, 1945) is an American music producer, musician, songwriter, and director. He is well known for his work as the producer of Chicago's early albums as well as early recordings of The Buckinghams and Blood, Sweat ...
, moved the group to
Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
where they landed a regular gig at the
Whisky a Go Go
The Whisky a Go Go (informally nicknamed "the Whisky") is a historic nightclub in West Hollywood, California, United States. It is located at 8901 Sunset Boulevard on the Sunset Strip, corner North Clark Street, opposite North San Vicente Boul ...
. They subsequently obtained a contract with
Columbia Records
Columbia Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music, Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of Japanese Conglomerate (company), conglomerate Sony. It was founded on Janua ...
and recorded their first album — a double album — in two weeks. This eponymous album ''
Chicago Transit Authority
The Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) is the operator of mass transit in Chicago, Illinois, United States, and some of its surrounding suburbs, including the trains of the Chicago 'L' and CTA bus service. In , the system had a ridership of , o ...
'' was released in 1969. Second only to
the Beach Boys
The Beach Boys are an American Rock music, rock band that formed in Hawthorne, California, in 1961. The group's original lineup consisted of brothers Brian Wilson, Brian, Dennis Wilson, Dennis, and Carl Wilson, their cousin Mike Love, and frie ...
in terms of ''Billboard'' singles and albums chart success among American bands, Chicago is one of the longest-running and most successful pop and rock groups.
Seraphine co-wrote several songs for the band: "
Lowdown" (a Top 40 hit for the band); the instrumentals "Prelude to Aire", "Aire", and "Devil's Sweet" from the album ''
Chicago VII
''Chicago VII'' is the sixth studio album (seventh overall) by United States, American rock music, rock band Chicago (band), Chicago and was released in 1974. It is notable for being their first double album of new material since 1971's ''Chica ...
''; "Little One" and "Take Me Back to Chicago" from ''
Chicago XI
''Chicago XI'', released in 1977, is the ninth studio album (eleventh overall) by the American band Chicago and marked the end of an era for the band. This would be the last Chicago studio album to feature guitarist Terry Kath prior to his deat ...
''; "Greatest Love on Earth" from ''
Hot Streets
''Hot Streets'' is the tenth studio album (twelfth overall) by the American band Chicago, released in 1978. In many ways, ''Hot Streets'' marked the beginning of a new era for the band, turning to disco music, a move which would be derided i ...
''; "Street Player" from ''
Chicago XIII''; "Thunder and Lightning" and "Birthday Boy" from ''
Chicago XIV
''Chicago XIV'' is the twelfth studio album by the American band Chicago, released in 1980. Recorded at a time of waning interest in the band, ''Chicago XIV'' remains one of Chicago's poorest-selling albums, failing to reach Gold certification b ...
''; and "Sonny Think Twice" from ''
Chicago XVI''. His writing partner was often
David "Hawk" Wolinski, the keyboardist for
Rufus
Rufus is a masculine given name, a surname, an Ancient Roman cognomen and a nickname (from Latin '' rufus'', "red"). Notable people with the name include:
Given name
Politicians
* Rufus Ada George (born 1940), Nigerian politician
* Rufus ...
featuring
Chaka Khan
Yvette Marie Stevens (born March 23, 1953), better known by her stage name Chaka Khan (), is an American singer. Her career has spanned more than five decades, beginning in the 1970s as the lead vocalist of the funk band Rufus. Known as the " Qu ...
although Seraphine has occasionally co-written with other members of the band like Peter Cetera, Robert Lamm and
Bill Champlin
William Bradford Champlin (born May 21, 1947) is an American singer, musician, arranger, producer, and songwriter. He formed the band Sons of Champlin in 1965, which still performs today, and was a member of the band Chicago from 1981–2009. ...
. In 2013 "Street Player" was sampled by
The Bucketheads
Kenny "Dope" Gonzalez (born July 5, 1970), also sometimes known as K-Dope, is an American record producer and disc jockey. He is one half of the classic house music Masters at Work musical production team with Little Louie Vega; and also releas ...
for the dance hit "
The Bomb! (These Sounds Fall into My Mind)", and later by rapper
Pitbull
Pit bull is a term used in the United States for a type of dog descended from bulldogs and terriers, while in other countries such as the United Kingdom the term is used as an abbreviation of the American Pit Bull Terrier breed. The term was f ...
for the hit "
I Know You Want Me (Calle Ocho)
"I Know You Want Me (Calle Ocho)" is a song by American rapper and singer Pitbull released as the second single from his fourth album, ''Pitbull Starring in Rebelution''. The song samples "75, Brazil Street" by Nicola Fasano and Pat Rich, which it ...
" from the album "
Rebelution". The song samples "75, Brazil Street" by Nicola Fasano versus Pat Rich, which itself samples "Street Player". "I Know You Want Me" has also been featured in ''
Dance Central
''Dance Central'' is a music rhythm game series developed by Harmonix, creators of the ''Guitar Hero'' and '' Rock Band'' franchises.
Series
Dance Central (2010)
''Dance Central'' was released exclusively for the Xbox 360 and was a launch tit ...
'', the dancing game for
Kinect
Kinect is a line of motion sensing input devices produced by Microsoft and first released in 2010. The devices generally contain RGB cameras, and infrared projectors and detectors that map depth through either structured light or time of flig ...
, ''
Dance Dance Revolution X2
(''DDR X2'') is a music video game, and a part of the ''Dance Dance Revolution'' series. The arcade version of ''DDR X2'' was revealed by Konami on November 20, 2009. The sequel to '' Dance Dance Revolution X'', X2 began public beta testing on ...
'' for
PlayStation 2
The PlayStation 2 (PS2) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on 4 March 2000, in North America on 26 October 2000, in Europe on 24 November 2000, and in Australia on 3 ...
, and ''
SingStar Dance
''SingStar Dance'' is a 2010 competitive karaoke and dance video game for the PlayStation 3, a spin-off of the karaoke ''SingStar'' series. ''SingStar Dance'' was developed by London Studio and published by Sony Computer Entertainment. The gam ...
'', the dancing game for
PlayStation Move
is a motion game controller developed by Sony Interactive Entertainment. Initially released in 2010 for use with the PlayStation 3 home video game console, its compatibility was later expanded to its successor, the PlayStation 4 in 2013, its Pla ...
.
Seraphine and Wolinski also started a production company called Street Sense. Seraphine used his home studio to record demos. A deal was signed with
Epic Records
Epic Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America
Sony Corporation of America (SONAM, also known as SCA), is the American arm of the Japanese conglomerate Sony Group ...
with the idea of fostering new talent.
In 1974, during the peak of the band's career, Seraphine co-founded B'Ginnings, a music venue with capacity of almost 1,000, in the northwest suburbs of Chicago.
Seraphine was let go from Chicago in May 1990, after disagreements with the band that were chronicled in his book ''Street Player: My Chicago Story''.
After his departure, veteran session drummer
Tris Imboden
Gregory Tristan "Tris" Imboden (born July 27, 1951) is an American rock and jazz drummer. As a performer, he has been in studio sessions and on tour with some of the most notable and highest-selling musicians of all time. He was the drummer fo ...
joined the band in time for ''
Twenty 1
''Twenty 1'' is the seventeenth studio album (and twenty-first overall) by the American band Chicago. Released on January 29, 1991, it was their first album of the 1990s. ''Twenty 1'' spent eleven weeks on the American ''Billboard'' 200, peaking ...
''.
California Transit Authority
In early 2006, after about 15 years of hiatus from actively playing music, Danny Seraphine debuted a new band, California Transit Authority (CTA), featuring himself on drums,
Marc Bonilla
Marc Henry Bonilla (born July 3, 1955) is an American guitarist and composer, who has worked as a sideman to artists such as Keith Emerson, Ronnie Montrose, Glenn Hughes (British musician), Glenn Hughes, Edgar Winter and David Coverdale.
Career ...
on lead guitar, Mick Mahan on bass guitar, Ed Roth and
Peter Fish on keyboards, Mike Wallace on guitar, and
Tower of Power
Tower of Power is an American R&B and funk based band and horn section, originating in Oakland, California, that has been performing since 1968. There have been a number of lead vocalists, the best-known being Lenny Williams, who fronted the b ...
singer Larry Braggs on vocals. Seraphine and Bonilla initially put the band together to play charity benefit shows. Their repertoire included several Chicago songs. The response from the public was strong enough to persuade Seraphine to continue and write original material with the other band members.
Bill Champlin
William Bradford Champlin (born May 21, 1947) is an American singer, musician, arranger, producer, and songwriter. He formed the band Sons of Champlin in 1965, which still performs today, and was a member of the band Chicago from 1981–2009. ...
's son,
Will Champlin
William Christopher Champlin (born April 24, 1983) is an American singer-songwriter, best known for his appearance on Season 5 of the NBC singing competition ''The Voice'' as part of Adam Levine's team. He finished in third place behind Jacqui ...
, later joined the band as vocalist.
CTA released their first studio album, ''Full Circle'', on August 14, 2007, followed by a tour of the United States. The band's second album ''Sacred Ground'' was released on March 21, 2013. Former Chicago members like Bill Champlin,
Jeff Coffey
Jeff Coffey (born September 11, 1967) is an American singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. He is the bassist and background vocalist for Don Felder. From 2016–18, he was bassist and lead vocalist for the band Chicago (band), Chicago.
E ...
,
Donnie Dacus
James O. "Donnie" Dacus (born October 12, 1951, in Pasadena, Texas) is an American guitarist, backing vocalist, actor, songwriter, and co- producer. He has been a member of the rock bands Chicago and Badfinger.
Early life
Dacus grew up in Cleb ...
and
Laudir de Oliveira
Laudir Soares de Oliveira (6 January 1940 – 17 September 2017) was a Brazilian musician and producer mostly renowned for his time as percussionist with the band Chicago.
Oliveira grew up in Rio de Janeiro, and started working professionally in ...
occasionally sat in with the band. As of 2022 former Coffey has joined the band on a permanent basis.
The current lineup (2022) is: Danny Seraphine - Drums, Marc Bonilla - Guitar/Vocals, Travis Davis - Bass/Guitar/Vocals, Ed Roth - Keyboards, Jeff Coffey - Bass/Guitar/Vocals
Other activities
2009 saw the release of ''
Lonely Street'', a film for which Seraphine served as an
executive producer
Executive producer (EP) is one of the top positions in the making of a commercial entertainment product. Depending on the medium, the executive producer may be concerned with management accounting or associated with legal issues (like copyrights o ...
and the music supervisor. In 2010 he published his aforementioned autobiography ''Street Player: My Chicago Story''.
In the same year, he released the biographical and instructional DVD "The Art of Jazz Rock Drumming" produced by The Drum Channel.
Awards and achievements
Seraphine has been ranked by ''
Rolling Stone
''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...
'' magazine as one of the top 100 drummers of all time. In 2010, Seraphine received a Lifetime Achievement Award at the Cape Breton Drum Festival. In 2011, he also won a Lifetime Achievement Award, Montreal Drum Festival. Additionally, he was recognized by the
ASCAP
The American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP) () is an American not-for-profit performance-rights organization (PRO) that collectively licenses the public performance rights of its members' musical works to venues, broadca ...
as a co-writer of Pitbull's "I Know You Want Me (Calle Ocho)".
On May 9, 2015, the City of Chicago dedicated the 3500 block of North Normandy Avenue on Chicago's northwest side "Honorary Danny Seraphine Way".
Seraphine was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Chicago on April 8, 2016.
He received a Recording Academy Lifetime Achievement Award at the 63RD ANNUAL GRAMMY AWARDS (2020)
Endorsements
Seraphine plays
DW drums, pedals & hardware, Aquarian drumheads,
Zildjian
:''Zildjian leads here. For people with the surname, see Zildjian (disambiguation)''
The Avedis Zildjian Company, simply known as Zildjian (), is a musical instrument manufacturer specializing in cymbals and other percussion instruments. Founded ...
cymbals and drumsticks. He had previously endorsed
Rogers Rogers may refer to:
Places
Canada
*Rogers Pass (British Columbia)
* Rogers Island (Nunavut)
United States
* Rogers, Arkansas, a city
* Rogers, alternate name of Muroc, California, a former settlement
* Rogers, Indiana, an unincorporated communit ...
,
Slingerland
Slingerland is a United States manufacturer of drums. The company was founded in 1912 and enjoyed several decades of prominence in the industry before the 1980s. After ceasing operation in the early 1980s, Slingerland was acquired by Gibson, w ...
and
Yamaha drums
Yamaha Drums is a subsidiary of the Yamaha Corporation founded in 1967. The company manufactures acoustic and electronic drum kits as well as percussion instruments, marching band equipment, and drum hardware.
Production
Most of Yamaha's drums a ...
in the past prior to endorsing DW in 1988. With Chicago, Seraphine used
Rogers Rogers may refer to:
Places
Canada
*Rogers Pass (British Columbia)
* Rogers Island (Nunavut)
United States
* Rogers, Arkansas, a city
* Rogers, alternate name of Muroc, California, a former settlement
* Rogers, Indiana, an unincorporated communit ...
and
Slingerland
Slingerland is a United States manufacturer of drums. The company was founded in 1912 and enjoyed several decades of prominence in the industry before the 1980s. After ceasing operation in the early 1980s, Slingerland was acquired by Gibson, w ...
drums; and in the 1970s, he used an array of Slingerland drum kits in both recording and touring and in a variety of configurations. He switched to
Yamaha Drums
Yamaha Drums is a subsidiary of the Yamaha Corporation founded in 1967. The company manufactures acoustic and electronic drum kits as well as percussion instruments, marching band equipment, and drum hardware.
Production
Most of Yamaha's drums a ...
around 1984 before the departure of singer and bassist Peter Cetera. In 1988, he switched to
Drum Workshop
Drum Workshop, Inc. (also known as DW Drums or DW) is an American drum kit and hardware manufacturing company based in Oxnard, California. Current products by DW include drum sets, snare drums, and hardware.
History
Drum Workshop was founded ...
, which he has been with ever since. He had previously used
Pro-Mark
Promark is a Houston, Texas-based American drum stick company. Since 2011, it is part of strings company D'Addario. Promark is a widely known stick company generally played in drum set, drum and bugle corps and concert bands.
History
Promark w ...
drumsticks, but eventually switched to using Danny Seraphine signature drumsticks, a line created for him by Zildjian, and for many years, he used
Remo
Remo Inc. is an American musical instruments manufacturing company based in Valencia, California, and founded by Remo Belli in 1957. Products manufactured include drum kits, drumheads, drums, and hardware.
History
Drummer and founder Re ...
heads.
References
External links
*
2013 Audio Interview with Danny Seraphine from the Podcast "I'd Hit That"- Drummer Cafe
- Drummerworld
Danny's appearances on Combat Radio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Seraphine, Danny
Chicago (band) members
Musicians from Chicago
1948 births
American rock drummers
American jazz drummers
Living people
20th-century American composers
21st-century American composers
American male composers
Record producers from Illinois
American filmmakers
American people of Italian descent
20th-century American drummers
American male drummers
Songwriters from Illinois
21st-century American drummers
Jazz musicians from Illinois
20th-century American male musicians
21st-century American male musicians
American male jazz musicians
American male songwriters