Dino Danelli (July 23, 1944 – December 15, 2022) was an American
drummer. Danelli was best known as an original member and the drummer in the rock group
The Young Rascals
''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...
. He has been called "one of the great unappreciated rock drummers in history". He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1997 with the (Young) Rascals.
Early life
Born into an Italian American family in
Jersey City, New Jersey, Danelli was a
jazz
Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a m ...
drummer by training. He had played with
Lionel Hampton and (by 1961) was playing
R&B in
. He returned to New York in 1962 with a band called Ronnie Speeks & the Elrods. He also worked at times with such legendary performers as Little Willie John.
Danelli met
Eddie Brigati
Edward Brigati Jr. (born October 22, 1945) is an American singer-songwriter. He was the co-lead vocalist, along with Felix Cavaliere, and percussionist in the rock group The Young Rascals from 1964 to 1970.
Prior to his stint with The Young ...
(a pickup singer on the local R&B circuit), and
Felix Cavaliere
Felix Cavaliere (born November 29, 1942) is an American musician and singer-songwriter. He is best known for being the lead vocalist and keyboard player for the Young Rascals.
Although he was a member of Joey Dee and the Starliters, known for ...
(a classically trained pianist) in 1963. Later that year, Danelli and Cavaliere traveled to
Las Vegas
Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...
to try their luck with a casino house band. They remained there until early 1964, but then ventured back to
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...
.
Young Rascals and Rascals
![The Rascals 1969](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a0/The_Rascals_1969.JPG)
In late 1964, Danelli teamed with Cavaliere, Brigati, and a Canadian-born guitarist named
Gene Cornish
Gene Cornish (born May 14, 1944) is a Canadian-American guitarist and harmonica player. He is an original member of the popular 1960s blue-eyed soul band The Young Rascals. From 1965 to 1970, the band recorded eight albums and had thirteen si ...
to form the Young Rascals. Cavaliere and Danelli traveled to Las Vegas in January 1963–1964 to back up singer Sandu Scott and her Scottys, but returned to NYC in February 1964. That month they debuted with the Young Rascals at the Choo Choo Club in
Garfield, New Jersey.
In addition to playing drums (before Cavaliere and Brigati began composing original music), Danelli and Cavaliere often scouted new repertory that the group could perform. In a 1988 interview, he cited their trips to record stores as yielding such songs as "
Mustang Sally" and "
Good Lovin'
"Good Lovin is a song written by Rudy Clark and Arthur Resnick that was a #1 hit single for the Young Rascals in 1966.
Original version
The song was first recorded by Lemme B. Good (stage name of singer Limmie Snell) in March 1965 and written ...
."
He was with the Rascals for seven years (1965–1972) and performed on three No.1 hits.
Bulldog and after
Along with Cornish, Danelli formed the group
Bulldog
The Bulldog is a British breed of dog of mastiff type. It may also be known as the English Bulldog or British Bulldog. It is of medium size, a muscular, hefty dog with a wrinkled face and a distinctive pushed-in nose.[Leslie West
Leslie West (born Leslie Abel Weinstein; October 22, 1945 – December 23, 2020) was an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. He was the co-founder, guitarist and co-lead vocalist of the rock band Mountain.
Life and career Early years: 1 ...]
Band for a short time along with bassist
Busta Jones
Busta "Cherry" Jones (born Michael Jones, September 26, 1951 – December 6, 1995) was an American musician, songwriter and producer. He is known for his bass work both live and in the studio with Albert King, Talking Heads, Gang of Four, Chris ...
. Danelli and Cornish then joined the group
Fotomaker
Photo maker was a power pop group from Long Island, NY which released three albums between 1978 and 1979. They made three albums within the span of a little over a year.
Beginnings
The band was formed in 1977 by bassist Gene Cornish and drummer D ...
in 1978 (initially with ex-Raspberries member Wally Bryson). By 1980, Danelli joined
Steven Van Zandt
Steven Van Zandt (né Lento; born November 22, 1950), also known as Little Steven or Miami Steve, is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and actor. He is a member of Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band, in which he plays guitar and mandoli ...
as a member of
Little Steven & The Disciples of Soul
Steven Van Zandt (né Lento; born November 22, 1950), also known as Little Steven or Miami Steve, is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and actor. He is a member of Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band, in which he plays guitar and mandolin ...
.
After performing with Cavaliere and Cornish at the
Atlantic Records 40th Anniversary
On May 14, 1988, the Atlantic Records label held its 40th Anniversary Celebration by staging a non-stop concert lasting almost 13 hours starting at noon and ending just shortly before 1am the following morning at Madison Square Garden, New York. Th ...
concert on 14 May 1988, there was a short-lived Rascals reunion tour later that year without Brigati. All four original members came together to perform at their induction to the
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1997 and then once again on 24 April 2010, for the Kristen Ann Carr Fund dinner at the Tribeca Grill in
Tribeca
Tribeca (), originally written as TriBeCa, is a neighborhood in Lower Manhattan in New York City. Its name is a syllabic abbreviation of "Triangle Below Canal Street". The "triangle" (more accurately a quadrilateral) is bounded by Canal Stree ...
,
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...
.
He reunited with his bandmates. The Rascals appeared at the
Capitol Theatre in
Port Chester, New York
Port Chester is a village in the U.S. state of New York and the largest part of the town of Rye in Westchester County by population. At the 2010 U.S. census, the village of Port Chester had a population of 28,967 and was the fifth-most popu ...
for six shows in December 2012 and for fifteen dates at the
Richard Rogers Theatre on Broadway (15 April – 5 May 2013). Their production, entitled 'Once Upon A Dream’, toured North America (Toronto, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Phoenix, Chicago, Detroit, Rochester, and New York City). It was produced by long-time Rascals fans, Steven Van Zandt and his wife Maureen.
In 1999, Danelli produced a series of tracks for New York singer-songwriter
Roxanne Fontana
Roxanne may refer to:
*Roxanne (given name)
*Hurricane Roxanne, a major hurricane in October 1995
Music
*Roxanne (The Police song), "Roxanne" (The Police song), a 1978 song by The Police
*Roxanne (Arizona Zervas song), "Roxanne" (Arizona Zerva ...
, which were released as an album entitled ''Love Is Blue'' on Etoile Records.
He was also a visual artist, based at DinoDanelliArt.com, and designed album covers for The Rascals and Little Steven & the Disciples of Soul.
Death
Danelli died on December 15, 2022 at a rehabilitation facility in Manhattan after a period of declining health. He was 78.
References
External links
The Rascals Appreciation SiteDino Danelli's RascalsDino Danelli Art*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Danelli, Dino
1944 births
2022 deaths
American rock drummers
Musicians from Jersey City, New Jersey
Jersey Shore musicians
The Rascals members
American people of Italian descent
20th-century American drummers
American male drummers
20th-century American male musicians
Little Steven and the Disciples of Soul members