Frankie LaRocka (April 17, 1954 – May 12, 2005), born Frank LaRocca, was an American

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

musician A musician is a person who composes, conducts, or performs music. According to the United States Employment Service, "musician" is a general term used to designate one who follows music as a profession. Musicians include songwriters who wri ...

and producer. He was a member of Scandal, playing

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...

on their debut EP, and, at various stages, played the drums with

Bon Jovi Bon Jovi is an American Rock music, rock band formed in 1983 in Sayreville, New Jersey. It consists of singer Jon Bon Jovi, keyboardist David Bryan, drummer Tico Torres, guitarist Phil X, and bassist Hugh McDonald (American musician), Hugh McD ...

, David Johansen, Bryan Adams, and

John Waite John Charles Waite (born 4 July 1952) is an English musician. As a solo artist, he has released ten studio albums and is best known for the 1984 hit single " Missing You", which reached No. 1 on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and the top ten on ...

. In the 1990s, he became an A&R man and producer with his most notable work being with the

Spin Doctors Spin Doctors are an American alternative rock band from New York City, best known for their early 1990s hits "Two Princes" and "Little Miss Can't Be Wrong", which peaked on the Billboard Hot 100, ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart at No. 7 and N ...

on their breakthrough album '' Pocket Full of Kryptonite''.

Musical history

LaRocka started his career playing drums with David Johansen on Johansen's self-titled album from 1978. He joined Scandal in 1982 and played on their self-titled album of the same year as well as earning credit on John Waite's ''

Ignition Ignition may refer to: Science and technology * Firelighting, the human act of creating a fire for warmth, cooking and other uses * Combustion, an exothermic chemical reaction between a fuel and an oxidant * Fusion ignition, the point at which a ...

'' album. LaRocka toured with Bryan Adams on his 1983 world tour, and was part of the band when they appeared that year live in concert on the televised

Rockpalast ''Rockpalast'' (''Rock Palace'') is a German music television show that broadcasts live on German television station Westdeutscher Rundfunk (WDR). ''Rockpalast'' started in 1974 and continues to this day. Hundreds of rock, heavy metal and jazz ...

show (also broadcast live on European radio). Bon Jovi opened for Scandal in a 1984 tour which led to that band's signing by Polygram Records. La Rocka played drums on their 1984 ''

'' album. After parting company with Scandal, he returned to session work playing on sessions by John Waite and in 1985 appearing with him in his band on TV shows like '' Solid Gold''. In the early '90s, LaRocka played drums with Company of Wolves, a straight-ahead rock band signed to

Mercury Records Mercury Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group. It had significant success as an independent operation in the 1940s and 1950s. Smash Records and Fontana Records were sub labels of Mercury. In the United States, it is ...

. LaRocka also signed a girl group from London called NeverBlue managed by Christopher Waller, Tasha Leaper, Lisa Hurley and Susan Motley. The group worked with Brian Rawlings, famed for

Cher Cher (; born Cherilyn Sarkisian; May 20, 1946) is an American singer, actress and television personality. Often referred to by the media as the Honorific nicknames in popular music, "Goddess of Pop", she has been described as embodying female ...

's ''Believe'' album. NeverBlue was signed to Straight Line Records under

Atlantic Records Atlantic Recording Corporation (simply known as Atlantic Records) is an American record label founded in October 1947 by Ahmet Ertegun and Herb Abramson. Over its first 20 years of operation, Atlantic earned a reputation as one of the most i ...

. LaRocka continued to work with NeverBlue after the group disbanded in 2000 and became a girl/boy duo with original member Susan Motley and new addition, Danny Willis.

A&R and production work

LaRocka's first stab at production was with Irish band Silent Running, whom he signed while working in the A&R department at Atlantic Records. He also played drums on their album ''

Deep Deep or The Deep may refer to: Places United States * Deep Creek (Appomattox River tributary), Virginia * Deep Creek (Great Salt Lake), Idaho and Utah * Deep Creek (Mahantango Creek tributary), Pennsylvania * Deep Creek (Mojave River tributary), C ...

''. He began working for

Sony Music Sony Music Entertainment (SME), also known as simply Sony Music, is an American multinational music company. Being owned by the parent conglomerate Sony Group Corporation, it is part of the Sony Music Group, which is owned by Sony Entertainment ...

and one of his first signings was the

. He produced their 1991 debut ''

Pocketful of Kryptonite ''Pocket Full of Kryptonite'' is the debut studio album by the American rock band Spin Doctors, released in August 1991. The album initially sold a respectable 60,000 copies in late 1991 due to its growing hardcore fanbase, before several radio ...

''. The album sold slowly at first but it eventually became a hit after their song '' Little Miss Can't Be Wrong'' started picking up airplay on

MTV MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...

and radio. The follow-up single ''

Two Princes "Two Princes" is a song by American rock music, rock group Spin Doctors, released in 1992 as the second single from their debut album, ''Pocket Full of Kryptonite'' (1991). It peaked at number seven on the US Billboard Hot 100, ''Billboard'' Ho ...

'' was a top ten hit and the album reached a peak of #3 on the Billboard charts in 1993. LaRocka produced subsequent albums for the Spin Doctors but they failed to achieve the same success. LaRocka signed Columbus, Ohio, powerpop band Watershed to Epic Records in 1993. Under his supervision, the band recorded one live EP, ''Three Chords and a Cloud of Dust'', and a Jim Steinman-produced album, ''Twister''. Neither effort charted and Watershed was dropped from Epic in 1995. By the end of his career at Sony, LaRocka was vice president of the A&R department. He was back playing drums for a

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

band Hot Monkey Love and with Noel Redding on a 2002 live album recorded at

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...

. He also had an independent production company, Straight Line Productions, and had signed the band happyendings to J Records where they were recording their debut record. LaRocka died after undergoing heart surgery in New York in May 2005.

References

External links

* Allmusic.com article on Frankie LaRocka
Extended biography @nyrocker.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Larocka, Frankie 1954 births 2005 deaths American rock drummers American record producers American people of Italian descent Scandal (American band) members 20th-century American drummers American male drummers 20th-century American male musicians