James Alexander Bonfanti (born December 17, 1948 in

Windber, Pennsylvania Windber is a borough in Somerset County, Pennsylvania, United States, about south of Johnstown. It was at one time a place of industrial activities which included coal mining, lumbering, and the manufacture of fire brick. In 1897, the community ...

) is a

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 ...

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 ...

who is best known for having been a member of the band

Raspberries The raspberry is the edible fruit of a multitude of plant species in the genus ''Rubus'' of the rose family, most of which are in the subgenus '' Idaeobatus''. The name also applies to these plants themselves. Raspberries are perennial with w ...

Career

Bonfanti's music career began in 1965 when he saw

The Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatles, most influential band of al ...

on ''

The Ed Sullivan Show ''The Ed Sullivan Show'' is an American television program, television variety show that ran on CBS from June 20, 1948, to March 28, 1971, and was hosted by New York City, New York entertainment columnist Ed Sullivan. It was replaced in Septembe ...

'', which eventually led him to join a band called "The Mods", later renamed The Choir. Their recording of "It’s Cold Outside" reached the national charts in 1967. In 1970, Bonfanti, Wally Bryson,

Dave Smalley Dave Smalley is an American musician, best known as the lead singer for the hardcore punk bands DYS, Dag Nasty, and All and as lead singer/guitarist with Down by Law. He is known for his influence on pop punk music and his early contributio ...

and

Eric Carmen Eric Howard Carmen (born August 11, 1949) is an American singer, songwriter, guitarist, and keyboardist. He was first known as the lead vocalist of the Raspberries. He had numerous hit songs in the 1970s and 1980s, first as a member of the Rasp ...

formed Raspberries. Together they produced four albums, eight singles, and a U.S. top ten and gold record for their major hit " Go All the Way". Following two albums both released in 1972, creative tension came to a head sparked largely by Carmen's creative dominance over the contributions of fellow members. After the release of the Raspberries' third album, ''Side 3'', Smalley and Bonfanti left the Raspberries to form their own band, Dynamite. , Bonfanti resides in

Mentor, Ohio Mentor ( ) is the largest city in Lake County, Ohio, United States. The population was 47,450 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Cleveland metropolitan area. Mentor was first settled in 1797. In 1876, James A. Garfield purchased a home in Men ...

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bonfanti, Jim 1948 births Living people People from Windber, Pennsylvania Musicians from Pennsylvania 20th-century American drummers American male drummers 20th-century American male musicians