Kenny Passarelli (born October 28, 1949 in

Denver Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of t ...

) is an American

bass guitarist A bassist (also known as a bass player or bass guitarist) is a musician who plays a bass instrument such as a double bass (upright bass, contrabass, wood bass), bass guitar (electric bass, acoustic bass), synthbass, keyboard bass or a low bra ...

. Passarelli was a founding member of the

Joe Walsh Joseph Fidler Walsh (born November 20, 1947) is an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter. In a career spanning over five decades, he has been a member of three successful rock bands: the James Gang, Eagles, and Ringo Starr & His All-Starr B ...

-led band Barnstorm, co-writing the hit "

Rocky Mountain Way "Rocky Mountain Way" is a 1973 song by rock guitarist Joe Walsh and his band Barnstorm, with writing credits given to all four band members: Walsh, Rocke Grace, Kenny Passarelli, and Joe Vitale. The song was originally released on the album '' ...

". He later served as a contract player for a number of other acts, appearing in both session and live work. These include stints with

Elton John Sir Elton Hercules John (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight; 25 March 1947) is a British singer, pianist and composer. Commonly nicknamed the "Rocket Man" after his 1972 hit single of the same name, John has led a commercially successful career a ...

Hall & Oates Daryl Hall and John Oates, commonly known as Hall & Oates, are an American pop rock duo formed in Philadelphia in 1970. Daryl Hall is generally the lead vocalist; John Oates primarily plays electric guitar and provides backing vocals. The two ...

and

Daryl Hall Daryl Franklin Hohl (born October 11, 1946), known professionally as Daryl Hall, is an American rock, R&B and soul singer and musician, best known as the co-founder and principal lead vocalist of Daryl Hall and John Oates (with guitarist and ...

's solo work,

Dan Fogelberg Daniel Grayling Fogelberg (August 13, 1951 – December 16, 2007) was an American musician, songwriter, composer, and multi-instrumentalist. He is known for his 1970s and 1980s songs, including "Longer" (1979), "Same Old Lang Syne" (1980), and " ...

Stephen Stills Stephen Arthur Stills (born January 3, 1945) is an American musician, singer and songwriter best known for his work with Buffalo Springfield and Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young. As both a solo act and member of two successful bands, Stills has com ...

, Otis Taylor among others.

Career

Born to an

Italian American Italian Americans ( it, italoamericani or ''italo-americani'', ) are Americans who have full or partial Italian ancestry. The largest concentrations of Italian Americans are in the urban Northeast and industrial Midwestern metropolitan areas, ...

family, Passarelli has played with a variety of

rock music Rock music is a broad genre of popular music that originated as " rock and roll" in the United States in the late 1940s and early 1950s, developing into a range of different styles in the mid-1960s and later, particularly in the United States an ...

ians, including

and Italian musician

Edoardo Bennato Edoardo Bennato (born 23 July 1946, Naples, Campania, Italy) is an Italian singer-songwriter. He is the brother of the singer-songwriter Eugenio Bennato. He is considered one of the greatest Italian rockers, a genre that he has often combined wi ...

. He served as a replacement for

Dee Murray Dee Murray (born David Murray Oates; 3 April 1946 – 15 January 1992) was an English bass guitarist. He was best known for his long-time collaboration with Elton John as a member of the Elton John Band. Biography Murray was born in Gillingham ...

in the

Elton John Band The Elton John Band is the band that backs singer, composer and pianist Elton John on both studio and live recordings. The various lineups of the band have consisted of both English and American musicians. The band is often not recognised as a fo ...

from 1975–76, playing on the albums ''

Rock of the Westies ''Rock of the Westies'' is the tenth studio album by English musician Elton John, released on 4 October 1975. The title is a spoonerism on the phrase "West of the Rockies", the album having been recorded at Caribou Ranch in the Rocky Mountain ...

'' and ''

Blue Moves ''Blue Moves'' is the eleventh studio album by English musician Elton John. It was released in October 1976. It was John's second double album (after ''Goodbye Yellow Brick Road'') and the first to be released by his own label, Rocket Records ...

''. After leaving John's band he joined the Hall and Oates band in June 1977 and appeared on their albums '' Livetime'' and '' Along the Red Ledge''.

Collaborations

With

* ''

'' ( MCA, 1975) * ''

'' (

Rocket A rocket (from it, rocchetto, , bobbin/spool) is a vehicle that uses jet propulsion to accelerate without using the surrounding air. A rocket engine produces thrust by reaction to exhaust expelled at high speed. Rocket engines work entirely fr ...

, 1976) With Bernie Taupin * ''

He Who Rides the Tiger ''He Who Rides the Tiger'' is a 1980 solo album by longtime Elton John lyricist, Bernie Taupin. It is his second effort following his 1971 spoken word album ''Taupin''. Taupin co-wrote all the songs in the album with the Buckinghams former guitari ...

'' ( Elektra, 1980) With

* ''

Souvenirs A souvenir (), memento, keepsake, or token of remembrance is an object a person acquires for the memories the owner associates with it. A souvenir can be any object that can be collected or purchased and transported home by the traveler as a ...

'' ( Epic, 1974) * ''

The Innocent Age ''The Innocent Age'' is the seventh album by American singer-songwriter Dan Fogelberg, released in 1981. It was also one of his most successful albums; three of his four Top 10 singles on the ''Billboard'' pop chart (" Hard to Say" (no. 7), "Sam ...

'' ( Epic, 1981) * ''

Windows and Walls ''Windows and Walls'' is the eighth album by American singer-songwriter Dan Fogelberg, released in 1984 (see 1984 in music). The first single, "The Language of Love", reached No. 13 on the U.S. ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart, making it his last Top ...

'' ( Epic, 1984) With

* ''Non farti cadere le braccia'' (

Ricordi Ricordi may refer to: People *Giovanni Ricordi (1785–1853), Italian violinist and publishing company founder * Giulio Ricordi (1840–1912), Italian publisher and musician Music *Casa Ricordi, an Italian music publishing company established i ...

, 1973) With

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 ...

* ''

Tonight You're Mine ''Tonight You're Mine'' is a 1980 album by Eric Carmen. It peaked at #160 on the ''Billboard'' album chart. It contained the singles " It Hurts Too Much" (#75 US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and number three in South Africa) and "All For Love". Track ...

'' ( Arista, 1980) With

* '' Stills'' ( Columbia, 1975) * ''

The Live Album ''The Live Album'' is a live album by Texas-based folk singer-songwriter Robert Earl Keen. It recorded at the Sons of Hermann Hall in Dallas, TX, and released in 1988 on Sugar Hill. Track listing All tracks written by Robert Earl Keen, excep ...

'' (

Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe an ...

, 1975) With

* '' Barnstorm'' (

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

, 1972) * '' The Smoker You Drink, the Player You Get'' ( Dunhill, 1973) * ''

So What So What may refer to: Law *Demurrer, colloquially called a "So what?" pleading Music Albums * ''So What'' (Anti-Nowhere League album) or the 1981 title song (see below), 2000 * '' So What?: Early Demos and Live Abuse'', by Anti-Nowhere League, ...

'' ( Dunhill, 1974) * '' There Goes the Neighborhood'' (

Asylum Asylum may refer to: Types of asylum * Asylum (antiquity), places of refuge in ancient Greece and Rome * Benevolent Asylum, a 19th-century Australian institution for housing the destitute * Cities of Refuge, places of refuge in ancient Judea ...

, 1981) * '' Analog Man'' (

Fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction involving Magic (supernatural), magical elements, typically set in a fictional universe and sometimes inspired by mythology and folklore. Its roots are in oral traditions, which then became fantasy ...

, 2012) With

Yusuf Islam Yusuf Islam (born Steven Demetre Georgiou; ), commonly known by his stage names Cat Stevens, Yusuf, and Yusuf / Cat Stevens, is a British singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. His musical style consists of folk, pop, rock, and, later i ...

* '' Roadsinger'' (Island Records, 2009) With

* ''

Sacred Songs ''Sacred Songs'' is American singer/songwriter Daryl Hall's first solo album. It was produced by guitarist Robert Fripp, who also played on the album. The album was recorded in 1977 but Hall's label, RCA Records, did not release it for three y ...

'' (

RCA The RCA Corporation was a major American electronics company, which was founded as the Radio Corporation of America in 1919. It was initially a patent trust owned by General Electric (GE), Westinghouse, AT&T Corporation and United Fruit Comp ...

, 1980)

References

External links

Global Bass archivesKenny Passarelli at Discogs.com
1949 births Living people American rock bass guitarists American male bass guitarists American session musicians Musicians from Denver Hall & Oates members American people of Italian descent Guitarists from Colorado 20th-century American bass guitarists Barnstorm (band) members 20th-century British male musicians Elton John Band members {{US-bass-guitarist-stub

Career

Collaborations

See also

References

External links