Joseph Nicholas Spampinato (born August 16, 1948) is a multi-instrumentalist and was a founding member and bass player of

NRBQ NRBQ is an American rock band founded by Terry Adams (piano), Steve Ferguson (guitar) and Joey Spampinato (bass). Originally the "New Rhythm and Blues Quintet", the group was formed around 1965. Adams disbanded it for a time, and the group re ...

. He was also one of the band's lead singers and chief songwriters. Before NRBQ he played in several bands, including The Seven of Us, which in 1967 while in Miami, Florida, met another band, The Mersey-Beats USA. The bands merged to form NRBQ. On the group's first two albums, ''NRBQ'' (Columbia, 1969) and '' Boppin' the Blues'' (With

Carl Perkins Carl Lee Perkins (April 9, 1932 – January 19, 1998)#nytimesobit, Pareles. was an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. A rockabilly great and pioneer of rock and roll, he began his recording career at the Sun Studio, in Memphis, Tennes ...

, Columbia, 1970) Spampinato is credited as "Jody St. Nicholas".

Biography

Spampinato was born in

the Bronx The Bronx () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the state of New York. It is south of Westchester County; north and east of the New York City borough of Manhattan, across the Harlem River; and north of the New ...

borough of

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. Musically, he was known for getting an acoustic, stand-up bass sound out of his instrument; he played bass on many albums including

Keith Richards Keith Richards (born 18 December 1943), often referred to during the 1960s and 1970s as "Keith Richard", is an English musician and songwriter who has achieved international fame as the co-founder, guitarist, secondary vocalist, and co-princi ...

' album '' Talk Is Cheap'',

Bonnie Raitt Bonnie Lynn Raitt (; born November 8, 1949) is an American blues singer and guitarist. In 1971, Raitt released her self-titled debut album. Following this, she released a series of critically acclaimed roots-influenced albums that incorporated ...

's '' Fundamental'', and was one of the bassists on

Eric Clapton Eric Patrick Clapton (born 1945) is an English rock and blues guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He is often regarded as one of the most successful and influential guitarists in rock music. Clapton ranked second in ''Rolling Stone''s list o ...

's ''

24 Nights ''24 Nights'' is the fifth live album by Eric Clapton, compiled from 42 concerts performed at the Royal Albert Hall in London, England, in 1990 and 1991. It was released on 8 October 1991. The cover illustration is by Peter Blake. Backgrou ...

'' in 1991. His songs have been covered by

Shakin' Stevens Michael Barratt (born 4 March 1948), known professionally as Shakin' Stevens, is a Welsh singer and songwriter. He was the UK's biggest-selling singles artist of the 1980s. His recording and performing career began in the late 1960s, althoug ...

Los Lobos Los Lobos (, Spanish for "the Wolves") are an American rock band from East Los Angeles, California. Their music is influenced by rock and roll, Tex-Mex, country, zydeco, folk, R&B, blues, brown-eyed soul, and traditional music such as cu ...

Dave Edmunds David William Edmunds (born 15 April 1944) is a Welsh singer-songwriter, guitarist and record producer. Although he is mainly associated with pub rock and new wave, having many hits in the 1970s and early 1980s, his natural leaning has always ...

and others. In 1986,

The Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for six decades, they are one of the most popular and enduring bands of the rock era. In the early 1960s, the Rolling Stones pioneered the gritty, rhythmically dr ...

invited Spampinato to play in the band Richards put together to back up

Chuck Berry Charles Edward Anderson Berry (October 18, 1926 – March 18, 2017) was an American singer, songwriter and guitarist who pioneered rock and roll. Nicknamed the " Father of Rock and Roll", he refined and developed rhythm and blues into th ...

for the rock legend's 60th birthday party concert, which was recorded for the 1987 documentary ''

Hail! Hail! Rock 'n' Roll ''Hail! Hail! Rock 'n' Roll'' is a 1987 documentary film directed by Taylor Hackford that chronicles two 1986 concerts celebrating rock and roll musician Chuck Berry's 60th birthday. A soundtrack album was released in October 1987 on the MCA lab ...

''. NRBQ bandmate and co-founder Terry Adams wrote the song "Spampinato" in celebration of his friend's family name; the song appeared on the band's 1994 album ''Message for the Mess Age''. Spampinato appeared with NRBQ in several feature films and television shows. During his tenure with NRBQ, he and bandmates Johnny Spampinato, Adams and Tom Ardolino were featured in animated form on an episode of ''

The Simpsons ''The Simpsons'' is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical depiction of American life, epitomized by the Simpson family, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, ...

''. The group served as the unofficial "house band" for ''The Simpsons'' for the season 10–12 period during which time longtime NRBQ fan

Mike Scully Michael C. Scully (born October 2, 1956) is an American television writer and producer. He is known for his work as executive producer and showrunner of the animated sitcom ''The Simpsons'' from 1997 to 2001. Scully grew up in West Springfield, ...

was head writer and executive producer of the show. Several of NRBQ's songs were featured on ''The Simpsons'', including "Mayonnaise and Marmalade", which was written specifically for the show. The band also appeared in non-animated form on camera during the end credits to perform the show's theme song during the episode " Take My Wife, Sleaze". NRBQ also recorded a song entitled "Birdman" for an episode of ''

Space Ghost Coast to Coast ''Space Ghost Coast to Coast'' is an American adult animated comedy talk show created by Mike Lazzo for Cartoon Network and hosted by a re-imagined version of the 1960s Hanna-Barbera cartoon character Space Ghost. In contrast to the original ...

'' entitled " Pilot". The same lineup also appeared in motion pictures, including ''

Day of the Dead The Day of the Dead ( es, Día de Muertos or ''Día de los Muertos'') is a holiday traditionally celebrated on November 1 and 2, though other days, such as October 31 or November 6, may be included depending on the locality. It is widely obser ...

'', ''

Shakes the Clown ''Shakes the Clown'' is a 1991 American black comedy film directed and written by Bobcat Goldthwait, who performs the title role. It also features Julie Brown, Blake Clark, Paul Dooley, Kathy Griffin, Florence Henderson, Tom Kenny, Adam Sand ...

'', and '' 28 Days''. When the NRBQ stopped touring and recording in 2004 due to Adams's diagnosis of throat cancer, Spampinato and his brother, Johnny, continued for a short while with Tom Ardolino in the band Baby Macaroni. In 2008, Spampinato formed a new group called The Spampinato Brothers with his younger brother Johnny Spampinato, who himself toured, recorded and played lead guitar with NRBQ from 1994 until 2008. Johnny replaced NRBQ's previous guitarist Al Anderson, who left the group in 1994 to pursue a career as a songwriter, producer and session player in Nashville. In 2011, The Spampinato Brothers announced the release of their new full-length album, entitled ''Pie in the Sky'', which features eleven songs written by the brothers. During 2012, The Spampinato Brothers embarked on a tour in Japan, showcasing their new material in addition to fan favorites from their years with NRBQ. In 2013, it was announced that they were finishing a new EP,'' Smiles'', which was released later that year under the label Revolve Records. In October 2015, Spampinato was diagnosed with cancer and is undergoing a long term treatment. In 2016,

Cape Cod Cape Cod is a peninsula extending into the Atlantic Ocean from the southeastern corner of mainland Massachusetts, in the northeastern United States. Its historic, maritime character and ample beaches attract heavy tourism during the summer mont ...

musician Sarah Burrell created a

YouCaring YouCaring was a crowdfunding website for personal, medical, and charitable causes. The company was a Certified B corporation based in San Francisco, California. YouCaring did not take a percentage of funds raised on its site, or charge those rais ...

fundraiser page to help with the anticipated expenses. While its intended goal was $50,000, it quickly surpassed that raising, as of February 2016, $90,830. On June 25, 2021,

True North Records True North Records is a Canadian independent record label. History True North Records was founded in Mississauga, Ontario in 1969 by Bernie Finkelstein. By 1971, True North was producing albums for various Canadian musicians, including Bruce Co ...

released a fundraising tribute album, ''Party for Joey-A Sweet Relief Tribute to Joey Spampinato''.

Personal life

Spampinato lives in

Cape Cod, Massachusetts Cape Cod is a peninsula extending into the Atlantic Ocean from the southeastern corner of mainland Massachusetts, in the northeastern United States. Its historic, maritime character and ample beaches attract heavy tourism during the summer mon ...

with his wife, Kami Lyle, a singer, songwriter and trumpeter. He was previously married to country star and rockabilly icon

Skeeter Davis Skeeter Davis (born Mary Frances Penick; December 30, 1931September 19, 2004) was an American country music singer and songwriter who sang crossover pop music songs including 1962's " The End of the World". She started out as part of the Davis S ...

References

External links

*
Interview with Spampinato – July 2009Blog by Spampinato – December 2011Official Facebook pageJoey Spampinato Videos on YouTube
{{DEFAULTSORT:Spampinato, Joey 1948 births Singer-songwriters from New York (state) American people of Italian descent Living people People from the Bronx NRBQ members American folk singers American male singer-songwriters Record producers from New York (state) Guitarists from New York (state) American male bass guitarists 20th-century American bass guitarists 20th-century American male musicians