Considered one of the greatest drummers of all time, Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Dino Danelli died December 15, 2022 at the age of 78. While an official cause of death was not given, Daneilli had been dealing with some heart related issues in the past few years.
The New Jersey native was a co-founding member of the band The Young Rascals – also known as The Rascals. He was also a part of Steven Van Zandt’s band Disiples of Soul.
Rascals bandmate Gene Cornish called Danelli, “the greatest drummer I’ve ever seen.” Van Zandt echoed the sentiment saying Danelli was, “one of the greatest drummers of all time.”
Prior to meeting Gene Cornish, Felix Cavaliere, and Eddie Brigati in 1965 to form the Young Rascals, Danelli played jazz and R&B. He also played with Ronnie Speeks and the Elrods.
In an age where gold and platinum awards were determined solely on record sales, The Young Rascals debut album sold over 100,000 copies to be certified gold and their single “Good Lovin’” went to the top of the singles chart.
In 1968 the band dropped the Young from their name to become simply The Rascals and the hits continued with “A Beautiful Morning” and “People Got to Be Free”.
But The Rascals were a short lived band that broke up in 1971.
After the breakup of The Rascals, Cornish and Danelli again paired up to form the band Bulldog, but again it was a short lived project and the band split up in 1975.
Danelli continued to play, performing with Fotormaker and in 1982, joining the Disciples of Soul but stayed with the band for only two albums. There was a brief reunion of The Rascals in 1988 with a tour and again in 2012 for the musical biopic “Once Upon a Dream” which lasted for two years before the band split again.
He was born on July 23, 1944 in Jersey City, New Jersey.
A list of survivors was not given.
Feature photo credit: The Rascals 1969.JPG – publicity photo