Not being a “metal guy”, I am not very familiar with Frankie’s drumming. As I search around the internet for some insight into Frankie Banali’s drumming and history - something more than the Rolling Stone or Billboard obituaries -I ran across this quote on DrummerWorld.com. “I remember him telling me that his day wasn't complete if he didn't listen to Elvin Jones, Art Blakey, Roy Haynes or Tony Williams. He was a huge jazz fan, which many people may not know.” Frankie was a drummer who was primarily known as a heavy metal drummer whose career was defined by his career long involvement in the band “Quiet Riot”. One thing I discovered in researching his musical history really resonated with me - Frankie played on a large number of band albums as a “ghost drummer”, replacing the groups’ drummers and having to sign non-disclosure agreements to not talk about it. Been there, done that. Play, get check, shut your mouth. It goes to his professionalism. His peers praise his work ethic, his discipline, and above all, his musicianship.
Here is a report from deadline.com
Frankie Banali, the drummer for Sunset Strip legends Quiet Riot, died of pancreatic cancer on Thursday. He was 68 and his death was announced by his family.
Banali was a public presence on his disease’s progress since his initial diagnosis in April 2019. Although he missed several shows during treatment, he was active on social media. A GoFundMe page was created to assist Banali with his battle, raising more than $47,000.
A statement from his family said that Banali “put up an inspiringly brave and courageous 16-month battle to the end, and continued playing live as long as he could. Standard chemotherapy stopped working, and a series of strokes made the continuation on a clinical trial impossible. He ultimately lost the fight at 7:18 PM on Aug. 20 in Los Angeles, surrounded by his wife and daughter.”
Katherine Turman, the co-author of Louder Than Hell: The Definitive Oral History of Metal, remembered Banali as “always energetic, upbeat, and positive, as evidenced in his powerful drumming, and the massive amount of musician peers who cited him as a friend and influence. A cool, much-loved guy and super-hard worker and drummer, he’ll be missed by so many in the LA scene and around the world.”
Banali was born in Queens, N.Y., on Nov. 14, 1951, moving to Los Angeles in the mid 1970s. He was first a drummer in the revived New Steppenwolf, led by former bassist Nick St. Nicholas. He left that gig in 1979 and began working with singer Kevin DuBrow, whose Quiet Riot disbanded when guitarist Randy Rhoads and bassist Rudy Sarzo left to join Ozzy Osbourne.
This is a zoom meeting of his shortly after Frankie’s death. Kind of a heavy metal wake: Very interesting and a little x rated. Rock and Roll!