Several rock stars took to social media this past weekend to pay tribute to Dino Danelli, the founding drummer of The Rascals who died on Dec. 15 at 78.
“Dino was a drummer in a class of very few and a great guy,” tweeted Paul Stanley of KISS. “A showman whose roots in Gene Krupa and Buddy Rich made him a ‘drummer’s drummer.’ What style. So great to watch and listen to.”
Stevie Van Zandt remembered Danelli as “one of the greatest drummers of all time” and Billy Joel called him “one of the greatest drummers in popular music.”
Danelli’s friend and The Rascals archivist Joe Russo shared on Facebook that Danelli died of coronary artery disease. “He was also having another bout with congestive heart failure, but there were many other conditions as well,” wrote Russo. “He had already required an angioplasty over a decade earlier.”
Danelli was playing drums with jazz and R&B acts when he teamed up with Felix Cavaliere, Eddie Brigati and Ottawa-born Gene Cornish to form the Young Rascals in 1964. They went on to release nine studio albums in six years, including 1967’s Groovin’, which went to No. 2 in Canada.
“He was my brother and the greatest drummer I’ve ever seen,” Cornish wrote on Facebook. “I am devastated at this moment. Rest In Peace Dino I love you brother.”
The Rascals had hits like “Good Lovin’,” “How Can I Be Sure,” “A Beautiful Morning” and “People Got to Be Free” and were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1997.
Danelli went on to form the band Bulldog and later played in the Leslie West Band, Fotomaker and Little Steven & the Disciples of Soul.
The Rascals reunited in 2012 for Once Upon a Dream, a stage show that played on Broadway and went on a tour that included a run at Toronto’s Royal Alexandra Theatre.
“He didn't want it to end and he was almost obsessed with conjuring ideas to keep the ball rolling,” recalled Russo. “He asked me to assist him in various approaches, and I did, but it was not to be. Almost simultaneously with this projects failure, it seemed Dino's intense artistic spirit began to drift away.”
Russo said he watched Danelli’s health deteriorate and the musician spent the last months of his life in a health care facility.
“He never felt sorry for himself, or expressed bitterness or regret,” Russo wrote. “He told me during the earliest stages of his illness that ‘I had a good 75 years.’”
Danelli is survived by his longtime partner Sheryl.