Dino Danelli

Dino Danelli, born Robert Daniel on July 23, 1944, in Jersey City, New Jersey, was an American drummer and visual artist best known as a founding member of the rock group the Young Rascals. He died on December 15, 2022, at age 78, from coronary artery disease and congestive heart failure at a rehabilitation facility in Manhattan.

Danelli received his early training as a jazz drummer and had performed with Lionel Hampton before relocating to New Orleans by 1961 to play R&B. He returned to New York in 1962 as part of a band called Ronnie Speeks & the Elrods and also performed alongside Little Willie John. During this period he crossed paths with singer Eddie Brigati and pianist Felix Cavaliere, both active on the local R&B circuit. In 1963, Danelli and Cavaliere traveled to Las Vegas to work with a casino house band, backing singer Sandu Scott and her Scottys, before returning to New York City in early 1964.

In late 1964, Danelli joined Cavaliere, Brigati, and Canadian-born guitarist Gene Cornish to form the Young Rascals, making their debut at the Choo Choo Club in Garfield, New Jersey. Beyond his role behind the drum kit, Danelli and Cavaliere regularly visited record stores to identify material the group could perform, a process that surfaced songs including "Mustang Sally" and "Good Lovin'." He remained with the Rascals for seven years, from 1965 to 1972, and performed on three number-one hits. The group was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1997, with all four original members reuniting to perform at the ceremony.

Following the Rascals' dissolution in 1972, Danelli and Cornish formed Bulldog, releasing two albums — Bulldog on Decca in 1972 and Smasher on Buddah in 1974 — and charting a hit single, "No," before the group disbanded in 1975. Danelli subsequently spent time with the Leslie West Band alongside bassist Busta Jones, then joined Cornish again in 1978 as part of Fotomaker, which also included former Raspberries member Wally Bryson. By 1980, he had become a member of Little Steven & The Disciples of Soul. In 1999, Danelli produced a collection of tracks for New York singer-songwriter Roxanne Fontana, released as the album Love Is Blue on Etoile Records.

Danelli also worked as a visual artist, creating album cover designs for both the Rascals and Little Steven & The Disciples of Soul. In April 2010, he joined his former bandmates at the Kristen Ann Carr Fund dinner at the Tribeca Grill in New York City, one of several reunions the group undertook in later years. The Rascals performed six shows at the Capitol Theatre in Port Chester, New York, in December 2012 before bringing their production to Broadway.

Danelli's Broadway credit came in 2013, when the Rascals performed fifteen dates at the Richard Rodgers Theatre from April 15 through May 5 as part of their production Once Upon A Dream. The show also toured North America, with stops in Toronto, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Phoenix, Chicago, Detroit, Rochester, and New York City. A tribute concert honoring Danelli was held in May 2023, following his death the previous December.