By Jim Monaghan
Dino Danelli was the coolest drummer on the planet.
I will not argue this point.
When he passed away on December 15, my memories immediately shot back to the cover of the Rascals Collections album (they were called the Young Rascals back then) and Dino behind the kit in the upper left hand corner.
That picture alone made me want to learn how to play the drums.
Never mind how great his drumming chops were.
Dino. Danelli. Just. Looked. Cool.
A couple of years ago, I was part of a tribute to the late Pat DiNizio of the Smithereens, and in speaking about Pat and the band, I brought up how “Jersey” they were…how much like all of use they were (still are, I might add). So when they made it big, by extension, so did we.
It was similar with the Rascals.
With Danelli from Jersey City, Eddie Brigati from Garfield, and Felix Cavaliere from nearby Westchester (NY) County, the addition of Gene Cornish (Canada to Rochester NY to NJ) sealed the deal, turning them into one of the first power trios, before that term had even been coined.
If you grew up in the New York/New Jersey area, you know how HUGE the Rascals were. If you didn’t, you’ll have to take my word for it.
Cavaliere and Brigati handled the vocals, and Cornish was VERY underrated as a guitar player, but it was Danelli who absolutely DEMANDED your attention with his drumming.
He had the heart-throb good looks (it was pretty easy to mistake him for Paul McCartney), could play rock and roll with a jazz drummer’s timing and phrasing while still pounding on the kit, and once he started to twirl the sticks…fuggedaboutit.
When Steve Van Zandt left Bruce Springsteen’s E Street Band to put together Little Steven and the Disciples of Soul, it wasn’t an accident that Danelli was his choice to play drums.
His induction speech of the Rascals into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, put everything into perfect perspective, calling Danelli the “greatest rock drummer ever.”
Who am I…who are any of us…to argue with Steve Van Zandt?
