Who was Dino Danelli? Tributes pour in as The Young Rascals drummer dies aged 78

The Young Rascals drummer Dino Danelli recently passed away on Thursday, December 15 at the age of 78. Danelli has been called "one of the greatest unappreciated rock drummers in history."

Danelli's band members disclosed the news on social media by posting a picture of him and wrote that people learned a lot from his experience in the world of music. The post stated:

Dino Danelli’s cause of death has not been revealed yet and there are no plans made yet for a funeral.

Netizens pay tribute to Dino Danelli on Twitter

Dino Danelli managed to build a huge fanbase for himself in all these years for being a flawless drummer. Twitter was flooded with tributes when people heard about his demise:

Dino Danelli gained recognition as a member of The Young Rascals

Danelli started his career with the founding of The Young Rascals in 1964. The group gave their first performance at a club in New Jersey. The Young Rascals were popular for their singles like Good Lovin’, Groovin’, People Got to Be Free, How Can I Be Sure, A Beautiful Morning, and more.

The rock band's self-titled debut album was released in March 1966 and reached the top of the billboard charts. They released eight more albums till 1972.

Although their seventh album Search and Nearness marked the final appearance of Eddie Brigati and Gene Cornish, their next two albums received a decent response critically and commercially. The group continued its successful journey until one of its members, David Brigati, announced his exit in 1970.

The band joined Columbia Records in 1971 and although the group released two albums, they did not receive positive feedback compared to their previous releases. The band members were continuously replaced over all these years and the original members soon started to pursue their solo careers in the music industry.

The main lineup included Dino Danelli, Felix Cavaliere, Eddie Brigati, Gene Cornish, David Brigati, Robert Popwell, and Danny Weis. The group reunited in April 2010 for an event in New York followed by two more events in 2012 and 2013.

Following the disbanding of The Young Rascals in the 70s, Danelli founded another band, Bulldog. However, the group did not last for more than three years. Apart from The Young Rascals and Bulldog, Danelli also played with other bands like Fotomaker, Little Steven & The Disciples of Soul, and more.

Danelli is survived by his family members, whose identities are yet to be disclosed. Danelli has never said anything about his personal life in all these years.

About the author

Anupal is a pop culture writer at Sportskeeda with a degree in Political Science. He developed a keen interest in the lives of celebrities, films, TV shows, and box office collections since an early age. After accumulating significant experience as a content writer across varied fields at companies such as The Indian Wire, DigiStatement, and QuirkyByte Media, he eventually settled on writing about his favorite genre - pop culture.

Anupal believes in conducting in-depth research while writing about any topic and relies on varied sources to ensure he produces holistic articles. He also often glances through content that was published in the 80s and 90s to gain a better understanding of the subject he is covering.

Anupal admires Robert Downey Jr., who played one of his favorite Marvel superheroes, Iron Man. He is inspired by the actor's resilience and the determination in overcoming past struggles to building a successful Hollywood career and admires the way he articulates his thoughts while speaking in interviews.

If Anupal could travel back in time, he would love to experience James Cameron's 2009 film 'Avatar' in a theatre full of fans. When he's not busy working, he binges on the latest OTT titles across languages.

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