As first announced on TrunkNation on SiriusXM Volume 106:
Frankie Banali, drummer for Quiet Riot has passed away from his battle with pancreatic cancer, he was age 68. Additionally, Eddie will be on live today till 4P ET remembering Frankie and his wife is expected to call in.
Banali is most known for his lengthy career as the drummer for the multi-platinum heavy metal band Quiet Riot whose Metal Health was the first heavy metal album to reach number one on the Billboard charts and ushered in the 80’s metal band era. He is the only member to play on every album Quiet Riot has released since Metal Health. His signature tone, deep pocket and iconic drum intros are immortalized on many hits including Quiet Riot’s Cum On Feel The Noize, Metal Health (Bang Your Head) Billy Idol’s Mony Mony and L.A. Woman and albums such as Hughes/Thrall, W.A.S.P.’s Headless Children and Crimson Idol as well as over 100 other recordings as a session player in every genre of music. He did the arrangement on the Metal Health album, produced many Quiet Riot recordings and took over managing the band in 1993. He lived for playing live and performed for millions of fans around the world throughout his career.
He was diagnosed with stage four pancreatic cancer on April 17th, 2019 and given six months to live. He 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 August 20th in Los Angeles surrounded by his wife and daughter.
Frankie is survived by his devoted wife Regina, loving daughter Ashley, many dear friends, dedicated fans, and a menagerie of rescue animals all of whom are family. He was a long time advocate for animal rescue, a spokesperson for the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network, and a sponsor of Children International. Donations in his name are encouraged for Fixnation.org, Aspca.org, Pancan.org, or Children.org. His wish for everyone is that you be your own health advocate for early detection so you may live long and rescue many animals.
Funeral plans will be announced at a later date.
15 Responses
Frankie was a great guy, and a great drummer! He’s probably already up there jamming in heaven with Kevin! 🙂 I’ll be rocking with Metal Health and Condition Critical later, “Scream And Shout,” “Run For Cover,” “Bang Your Head” are my QR/Banali faves. RIP Frankie, thanks for all the great music.
I just saw this , first pete way , now this …damn this is awful , I feel sick, pancreatic cancer is horrific , we somehow globally have to do more to find a cure for cancer , my heart goes out to his wife and daughter ~
Frankie Banali was a very underrated drummer…and a real underrated musician, unlike that narcissist Nikki Sixx. I love Banali’s drumming on W.A.S.P.’s “Headless Children”, where Banali was just a beast.
I saw Quiet Riot at the Roxy in Hollywood immediately after the “Metal Health” album was released…up to then, it was the loudest show I ever attended.
….2020 just continues to be a crappy year.
I knew Frankie Bannali sessioned on music outside of Quiet Riot, but didn’t know he did this much.
Wasn’t a Quiet Riot fan, but I did like seeing him behind that big kit in the videos from back in the time. I believe he was one of the first to be endorsed by Sabian cymbals.
2020 has been a major sucky year, and it’s not even finished yet.
Quiet Riot introduced me to real music when I was 13. With the 2nd go around of the Metal Health lineup I had the privilege of talking with Frankie and Kevin after 3 different shows. Frankie was always gracious and engaging and I count the times I saw him play as great moments. However it was how he treated people, genuine, caring and down to earth that means the most. A great drummer and musician but an even better person. Rest in Peace Frankie.