Frankie Banali was best known as a member of Quiet Riot, the Los Angeles based metal band whose 1983 breakout album Metal Health was the first heavy metal album to top the Billboard album chart. They racked up huge hits Like “Cum On Feel The Noise,” “Mamma We’re All Crazy,” and “Metal Health (Bang Your Head.)” Their videos were in heavy rotation on MTV, and they toured the world packing some of the world’s largest venues including the US Festival in 1983 and Japan Live Aid in 1987. I got to know Frankie in the early 2000s. He contacted me about some drums belonging to jazz great Elvin Jones. I was surprised to discover that he was very different from his Quiet Riot persona. I had only known him as the crazed metal drummer with huge hair, massive drum kit, and twirling sticks. When he spoke, he gushed endlessly about […]

June 2025 Issue