Dino Danelli, The Rascals Drummer, Dead at 78

His death was announced via Facebook on Thursday, Dec. 15.

Dino Danelli, the longtime drummer for the '60s band The Rascals, has died. He was 78.

The news was confirmed via Facebook on Thursday, Dec. 15, with Danelli's bandmate Gene Cornish announcing, "It is with a broken heart that I must tell you of the passing of Dino Danelli." 

"He was my brother and the greatest drummer I've ever seen," Cornish added, along with some throwback pics of the two musicians. "I am devastated at this moment. Rest In Peace Dino I love you brother."

View the original article to see embedded media.

Danelli's spokesperson, Joe Russo, also added an announcement post to Facebook, writing, "I will attempt to inform you of the circumstances surrounding Dino's passing while at the same time providing my personal thoughts and reflections of who he was to me, at least in some small, inadequate measure." 

"To know Dino, you must understand that art was his life," Russo wrote, calling Danelli an "insomniac," who was "sometimes staying awake for days, because he was always writing, painting, drawing, watching films." 

He also shared that Danelli was "beyond private" and "humble to a fault," making Russo choosy over which details to share with the public. 

Russo noted that Danelli had some health issues going on in the years prior to his death, but in the early part of 2022, ended up in a rehab center "where his condition incrementally grew worse." 

"He'd spend every day there until his passing," he added, noting that Danelli's "primary challenges were artery disease and congestive heart failure, but there were many others." 

"He had already required an angioplasty over a decade earlier," Russo also noted. 

After then sharing some fond memories of his time with the renowned drummer, Russo wrote that Danelli was "undemanding, humble, and despite his weakened condition, managed to project a certain air of affability."

Danelli's band—which was founded in the 1960s—split in 1972 after their ninth studio album, The Island of Real, but they later reunited five years later for their induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. 

The group would later tour together again, taking their show "The Rascals: Once Upon a Dream" on the road in 2013.