Frankie Banali was born on November 14, 1951, in Queens, New York. As Quiet Riot’s drummer, he played on the band’s 1983 album Metal Health and co-wrote “Metal Health (Bang Your Head).” The album reached No. 1 on the Billboard album chart, carrying a musician who cared deeply about arrangements and recording sound into a much larger spotlight.
In a 2017 interview with Michael Aubrecht, Banali connected his taste for large, resonant drums to the big-band records he heard growing up. His father listened to jazz and opera; his mother loved flamenco. As a child, he made a snare from a coffee can, paper and pen springs. Hearing a sound and finding a way to produce it became a lasting part of his work.
After moving to Los Angeles in 1975, Banali worked across bands and recording sessions. His partnership with singer Kevin DuBrow began in 1980, in the group called DuBrow that developed into Quiet Riot’s Metal Health lineup. Speaking to Ultimate Classic Rock in 2015, Banali traced their connection to a shared love of British bands from the 1960s and ’70s. His studio work also included Billy Idol’s recording of “Mony Mony.” He recalled spending about 45 minutes establishing the drum sound, while recording the track took half an hour. Producer Spencer Proffer had hired him for sessions before Metal Health, too. Banali arrived at the album with both recording experience and an existing working relationship with its producer.
At Pasha Studios, Banali took a practical approach to getting the sound he wanted. He told Aubrecht that he covered carpeted walls with plywood and removed acoustic ceiling tiles above his kit, making the room more reflective and allowing microphones to sit higher. The drums on Metal Health were recorded with a five-piece kit. The enormous setups associated with his stage image weren’t what he used to make that album.
He was equally deliberate about the parts. In a 1984 Modern Drummer interview, Banali described helping refine arrangements after DuBrow and guitarist Carlos Cavazo brought in songs. “My main concern is playing songs,” he said. He would remove fills that didn’t serve a track and find a tempo the whole band could settle into. That work extended to “Cum On Feel the Noize.” Proffer wanted Quiet Riot to cover the Slade song, and Banali recalled that the musicians weren’t initially enthusiastic. After a run-through, he and the producer worked through the arrangement before the band recorded it. The cover became Quiet Riot’s breakthrough single, putting his playing at the center of their growing audience.
DuBrow’s death in 2007 ended their long partnership. Banali initially ruled out continuing Quiet Riot, then rebuilt the band in 2010 with the blessing of DuBrow’s family. The decision brought the songs back to the stage with a different singer and left Banali responsible for carrying forward a band he had helped shape from the rehearsal room onward.
Banali died on August 20, 2020. That September, Quiet Riot announced that they would continue at his request, extending the band’s life beyond the drummer who had brought it back after DuBrow’s death.
