Drummer for the legendary metal band, Quiet Riot, Frankie Banali, passed away yesterday after a battle with cancer.

Banali was diagnosed with Stage 4 pancreatic cancer in April of 2019 and was given six months to live. After going public in November, Banali continued to perform saying

 “everything to win and everything to lose in this situation. I intend to treat it the way I treat everything, which is to put everything into it and fight it all of the way to the end.”

Frankie continued to live his life to the fullest and surpassed that six months, making it to 16 before losing the fight. He was 68.

Banali joined Quiet Riot after Rudy Sarzo and the legendary late Randy Rhodes left to join Ozzy Osbourne. With songs like “Cum on Feel the Noize” and “Mental Health Bang Your Head”, he helped launch Quiet Riot into the mainstream and score the first number one heavy metal album on the Billboard charts.

Aside from drumming on every single record of Quiet Riot’s career, Banali spent time in W.A.S.P; Steppenwolf; played on Billy Idol’s version of “Mony Mony” and “L.A. Woman” and countless hours as a session drummer for a variety of other projects.

Over 17 rounds of chemo and treatments, living in pain, Frankie kept his sense of humor thru it all. In June, during an interview with Eddie Trunk, Banali said:

“Right now you probably wouldn’t recognize me,” Banali said. “Not only did it take all the hair on the top of my head, but it took my beard, my eyebrows, my eyelashes. Let me put it to you this way: I have just really improved my Olympic swimming chances with the loss of body hair.”

Frankie was a great guy and one hell of a drummer and is already missed by so many in the rock community.

A Go Fund Me was set up in April to help with treatment expenses and I’m sure donations would still be appreciated to help with the mountains of accumulated medical bills.