Frankie Banali Net Worth

What was Frankie Banali's Net Worth?

Frankie Banali was an American rock and roll drummer who had a net worth of $10 million at the time of his death in August 2020. Frankie Banali was best known as a member of the heavy metal band Quiet Riot. His first album with the band was the 1983 album "Metal Health," which became the first heavy metal album to top the Billboard 200. Banali also played drums with the heavy metal band W.A.S.P.

Early Life

Frankie Banali was born on November 14, 1951 in the Queens borough of New York City to Italian immigrant parents Martha and Jack.

Career Beginnings

In 1975, Banali moved to Los Angeles, where he spent four years as a drummer in various bands. Among them was the rock band Steppenwolf. Banali was also a prolific session musician, performing on several hits for other artists, notably Billy Idol.

Quiet Riot

In 1982, Banali joined the heavy metal band Quiet Riot, which had been around since 1973 but had broken up in 1980. The revived version of the band originally included lead vocalist Kevin DuBrow, bassist Chuck Wright, and guitarist Carlos Cavazo, but Wright was soon replaced by Rudy Sarzo. After signing with Pasha Records, Quiet Riot had its commercial breakthrough in 1983 with the album "Metal Health," which became the first heavy metal album to top the Billboard 200. It spawned two hit singles: the title track and the Slade cover "Cum On Feel the Noize." A worldwide sensation, "Metal Health" ultimately sold over ten million copies and was certified six-times platinum by the RIAA. Quiet Riot's next album, "Conditional Critical" (1984), was not nearly as successful, although it did reach number 15 on the Billboard 200. Around this time, tensions between Quiet Riot's members were causing the band to break apart, but Banali persevered as the lineup changed several times around him. The band released two more albums, "QR III" (1986) and "QR" (1988), before disbanding in 1989.

Quiet Riot got back together in 1993 with original members Banali, DuBrow, and Cavazo and new bassist Kenny Hillery. The band went on to release the album "Terrified." After that, Banali became the new manager of Quiet Riot. For the band's next studio album, "Down to the Bone" (1995), bassist Chuck Wright returned. However, he was replaced by Rudy Sarzo on the 1999 album "Alive and Well." The lineup remained for the band's subsequent album, "Guilty Pleasures" (2001). A couple of years after that album's release, Quiet Riot broke up again. Banali and DuBrow would reform the band in 2004 with Wright and new guitarist Alex Grossi. With this lineup, Quiet Riot released the album "Rehab" in 2006. The next year, DuBrow died from an overdose, and in 2008 the band was dissolved once again. With the blessing of DuBrow's family, Quiet Riot was reformed in 2010 with Banali, Wright, and Grossi. The band later added lead vocalist Jizzy Pearl, and released the album "Quiet Riot 10" in 2014. Pearl was replaced by James Durbin on the band's subsequent albums "Road Rage" (2017) and "Hollywood Cowboys" (2019).

W.A.S.P.

Around the time Quiet Riot was falling apart in the late 1980s, Banali joined another heavy metal band, W.A.S.P. His first album with the band was the 1989 album "The Headless Children," which reached number 48 on the Billboard 200. Following a temporary hiatus in 1990, the band got back together to record the rock opera "The Crimson Idol," which came out in 1992. The next studio album by W.A.S.P. was "Still Not Black Enough," released in the UK and Japan in 1995 before a US release in 1996. W.A.S.P. didn't release its subsequent studio album, "Unholy Terror," until 2001. In 2004, the band released "The Neon God: Part 1 – The Rise" and "The Neon God: Part 2 – The Demise," which form a rock opera about a supernaturally-gifted orphan named Jesse.

Other Musical Contributions

Banali performed with a number of other singers and bands over the years, recording albums with Hughes/Thrall, Billy Thorpe, Alex Masi, Heavy Bones, and Blackthorne, among others.

Personal Life and Death

In 1994, Banali married his first wife, Karen. They had a daughter in 1997 named Ashley. In 2009, Karen passed away from heart failure. Banali went on to marry film producer, director, and actress Regina Russell in 2015.

In 2019, Banali announced that he had been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, which had caused his father's death in 1974. He eventually passed away from the disease in the summer of 2020.

Frankie Banali died on August 20, 2020 at the age of 68 after a 16-month battle with cancer. Upon his passing, his wife released a statement saying: "He lived for playing live and performed for millions of fans around the world throughout his career. His wish for everyone is that you be your own health advocate for early detection so you may live long and rescue many animals."