Quiet Riot drummer Frankie Banali died on Thursday, August 20, 2020 after battling pancreatic cancer. His wife Regina Russell Banali made the announcement. He was 69 years old.

“He put up an inspiringly brave and courageous 16-month battle to the end and continued playing live as long as he could,” Russell Banali wrote.

“He lived for playing live and performed for millions of fans around the world throughout his career,” she wrote. “His wish for everyone is that you be your own health advocate for early detection so you may live long and rescue many animals.”

Banali was the only remaining member of Quiet Riot’s original 1982 lineup. He was also the heavy metal band’s manager since 1994. Outside of Quiet Riot, he also played drums in the metal group W.A.S.P., played with Billy Idol, and was briefly a touring drummer for Steppenwolf and Faster Pussycat.

Banali was born on November 14, 1951 in Queens, New York City. In ’75 he moved to LA where he worked with several bands. He and Kevin DuBrow formed the group DuBrow in 1980 with multiple musicians playing with them until they settled on guitarist Carlos Cavazo and bassist Chuck Wright. Once Rudy Sarzo replaced Wright, the band changed their name to Quiet Riot.

The band signed with Pasha Records in ’82 and soon after released their successful Metal Health, featuring the title track and “Cum on Feel the Noize.” The album reached No. 1 on the Billboard 200 charts, making it the first heavy metal album to achieve the spot. It sold over 10 million copies worldwide and began a decade of popular hair metal rock.

Once they released Condition Critical in ’84 the band was dealing with internal tension, but Banali stuck with the group. In ’89 they toured for their self-titled album and then broke up.

Around this time, he played with W.A.S.P. on The Headless Children album. When Quiet Riot disbanded, he joined W.A.S.P. on tour and followed that by touring with Faster Pussycat for their album Wake Me When It’s Over.

He rejoined Quiet Riot in ’93 and became the manager a year later. They released three more albums and several more lineup changes before disbanding in 2003. A year later Banali and DuBrow reformed the group and released Rehab in ’06, a year before DuBrow’s death.

In 2010 he reformed the band and four years later they released 10. At that point, Banali led a Kickstarter campaign to produce a documentary on the band. Quiet Riot – Well Now You’re Here There’s No Way Back, produced and directed by Russell Banali, premiered at the Newport Beach Film Festival in 2014. In 2017, Banali was inducted into the Hall of Heavy Metal History for his contributions to heavy metal drumming.