Frankie Banali of Quiet Riot Passes Away at 68

2020-08-21

Quiet Riot’s “Metal Health” album cover – Story by Anne Erickson

Longtime Quiet Riot drummer Frankie Banali has passed away after a battle with pancreatic cancer

Frankie Banali of Quiet Riot has passed away after a fight with pancreatic cancer. He was 68.

The drummer was diagnosed with stage four pancreatic cancer in April 2019 and shared the his diagnosis with the world a few months later. Even while undergoing cancer treatment, Banali kept his spirits up and performed as many Quiet Riot shows as he could.

Banali was very open with fans about hit battle and shared updates via social media. Friends also started a GoFundMe page to help Banali pay for medical bills, which helped raise more than $47,000.

An official statement from Banali’s family states that Banali “put up an inspiringly brave and courageous 16-month battle to the end and continued playing live as long as he could. Standard chemotherapy stopped working, and a series of strokes made the continuation on a clinical trial impossible. He ultimately lost the fight at 7:18PM on Aug. 20 in Los Angeles surrounded by his wife and daughter.”

Banali rose to fame as the drummer of Quiet Riot, who skyrocketed to the top of the charts in 1983 with their album, “Metal Health.” The album’s singles “Metal Health (Bang Your Head) and the band’s cover of Slade’s “Cum On Feel the Noize” helped make the album he first heavy metal album to top the Billboard albums chart.

Quiet Riot’s journey was documented in the 2015 documentary, “Quiet Riot: Well Now You’re Here, There’s No Way Back.”

Funeral plans are forthcoming.

Anne Erickson
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