Claude Schnell (born May 17, 1955) is an American keyboardist who has been a member of the bands Magic, Rough Cutt, Dio, and Last in Line.

Biography

Born in

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. Kings County is the most populous Administrative divisions of New York (state)#County, county in the State of New York, ...

, New York, and raised in France, when he was six years old his family moved back to New York, and Schnell immersed himself in the traditional classical piano curriculum of private lessons, practice and recitals. As he was growing up, with the impact of artists like

Jimi Hendrix James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix (born Johnny Allen Hendrix; November 27, 1942September 18, 1970) was an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. Although his mainstream career spanned only four years, he is widely regarded as one of the most ...

playing in the Village,

Humble Pie Humble Pie are an English rock band formed by guitarist and singer Steve Marriott in Moreton, Essex, in 1969. They are known as one of the first supergroups of the late 1960s and found success in the early 1970s with songs such as " Black Cof ...

at the

Fillmore Fillmore may refer to: Places Canada * Fillmore, Saskatchewan * Rural Municipality of Fillmore No. 96, Saskatchewan United States * Fillmore, California * Fillmore District, San Francisco, California * Fillmore, Louisiana * Fillmore, Illino ...

and Zeppelin at

Madison Square Garden Madison Square Garden, colloquially known as The Garden or by its initials MSG, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in New York City. It is located in Midtown Manhattan between Seventh and Eighth avenues from 31st to 33rd Street, above Pennsylva ...

, Schnell discovered rock and roll. He maintained the discipline of his Classical studies, he also began playing in a wide assortment of bands. Schnell left New York City to spend several years in Buffalo where more long-term musical friendships were forged, most notably with bass players Billy Sheehan and Joe Cristofanilli, and drummer Pete O'Donnell. Upon arriving in Los Angeles in the early 1980s, it was not long before Schnell's virtuoso talents were in high demand. He formed two promising bands, Magic and Rough Cutt. By 1983, Schnell's musical diligence and precision had earned him a reputation as one of L.A.'s most serious and well-respected players. Schnell joined Dio in May 1983. Schnell first played with Dio on the '' Holy Diver'' tour, though he did not play on the album itself. After almost seven years in that band, Schnell chose to redefine his artistic focus, and embark upon his own musical odyssey.

Discography

Dio

* ''

The Last in Line ''The Last In Line'' is the second studio album by American heavy metal band Dio, released on July 2, 1984. It is the first Dio album to feature former Rough Cutt keyboardist Claude Schnell. It became the band's highest-charting album in both ...

'' (1984) * ''

Sacred Heart The Most Sacred Heart of Jesus ( la, Cor Jesu Sacratissimum) is one of the most widely practised and well-known Catholic devotions, wherein the heart of Jesus is viewed as a symbol of "God's boundless and passionate love for mankind". This devo ...

(1985) * '' Intermission'' (1986) * ''

Dream Evil Dream Evil is a Swedish heavy metal band, assembled by producer Fredrik Nordström in 1999. History Producer Fredrik Nordström had the ambition of creating a power metal band of his own for a long time, but had difficulty finding anyone w ...

'' (1987)

Others

* 1983 - Rough Cutt – Hollywood Hottest Unsigned Rock Bands (compilation) * 1985 - Y&T – ''

Down for the Count ''Down for the Count'' is the seventh studio album by the American heavy metal band Y&T, released in 1985 by A&M Records. The album marks the band's change to a lighter sound to find success in the hair metal scene. It contains the band's big ...

'' * 1985 - Mark Edwards – ''Code of Honor'' * 1989 - Loudness – '' Soldier of Fortune'' * 1989 - Doro – ''

Force Majeure In contract law, (from Law French: 'overwhelming force', ) is a common clause in contracts which essentially frees both parties from liability or obligation when an extraordinary event or circumstance beyond the control of the parties, s ...

'' * 1993 - Impellitteri – ''

Victim of the System Impellitteri is an American heavy metal band from Los Angeles formed and led by guitarist Chris Impellitteri, vocalist Rob Rock, and bassist James Amelio Pulli. The band has sold millions of albums worldwide. History Chris Impellitteri for ...

'' * 1993 -

Gary Hoey Gary Hoey (born August 23, 1960) is an American hard rock and latterly blues rock guitarist, singer and songwriter. He has recorded over 20 albums and had five Top 20 ''Billboard'' hits. Early life and early career Hoey was born in Lowell, Mas ...

– '' Animal Instinct'' * 2003 - Neil Turbin – ''

Threatcon Delta ''Threatcon Delta'' is the debut studio album by American heavy metal vocalist Neil Turbin. The album was released in 2003 on Metal Mayhem Records, and contains twelve original tracks and two remakes. 25 different musicians appear on the album, ...

Notes

External links

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Claude Schnell
Rough Cutt members Dio (band) members Living people American rock keyboardists American heavy metal keyboardists American expatriates in France 1955 births Impellitteri members 20th-century American keyboardists {{keyboardist-stub