James Alexander Bonfanti (born December 17, 1948, in

Windber, Pennsylvania Windber is a borough in Somerset County, Pennsylvania, United States, which is located approximately south of Johnstown, Pennsylvania, Johnstown. The population was 3,930 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. A former manufacturing tow ...

) is an American

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wale ...

drummer A drummer is a percussionist who creates music using drums. Most contemporary western music ensemble, bands that play Rock music, rock, Pop music, pop, jazz, or Contemporary R&B, R&B music include a drummer for purposes including timekeepi ...

who is best known for having been a member of the band Raspberries.

Career

Bonfanti's music career began in 1965 when he saw

The Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...

on ''

The Ed Sullivan Show ''The Ed Sullivan Show'' is an American television variety show that ran on CBS from June 20, 1948, to March 28, 1971, and was hosted by New York City, New York entertainment columnist Ed Sullivan. It was replaced in September 1971 by the ''CB ...

'', which eventually led him to join a band called The Mods, later renamed The Choir. Their recording of "It’s Cold Outside" reached the national charts in 1967. In 1970, Bonfanti,

Wally Bryson Wallace Carter Bryson (born July 18, 1949) is an American guitarist, best remembered for his time with the Power pop, power-pop group Raspberries (band), Raspberries, famous for their hit "Go All the Way (song), Go All The Way". After the Raspbe ...

Dave Smalley Dave Smalley is an American musician, best known as the lead singer for the hardcore punk bands DYS and Dag Nasty, and skate punk band All as well as lead singer/guitarist with Down by Law. He is known for his influence on pop punk music an ...

and

Eric Carmen Eric Howard Carmen (August 11, 1949 – March 2024) was an American singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. He was the lead vocalist of the Raspberries, with whom he recorded the hit " Go All the Way" and four albums. He embarked on a so ...

formed Raspberries. Together they produced four albums, eight singles, and a U.S. top ten and gold record for their major hit " Go All the Way". Following two albums both released in 1972, creative tension came to a head sparked largely by Carmen's creative dominance over the contributions of fellow members. After the release of the Raspberries' third album, ''Side 3'', Smalley and Bonfanti left the Raspberries to form their own band, Dynamite. , Bonfanti resides in

Mentor, Ohio Mentor ( ) is the largest city in Lake County, Ohio, United States. The population was 47,450 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Cleveland metropolitan area. Mentor was first settled in 1797. In 1876, James A. Garfield purchased a home in ...

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bonfanti, Jim 1948 births Living people People from Windber, Pennsylvania Drummers from Pennsylvania 20th-century American drummers American male drummers 20th-century American male musicians