John Fair "Jocko" Marcellino (born May 12, 1950) is an American musician best known as one of the founders of the

rock and roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock-n-roll, and rock 'n' roll) is a Genre (music), genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It Origins of rock and roll, originated from African ...

group

Sha Na Na Sha Na Na was an American rock and roll and doo-wop revival group formed in 1969. The group performed a song-and-dance repertoire based on 1950s hit songs that both revived and parodied the music and the New York City street culture of the 1 ...

, where he performed drums and vocals. He performed with Sha Na Na at the original

Woodstock The Woodstock Music and Art Fair, commonly referred to as Woodstock, was a music festival held from August 15 to 18, 1969, on Max Yasgur's dairy farm in Bethel, New York, southwest of the town of Woodstock, New York, Woodstock. Billed as "a ...

Festival, in the movie '' Grease'' and on their eponymous syndicated TV show.

Early life and education

Marcellino was born in

Quincy, Massachusetts Quincy ( ) is a city in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States. It is the largest city in the county. Quincy is part of the Greater Boston area as one of Boston's immediate southern suburbs. Its population in ...

, and raised in Braintree, the fifth of six children. His younger sister is

Noella Marcellino Mother Noella Marcellino, O.S.B., (born Martha A. Marcellino; June 30, 1951) is an American Benedictine nun who has earned a doctorate in microbiology from the University of Connecticut. Studying fungi in France on a Fulbright Scholarship, she c ...

. He began drumming at age seven and formed his first band, The Miltones from

Milton, Massachusetts Milton is a town in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States. Milton is an immediate southern suburb of Boston, Massachusetts. The population was 28,630 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Milton is located in the relatively hilly ...

, at age 13. At 17, he joined The Pilgrims with saxophonist Lennie Baker, whom he later recruited for Sha Na Na. He was also an all conference and all state football player at

Archbishop Williams High School Archbishop Williams High School is a coeducation, co-educational Catholicism, Catholic school in Braintree, Massachusetts, Braintree, Massachusetts, United States. It was founded in 1949 by the Sisters of Charity of Nazareth. Archbishop William ...

in Braintree. He attended Columbia University as member of the class of 1972. Marcellino earned a B.A. from

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

and later a master's degree in drama from

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private university, private research university in New York City, New York, United States. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded in 1832 by Albert Gallatin as a Nondenominational ...

Career

Sha Na Na

During his freshman year at the age of 19, a group of students and Marcellino formed

. In the summer of 1969, Marcellino performed with Sha Na Na at

, only the group's eighth performance. Marcellino continued to tour with Sha Na Na, along with co-founder Donny York and long-term member Screamin' Scott Simon. Sha Na Na announced they would no longer tour on December 5, 2022. He also tours with his side

rhythm and blues Rhythm and blues, frequently abbreviated as R&B or R'n'B, is a genre of popular music that originated within African American communities in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predomina ...

band "Jocko and the Rockets".

Acting

Marcellino's acting credits include television's ''

Veronica Mars ''Veronica Mars'' is an American teen neo-noir Mystery fiction, mystery Drama (film and television), drama television series created by screenwriter Rob Thomas (writer), Rob Thomas. The series is set in the fictional city, fictional town of Ne ...

'', ''

NYPD Blue ''NYPD Blue'' is an American police procedural television series set in New York City, exploring the struggles of the fictional 15th Precinct detective squad in Manhattan. Each episode typically intertwines several plots involving an ensemble ca ...

'', ''

Ally McBeal ''Ally McBeal'' is an American legal comedy-drama television series created by David E. Kelley that originally aired on Fox from September 8, 1997, to May 20, 2002. It revolves around Calista Flockhart in the title role as a lawyer working ...

'', '' The Tiger Woods Story'', ''

Herman's Head ''Herman's Head'' is an American sitcom that aired on the Fox network from September 8, 1991, until April 21, 1994. The series was created by Andy Guerdat and Steve Kreinberg, and produced by Witt/Thomas Productions in association with Touchst ...

'', ''

Good Advice Good Advice may refer to: *Good Advice (film), ''Good Advice'' (film), a 2001 film *Good Advice (album), ''Good Advice'' (album), by Basia Bulat, 2016 *Good Advice (TV series), ''Good Advice'' (TV series), 1993 *Good Advice (song), "Good Advice" (s ...

'', '' 18 Wheels of Justice'', ''

The Invisible Man ''The Invisible Man'' is an 1897 science fiction novel by British writer H. G. Wells. Originally serialised in '' Pearson's Weekly'' in 1897, it was published as a novel the same year. The Invisible Man to whom the title refers is Griffin, a s ...

'', ''

Amazing Stories ''Amazing Stories'' is an American science fiction magazine launched in April 1926 by Hugo Gernsback's Experimenter Publishing. It was the first magazine devoted solely to science fiction. Science fiction stories had made regular appearance ...

'', and ''

It's Garry Shandling's Show ''It's Garry Shandling's Show'' is an American television sitcom that originally aired on Showtime from September 10, 1986, to May 25, 1990. The series, created by Garry Shandling and Alan Zweibel, is notable for breaking the fourth wall. I ...

''. He also acted in the films ''

Rain Man ''Rain Man'' is a 1988 American road movie, road comedy-Drama (film and television), drama film directed by Barry Levinson and written by Barry Morrow and Ronald Bass. It tells the story of abrasive and selfish wikt:wheeler-dealer, wheeler-dea ...

'', ''

National Security National security, or national defence (national defense in American English), is the security and Defence (military), defence of a sovereign state, including its Citizenship, citizens, economy, and institutions, which is regarded as a duty of ...

'' and '' Hot to Trot''. Marcellino has also written and performed songs for the films ''Rain Man'', '' That's Life'' and ''

Night of the Comet ''Night of the Comet'' is a 1984 American science fiction comedy horror film written and directed by Thom Eberhardt. It stars Catherine Mary Stewart, Robert Beltran, and Kelli Maroney as survivors of a comet that has turned most people into ei ...

''; and television shows '' Law & Order: Special Victims Unit'', ''

The Office ''The Office'' is the title of several mockumentary sitcoms based on a British series originally created by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant as '' The Office'' in 2001. The original series also starred Gervais as manager and primary charac ...

'', ''

Terriers Terrier () is a type of dog originally bred to hunt vermin. A terrier is a dog of any one of many breeds or landraces of the terrier type, which are typically small, wiry, game, and fearless. There are five different groups of terrier, wi ...

'', ''

Castle A castle is a type of fortification, fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by Military order (monastic society), military orders. Scholars usually consider a ''castle'' to be the private ...

'', ''

Kath & Kim ''Kath & Kim'' (also written as ''Kath and Kim'') is an Australian sitcom originally airing in the prime-time slot on ABC Television from 2002 to 2005 and subsequently on the Seven Network in 2007 and 2022. The show was produced by Riley and T ...

'', '' Parks and Recreation'', '' Golden Boy'', ''

Once Upon a Time "Once upon a time" is a stock phrase used to introduce a narrative of past events, typically in fairy tales and folk tales. It has been used in some form since at least 1380 in storytelling in the English language and has started many narrative ...

'' and ESPN's ''Monday Countdown''.

Personal life

Marcellino lives with his wife in

La Jolla La Jolla ( , ) is a hilly, seaside neighborhood in San Diego, California, occupying of curving coastline along the Pacific Ocean. The population reported in the 2010 census was 46,781. The climate is mild, with an average daily temperature o ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

. His younger sister,

Benedictine The Benedictines, officially the Order of Saint Benedict (, abbreviated as O.S.B. or OSB), are a mainly contemplative monastic order of the Catholic Church for men and for women who follow the Rule of Saint Benedict. Initiated in 529, th ...

nun Mother Noella Marcellino, is an international cheese expert, and was featured in a

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of educat ...

documentary called ''The Cheese Nun''.

References

External links

*
Jocko Marcellino Interview
at NAMM Oral History Library (2016) {{DEFAULTSORT:Marcellino, Jocko 1950 births Living people Sha Na Na members Tisch School of the Arts alumni People from Quincy, Massachusetts Drummers from Massachusetts People from Braintree, Massachusetts American male television actors American male drummers People from La Jolla, San Diego Columbia College (New York) alumni New York University alumni Drummers from San Diego