Rob Parissi
Robert "Rob" Parissi is an American singer, songwriter and guitarist, perhaps best known as frontman for the American funk group Wild Cherry,[1][2] best known for their 1976 Parissi-penned chart-topper "Play That Funky Music".[3] He was born in 1950[4] and raised in the steel mill town of Mingo Junction, Ohio. He graduated from Mingo High School in 1968. Rob formed the band Wild Cherry in 1970 in Steubenville, Ohio, one mile north of Mingo Junction along the Ohio River. The band played the Ohio Valley region, Wheeling, West Virginia and the rest of the Northern West Virginia panhandle, and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
After Wild Cherry disbanded in 1979 without another major hit, Parissi became a producer and dedicated himself to adult contemporary music. He writes and records in the Smooth Jazz genre and has collaborated with Steve Oliver and Will Donato.
Discography
With Wild Cherry
- Wild Cherry, 1976
- Electrified Funk, 1977
- I Love My Music, 1978
- Only the Wild Survive, 1979
Solo
- Late Bloomer, 2008
- Boca Ciega Bay, 2010
- Ocean Sunset, 2011
- East Coast Vibe, 2011
- The Real Deal, 2012
References
- ↑ "Vanilla Ice's style freezes". The Telegraph-Herald. The Telegraph-Herald. Feb 1, 1991. p. 1. Retrieved 29 January 2011.
- ↑ Kaufman, Gil (Apr 1, 2009). "Wild Cherry had a huge hit with the song during the 1970s disco era.". MTV. p. 1. Retrieved 29 January 2011.
- ↑ Adams, Deanna R. (13 January 2010). Cleveland's Rock and Roll Roots. Arcadia Publishing. p. 108. ISBN 978-0-7385-7786-9.
- ↑ SmoothJazz.com: Artist Interviews. Retrieved on 27 August 2013.