Back in the 1960s, a band called the Young Rascals made its mark on music history. After releasing three studio albums, the band changed its named to the Rascals and kept the name for the rest of their career. They ended up releasing a total of nine albums before breaking up after their last album was released in 1972. Some of the band’s biggest hits include the songs “Groovin,” “Good Lovin’,” and “People Got to Be Free.”

Dino Danelli was the drummer for the Rascals. On his official Facebook page, his friend and the band’s archivist, Joe Russo, broke the news that Danelli died on Thursday. He was 78 years old. According to Russo, he made the public announcement after contacting Danelli’s family and the other band members. The “primary cause of death” was coronary artery disease, but other factors include congestive heart failure and “many other conditions as well.”

In Russo’s announcement, he wrote, “To know Dino, you must understand that art was his life. Art, music and film consumed his mind and his heart.” However, in his later years, when his health started failing him, he no longer felt passionate about art. Russo explained that in 2019, “He ended up in the hospital. He didn’t look at the book on the nightstand. Didn’t use the sketch pad brought for him. He just directed his gaze at the television, unresponsive to what was on the screen. After a while, he pleaded with me to sign him out.” Danelli was able to go home in 2019 only to end up in a rehab center where he spent his final days in 2022.

Russo added that Danelli “never felt sorry for himself, or expressed bitterness or regret. He told me during the earliest stages of his illness that, ‘I had a good 75 years.'”

Relive the early years of Danelli’s life and success by watching the Young Rascals perform on The Ed Sullivan Show. Here they are performing “Good Lovin'” in 1966.

Here they are performing “Groovin'” in 1967.