Former WHITESNAKE, DIO and current THE DEAD DAISIES guitarist Doug Aldrich has paid tribute to Frankie Banali, who died earlier this week after a battle with pancreatic cancer.
Earlier today, Aldrich posted an Instagram photo of the QUIET RIOT drummer and his wife, Regina Banali, and he included the following message: “R.I.P. Frankie. You will be missed…..
“I met Frankie in 1982. I went to the Troubadour to watch a band play and I’ll never forget the first time I saw Frankie… Wearing a long black leather coat with his hair to the roof and carrying a green sparkle Ludwig kit to the stage. He blew me away and we later worked together on some records and became friends. He was a sweet soul…always put his family and friends first.
“I’ll never forget I was hanging out at his house one day and he was telling me some family drama that was going on and he was trying to help everybody at the same time and also his mother was really ill he was trying to take care of his mom and I said man you got a lot on your shoulders and he smiled and said… ‘it’s ok, I have strong shoulders’
“Frankie you carried the weight of the world on your shoulders man now it’s time for you to rest, rest easy my friend.
“Condolences to his wife Regina.”
Frankie was diagnosed with stage IV pancreatic cancer on April 17, 2019 and given six months to live. He put up an inspiringly brave and courageous 16-month battle to the end and continued playing live as long as he could. Standard chemotherapy stopped working and a series of strokes made the continuation on a clinical trial impossible. He ultimately lost the fight at 7:18 p.m. on August 20 in Los Angeles surrounded by his wife and daughter.
Banali was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer after going to the emergency room for shortness of breath, leg pain and loss of energy. A scan of his lungs caught an image of his liver, which is where the first spots were seen. Then came the discovery of a tumor on his pancreas.
He had been in treatment since the spring of last year and recently completed his 21st round of chemotherapy with the hopes of shrinking or controlling the cancer.
