Ron Onesti: Danny Seraphine — from Chicago to The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

At 9 years of age, Danny Seraphine first picked up a set of drumsticks, beginning a musical roller coaster ride that gave the world some of the best-loved pop hits of our lifetime.

Sixty years ago, the 17-year-old from the Northwest side of Chicago was asked to be a drummer in Dick Clark’s road band, Jimmy Ford and the Executives. It was with that band that he met bassist extraordinaire Terry Kath and saxophonist Walt Parazaider. This chance meeting changed the young men’s lives, and the face of rock music, forever. It also pulled Danny off the streets and out of the street gang he was in.

Two years later, Danny approached Terry and Walt with an idea that would add horns to a rock band. They auditioned and then welcomed Robert Lamm on keys, James Pankow on trombone, Lee Loughnane on trumpet and Peter Cetera on bass, after Terry shifted to his first love, guitar.

The band was called The Big Thing until the successful producer who helped to skyrocket “The Buckinghams” to fame with five top hits in the same year, James Guercio, took the group on, changing The Big Thing to The Chicago Transit Authority.

“Thank God for that,” Danny told me in a recent interview. “We hated to be called ‘The Big Ting’ (Thing). Wouldn’t you?” he asked.

After the name change in 1968, the Chicago natives moved to Los Angeles and put out their first album, a self-titled, double album that produced several hits including the prophesized classic, “Beginnings.” The album stayed on the Billboard charts for 171 weeks, breaking a previous record, got the band nominated for a Grammy Award for Best New Artist of the Year, ultimately going double platinum and getting inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2014.

“One of my proudest moments was when we first came home to Chicago from L.A. after (in our minds) we hit it big,” Danny said. “It was two sold-out nights at The Auditorium Theatre. We played so many encores, we ran out of songs and repeated a few! All our friends, families and what felt like the rest of the city were there! We really felt like hometown rock stars!”

But then, a legal issue with the actual Chicago Transit Authority caused the band to shorten its name while at the same time honoring its roots to Chicago.

Danny’s contribution to the band was not only setting the tone with his masterful and highly physical drumming. The cofounding member also wrote or cowrote several hits for the band including, “No Tell Lover,” “Low Down,” “Street Player” and “Take Me Back To Chicago.”

Twenty years and 20 albums later, Danny became one of the most respected drummers in the industry, and as one of the principal architects of the band Chicago, it was a shock to him and to millions of fans when he was asked to leave the band in 1990.

“After doing so much recording and touring, we started to have personnel changes and disagreements about the direction of the band, and who was calling the shots,” Danny said. “I was asked to leave by guys who I considered to be my brothers. It was heartbreaking.”

For the following 15 years, Danny barely preformed. Then in 2006, he put a band together featuring guitarist Marc Bonilla, keyboardist Ed Roth, Tower of Power vocalist Larry Braggs and other top musicians, and California Transit Authority (CTA) was born.

It was a jazzy combination of original tunes and Chicago classics. The band was met with increased demand, and the group with the aforementioned founding members still tours today.

During his exile from Chicago, he was executive producer and music supervisor for successful Broadway musicals and for the film, “Lonely Street.” In 2010 he published his autobiography, “Street Player: My Chicago Story,” and released the biographical and instructional DVD, “The Art Of Jazz Rock Drumming.” He kept busy.

When I was blessed to ultimately work with one of my musical heroes, I was tremendously excited. About 15 years ago, I hired CTA for the first time. It was (and is) a spectacular group of musicians playing the hits of my favorite band. At the forefront, was my favorite drummer, Danny Seraphine.

I didn’t know what to expect. His book was a basic tell-all and I wasn’t sure if I was even supposed to mention Chicago to him. I knew he was still quite sour about his separation from the band. “Was he going to be a pretentious rocker?” I wondered.

Well, Danny wound up being one of the warmest and most sincere music professionals I had ever met. And his show was a throwback to the hit-after-hit-after-hit experience I was accustomed to when I would excitedly see the band Chicago live.

We have since worked together on countless projects, festivals, concerts and corporate events. But more importantly, he has become a mentor, a brother and a confidant. We talk on regular occasions about life and the music biz.

In 2016, Chicago was inducted into The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. I was elated! And to the credit of the band and its management, they invited Danny to participate in the festivities as a founding member. And Danny, being the brother that he had come to be to me, invited me to attend.

“I have been waiting 25 years for this,” Danny proclaimed as he held the trophy high above his head. His excited use of expletives during his speech was met with mixed reviews, especially from a few members of the band. But he was so excited, he didn’t care.

A couple of years back, he came into town a few days before his show, just to hang out. He attended a concert I was producing at The Park West in downtown Chicago. A couple of guys who had a bit too much liquid fun got in my face, threatening to get physical. Out of the shadows Danny stepped between me and the assailants, strongly suggesting they back down. They did.

“Now THAT’S a ‘Neighborhood Guy,’ ” I thought!

Danny Seraphine has a street named after him in the Harlem Avenue neighborhood on Normandy Avenue, where he grew up. His west-side Little Italy roots are deep as his Abbruzzese and Neapolitan parents along with the cooking of his “Grandma Philomena” created a truly Italian American household for Danny and his sister Rosemary.

At 76, he resides in Las Vegas and still loves playing for the fans, with no intention of stopping anytime soon. He is a “Street Player” with a heart of gold. And how can you not love a guy who wrote the lyrics: “Take me back to Chicago, with street corners and Tastee Freeze”?

Danny Seraphine and CTA come to The Arcada Theatre in St. Charles on May 17 together with Shining Star, the Tribute to Earth, Wind & Fire. For tickets log onto oshows.com.

• Ron Onesti is president and CEO of The Onesti Entertainment Corp., the Arcada Theatre in St. Charles and the Des Plaines Theatre. Celebrity questions and comments? Email ron@oshows.com.