Jimmy Destri

Jimmy Destri born James Mollica April 13 1954 Brooklyn New York City United States is an American musician Destri is of Italian descent His father was a novelist who also wrote screenplays and eventually advertising copy to support his family while his mother was a housewife He has a sister Donna Destri who is also a singer and did backing vocals for Blondie and Jimmys own solo record Destri grew up in Boro Park and was raised in his grandmothers house His uncle played drums for Joey Dee and the Starlighters He attended Catholic schools and went to Bishop Ford High School Destri dropped out of high school in order to form his first band He played keyboards in the rock band Blondie and was one of the principal songwriters for the band along with Chris Stein and Deborah Harry He rejoined Blondie in 1997 Destri ceased touring with the band in 2004 but remained an official member for several more years After he stopped playing Blondie he worked full time as a drug counselortherapist at the outpatient recovery center Carnegie Hill Institute in New York City In April 2020 he went back to practice as a drug counselortherapist at Seabrook in New Jersey Destri became interested in music in the late 1950s and early 1960s due to his uncles being a drummer with Joey Dee and the Starlighters He formed his first band the 86 Proof in high school and they performed in local schools He played in a group named Milk and Cookies in the early 1970s but was dismissed from the band just before they relocated to the UK He joined Blondie in 1975 using the Farfisa organ as his main instrument As Blondies career progressed Destri became increasingly interested in synthesizers and added them with his Farfisa to the overall bands sound His sister Donna Destri sang backing vocals on the 1979 Blondie song Living in the Real World and on the album No Exit Destri produced Going Up by Joey Wilson for Modern Records released in October 1980 As Blondie members took a break from both recording and touring as a group Destri released the solo album Heart on a Wall in 1981 Heart on a Wall was produced by Michael Kamen then regarded mainly as a film composerarranger Kamen also played keyboards and sang backup vocals The album also featured numerous renowned musicians including guitarists Carlos Alomar David Bowie Paul McCartney Mick Jagger Iggy Pop Tommy Morrongiello Bob Dylan Blue Öyster Cult and Earl Slick Bowie John Lennon Yoko Ono along with bassist John Siegler Todd Rundgrens Utopia In addition Blondies Clem Burke appeared on drums with guest appearances by fellow Blondie members Chris Stein and Debbie Harry Heart on a Wall was released in the US the UK and France Chrysalis CHR1368 as well as Australia and New Zealand L37774 West Germany 204 425320 and the Netherlands 204 425 Living In Your Heart backed with Dont Look Around was also released as a 7 single in France PB8865 Any digital release of the album remains highly unlikely as the original master tapes have been lost Source Article Jimmy Destri from Wikipedia in English licensed under CCBYSA 30