Complete List Of Wild Cherry Band Members

Feature Photo: Photo by Roksolana Zasiadko

Wild Cherry was an American funk rock band formed by Rob Parissi in 1970 in the Steubenville, Ohio area. The group is best known for the 1976 hit “Play That Funky Music,” which reached number one on both the Billboard Hot 100 and the R&B chart. Wild Cherry blended rock, funk, soul, and disco at a time when those styles were increasingly crossing over on radio and in clubs. The band released four studio albums: Wild Cherry (1976), Electrified Funk (1977), I Love My Music (1978), and Only the Wild Survive (1979).

The lineup that recorded “Play That Funky Music” featured Rob Parissi on lead vocals and guitar, Bryan Bassett on guitar, Allen Wentz on bass and synthesizer, and Ronald Beitle on drums and percussion. Mark Avsec contributed keyboards to other tracks on the 1976 debut and became an important member of the band during its later years, but he did not play on the hit itself. Wild Cherry continued recording and touring through several lineup changes before disbanding in 1979.

Over the years, Wild Cherry included a larger group of musicians than the best-known 1976 lineup. Below is a detailed account of the final and earlier members, including two original members, Larry Mader and Ron Vallera, whose roles belong in the band’s early history.

Rob Parissi

Rob Parissi was the lead vocalist, guitarist, songwriter, and only continuous member of Wild Cherry from its formation in 1970 through its breakup in 1979. He wrote and produced “Play That Funky Music,” the song that became the band’s defining hit in 1976. Parissi also played guitar and sang lead vocals throughout Wild Cherry’s studio career, helping shape the group’s transition from its early rock sound into the funk-rock style that brought it national attention. After Wild Cherry ended, Parissi continued working as a songwriter, producer, and musician, including work connected with Gary U.S. Bonds and other artists.

Donnie Iris

Donnie Iris joined Wild Cherry during the band’s final period, playing guitar and singing on the 1979 album Only the Wild Survive. Before joining Wild Cherry, Iris had been a member of The Jaggerz, whose “The Rapper” became a major hit in 1970. His time with Wild Cherry was brief, but it connected him with keyboardist Mark Avsec. After the band broke up, Iris and Avsec became key figures in Donnie Iris and the Cruisers, whose recordings included “Ah! Leah!” and “Love Is Like a Rock.”

Cooke Michalchick

Cooke Michalchick played bass and contributed vocals during Wild Cherry’s final period from 1978 to 1979. He was part of the lineup heard on Only the Wild Survive, joining Rob Parissi, Donnie Iris, Mark Avsec, and Ronald Beitle. His bass work supported the band as it moved through its final studio phase. Although his tenure was short, Michalchick was part of Wild Cherry’s last official album lineup before the group disbanded.

Ronald Beitle

Ronald Beitle served as Wild Cherry’s drummer and percussionist from 1975 through 1979. He was the drummer on “Play That Funky Music” and appears throughout the band’s major-label recording period. His playing helped give the hit its tight, danceable groove while still maintaining the band’s rock foundation. Beitle remained with Wild Cherry through the final album and later continued playing with other groups. He died in 2017 at the age of 63.

Mark Avsec

Mark Avsec was Wild Cherry’s keyboardist during the band’s major-label years and remained with the group through 1979. He contributed synthesizer and piano to several tracks on the 1976 Wild Cherry album, although “Play That Funky Music” itself had already been recorded without him. Avsec became a full member and played on later albums including Electrified Funk, I Love My Music, and Only the Wild Survive. After Wild Cherry, he became a central creative partner in Donnie Iris and the Cruisers as a songwriter, keyboardist, and producer. Avsec later also built a career as an attorney specializing in copyright and entertainment law.

Ben Difabbio

Ben Difabbio was Wild Cherry’s original drummer and vocalist, playing with the band from 1970 to 1975. His work helped establish the group during its first phase, when Wild Cherry was more firmly rooted in rock than the funk sound that would later make the band famous. Difabbio participated in the formative years and early recordings before the first version of the group broke apart. Ronald Beitle became the drummer when Parissi assembled the later lineup that went on to record “Play That Funky Music.”

Louie Osso

Louie Osso was an original guitarist and vocalist with Wild Cherry during the band’s early years. He played in the lineup that developed around Rob Parissi in the Steubenville area and helped shape the group before its major-label breakthrough. Osso left during the early 1970s, several years before the 1976 debut album. His role belongs to the original rock-oriented period of Wild Cherry’s history.

Larry Brown

Larry Brown was Wild Cherry’s original bassist and a vocalist during the early 1970s. He was part of the first lineup alongside Rob Parissi, Ben Difabbio, Louie Osso, Larry Mader, and Ron Vallera. Brown helped provide the rhythm-section foundation for the band during its formative club and early recording years. He departed before the lineup that eventually recorded Wild Cherry’s 1976 breakthrough album.

Larry Mader

Larry Mader was an original Wild Cherry keyboardist and vocalist during the band’s early years. He was part of the first lineup formed around Rob Parissi in the Ohio Valley and contributed during the group’s rock-oriented period before the later funk breakthrough. Mader left the band during the early 1970s. His role is important to the complete Wild Cherry lineup because keyboards were part of the group’s sound well before the later arrival of Mark Avsec.

Ron Vallera

Ron Vallera was an original guitarist and backing vocalist in Wild Cherry’s earliest lineup. He performed with Rob Parissi, Ben Difabbio, Louie Osso, Larry Brown, and Larry Mader during the group’s formative period around Steubenville, Ohio. Vallera departed during the early years, before the 1975 re-formation that eventually produced “Play That Funky Music.” His participation belongs to Wild Cherry’s original rock-oriented lineup and had been missing from the earlier version of this article.

Coogie Stoddart

Coogie Stoddart, a cousin of Rob Parissi, played guitar and sang with Wild Cherry from 1973 to 1975 and returned during the later 1970s. He joined as the original lineup was changing and helped carry the band through the period before its temporary breakup. Stoddart later returned after Wild Cherry had achieved its national success. His two separate periods with the group connect the early rock version of Wild Cherry with the better-known funk-rock era.

Joe Buchmelter

Joe Buchmelter briefly played bass with Wild Cherry in 1973. He joined during a period of rapid lineup changes after several original members had departed. Buchmelter’s tenure was short, and he was soon replaced by Bucky Lusk. Even so, his time in the group forms part of the band’s early pre-Epic history.

Bucky Lusk

Bucky Lusk played bass with Wild Cherry from 1973 to 1975. He followed Joe Buchmelter in the bass position and remained through the final years of the band’s first phase. Lusk helped support the group as it continued developing its live reputation before Wild Cherry temporarily broke apart. Allen Wentz later became the bassist when Rob Parissi assembled the 1975 lineup that recorded the group’s breakthrough material.

Allen Wentz

Allen Wentz played bass, synthesizer, and provided vocals for Wild Cherry from 1975 to 1978. He was a member of the lineup that recorded “Play That Funky Music,” playing electric bass and synthesizer on the track. Wentz also appears throughout the band’s 1976 debut album and on subsequent recordings including Electrified Funk. His playing was central to the rhythm and electronic texture of Wild Cherry’s most commercially successful period.

Bryan Bassett

Bryan Bassett played guitar and provided backing vocals during Wild Cherry’s breakthrough period. He appears on “Play That Funky Music” and throughout the band’s 1976 debut album, contributing to the combination of rock guitar and funk rhythm that defined the group’s biggest hit. Bassett remained through the band’s later 1970s recordings before moving on to other work as a guitarist, producer, and engineer. He later played with Molly Hatchet and became a longtime member of Foghat, where he remains active as a guitarist, producer, engineer, and songwriter.