Jimmy DeGrasso

American drummer

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Jimmy DeGrasso

DeGrasso performing with Black Star Riders in August 2014

Background information
Born|  (1963-03-16) March 16, 1963 (age 61)
Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Genres|

* Hard rock
* heavy metal
* thrash metal
* speed metal
* funk metal
* crossover thrash
* hardcore punk

Occupation| Drummer
Years active| 1984–present

Musical artist

Jimmy DeGrasso (born March 16, 1963) is an American heavy metal drummer.

DeGrasso played with Mama's Boys and Lita Ford before eventually working with Y&T and Megadeth and as a session and touring musician for Ozzy Osbourne (1986), White Lion (1991), Fiona (1992), Suicidal Tendencies (1992–1995), MD.45 (1996), and Alice Cooper (1995–1997).[1]

After Megadeth broke up around 2002, DeGrasso worked with Dave Ellefson's F5 (2007–2010) and toured with The David Lee Roth Band (2006), Ministry (2008), Alice Cooper (2008), Hail (2009), Dokken (2012), and Ratt (2014). He also was the drummer of Black Star Riders from December 2012 until March 2017.

## Early life and education

[edit]

DeGrasso was born March 16, 1963, in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, in the Lehigh Valley region of eastern Pennsylvania. He graduated from Liberty High School in Bethlehem in 1981, where he was a member of Liberty High School's Grenadier Band.

## Career

[edit]

### 1986 to 1995: Ozzy Osbourne, Y&T, White Lion, Suicidal Tendencies and MD.45

[edit]

DeGrasso performing in 2004

DeGrasso originally auditioned for Ozzy Osbourne and played on the demos of The Ultimate Sin before Ozzy and Bob Daisley had a fallout and Ozzy chose to replace the entire band except for Jake E. Lee.[citation needed] DeGrasso then joined the veteran metal band Y&T in 1986, replacing their original drummer Leonard Haze. He remained with the group into the 1990s. In 1991, he briefly filled in as White Lion's touring drummer when Greg D'Angelo left the band.[2] He went on to play with Suicidal Tendencies to replace R.J. Herrera from 1992 to 1995, releasing a studio album with the band in 1994, and on Megadeth's Dave Mustaine's side project band, MD.45, in 1995.

### 1998 to 2002: Megadeth

[edit]

In 1998, Mustaine asked him to join Megadeth to replace Nick Menza as drummer and continue the band's Cryptic Writings tour. He was asked to play with Megadeth five days before the next show. He walked around with a walkman all day to memorize the songs. DeGrasso recorded and toured behind Megadeth's Risk album in 1999–2000, The World Needs a Hero in 2000–2001, and was featured on Megadeth's first ever live CD and DVD release, Rude Awakening, which was released in 2002.

### 2002 to 2008: Stone Sour, Ronnie Montrose, David Lee Roth Band, and Ministry

[edit]

DeGrasso has performed at the Modern Drummer Festival in 2002, Ultimate Drummers Weekend in Australia, Drummer Live in the United Kingdom, and toured with Stone Sour (Slipknot vocalist Corey Taylor's side project), and with guitar legend Ronnie Montrose. DeGrasso played with The David Lee Roth Band in 2006 and joined Ministry on their 2008 tour.[citation needed]

### 2008 to 2012: Alice Cooper Band, F5, and Dokken

[edit]

In late 2008, DeGrasso came back to Alice Cooper's band to fill in for Eric Singer while Singer played a few KISS shows in the U.S. DeGrasso has also been the full-time drummer for heavy metal band F5 and Hail (along with ex-Megadeth bassist David Ellefson). In summer 2012, DeGrasso toured with Dokken, filling in for Mick Brown, who left Dokken to tour with Ted Nugent.

### 2012 to 2017: Black Star Riders

[edit]

In December 2012, DeGrasso joined Thin Lizzy's spin-off band, Black Star Riders,[3] and appeared on Black Star Riders' first album All Hell Breaks Loose, which was released in May 2013.[4]

### 2014 to 2017: Ratt

[edit]

In early 2014, DeGrasso filled in for Bobby Blotzer in Ratt and played with them on the Monsters of Rock cruise. DeGrasso is the first drummer to have filled in for Blotzer, since he joined the band in 1982. He filled in for Blotzer again on the Monsters of Rock Cruise in October 2016 before becoming the band's official touring drummer in 2017. He left Ratt in June 2017[citation needed]

## Personal life

[edit]

DeGrasso currently resides in San Jose, California, where he used to own and manage his own drum shop, San Jose Pro Drum, which has now closed.[5]

## Bands as drummer

[edit]

* Mama's Boys (1985–1986)
* Y&T (1987–1991, 1995–1997)
* White Lion (1991)
* Fiona (1992)
* Suicidal Tendencies (1992–1995)
* Alice Cooper (1994–1998, 2008–2010)
* Megadeth (1998–2002)
* O'2L (2006)
* David Lee Roth (2006)
* Ministry (2008)[6]
* Dokken (2012–2013)
* Ratt (2014, 2016–2018)
* Black Star Riders (2012–2017)

## Discography

[edit]

* 1987 Y&T – Contagious
* 1990 Y&T – Ten
* 1991 Y&T – Yesterday & Today Live
* 1992 Fiona – Squeeze
* 1994 Suicidal Tendencies – Suicidal for Life
* 1995 Y&T – Musically Incorrect
* 1996 MD.45 – The Craving
* 1997 Alice Cooper Band – A Fistful of Alice
* 1997 Y&T – Endangered Species
* 1998 Dave Meniketti – On The Blue Side
* 1998 A.N.I.M.A.L. – Poder Latino (session drummer)
* 1999 Megadeth – Risk
* 2000 Megadeth – Capitol Punishment: The Megadeth Years
* 2001 Megadeth – The World Needs a Hero
* 2002 Megadeth – Rude Awakening
* 2002 Megadeth – Still, Alive... and Well?
* 2006 Megadeth – Arsenal of Megadeth
* 2006 Sex Machineguns – Made In USA (session drummer)
* 2007 Megadeth – Warchest
* 2008 F5 – The Reckoning
* 2008 Megadeth – Anthology: Set the World Afire
* 2010 Alice Cooper – Theatre of Death, Live at Hammersmith 2009
* 2011 The Worshyp – Evil Abounds (session drummer)
* 2011 Alice Cooper –  Welcome 2 My Nightmare
* 2012 Dokken – Broken Bones
* 2013 Black Star Riders – All Hell Breaks Loose
* 2015 Black Star Riders – The Killer Instinct
* 2017 Black Star Riders – Heavy Fire

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Biography: Megadeth". Allmusic. Retrieved October 19, 2010.
2. ^ "They Will Rock You – Jimmy DeGrasso interview". Archived from the original on March 23, 2016. Retrieved August 17, 2014.
3. ^ "Thin Lizzy to End, Black Star Riders to Begin". noise11.com. December 20, 2012.
4. ^ "Black Star Riders announce debut album title". Black Star Riders official website. March 8, 2013.
5. ^ Olivier (September 14, 2016). "Pearcy, Croucier and DeMartini reportedly working in band with drummer Jimmy DeGrasso - Sleaze Roxx". Sleaze Roxx. Archived from the original on October 24, 2023. Retrieved October 14, 2024.
6. ^ "Jimmy DeGrasso on tour with Ministry". Drummerszone. November 23, 2007. Retrieved November 8, 2017.

## External links

[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Jimmy DeGrasso.

* Jimmy DeGrasso at Drummerworld
* Jimmy DeGrasso interview at Backstage Pass

Preceded by

Nick Menza

|  Megadeth Drummer
1998–2002 | Succeeded by

Shawn Drover

|
|

* v
* t
* e

Black Star Riders

* Ricky Warwick
* Robbie Crane
* Zak St. John
* Sam Wood

* Scott Gorham
* Damon Johnson
* Jimmy DeGrasso
* Marco Mendoza
* Chad Szeliga
* Christian Martucci

Studio albums|

* All Hell Breaks Loose (2013)
* The Killer Instinct (2015)
* Heavy Fire (2017)
* Another State of Grace (2019)
* Wrong Side of Paradise (2023)

Other articles|

* Thin Lizzy

* v
* t
* e

Megadeth

* Dave Mustaine
* Dirk Verbeuren
* James LoMenzo
* Teemu Mäntysaari

* David Ellefson
* Gar Samuelson
* Chris Poland
* Chuck Behler
* Jeff Young
* Nick Menza
* Marty Friedman
* Jimmy DeGrasso
* Al Pitrelli
* Vinnie Colaiuta
* Jimmie Lee Sloas
* Glen Drover
* Shawn Drover
* Chris Broderick
* Kiko Loureiro
* Chris Adler

Studio albums|

* Killing Is My Business... and Business Is Good!
* Peace Sells... but Who's Buying?
* So Far, So Good... So What!
* Rust in Peace
* Countdown to Extinction
* Youthanasia
* Cryptic Writings
* Risk
* The World Needs a Hero
* The System Has Failed
* United Abominations
* Endgame
* Thirteen
* Super Collider
* Dystopia
* The Sick, the Dying... and the Dead!

Live albums|

* Rude Awakening
* That One Night: Live in Buenos Aires
* Rust in Peace: Live
* The Big Four: Live from Sofia, Bulgaria
* Countdown to Extinction: Live
* Unplugged in Boston

Compilation albums|

* Capitol Punishment: The Megadeth Years
* Still, Alive... and Well?
* Greatest Hits: Back to the Start
* Warchest
* Anthology: Set the World Afire
* Icon
* Warheads on Foreheads

Extended plays|

* Live at the Cow Palace
* Hidden Treasures
* Cryptic Sounds: No Voices in Your Head
* Live Trax and Live Trax II

Singles|

* "Wake Up Dead"
* "Peace Sells"
* "Anarchy in the U.K."
* "Mary Jane"
* "In My Darkest Hour"
* "No More Mr. Nice Guy"
* "Holy Wars... The Punishment Due"
* "Hangar 18"
* "Symphony of Destruction"
* "Sweating Bullets"
* "Skin o' My Teeth"
* "Angry Again"
* "99 Ways to Die"
* "Train of Consequences"
* "A Tout le Monde"
* "Trust"
* "Use the Man"
* "Crush 'Em"
* "Breadline"
* "Kill the King
* "Moto Psycho"
* "Dread and the Fugitive Mind"
* "Blackmail the Universe"
* "Of Mice and Men"
* "Gears of War"
* "Never Walk Alone... A Call to Arms"
* "À Tout le Monde (Set Me Free)"
* "Head Crusher"
* "The Right to Go Insane"
* "Sudden Death"
* "Public Enemy No. 1"
* "Whose Life (Is It Anyways?)"
* "The Threat Is Real"
* "Fatal Illusion"
* "Dystopia"
* "Post American World"
* "We'll Be Back"
* "Night Stalkers"
* "Soldier On!"
* "Killing Time"

Other songs|

* "Killing Is My Business... and Business Is Good!"
* "These Boots"
* "Mechanix
* "The Conjuring"
* "Good Mourning/Black Friday"
* "I Ain't Superstitious"
* "My Last Words"
* "Set the World Afire"
* "Tornado of Souls"
* "Dialectic Chaos"
* "This Day We Fight!"
* "Lying in State"

Video albums|

* Rude Awakening
* Arsenal of Megadeth
* That One Night: Live in Buenos Aires
* Rust in Peace: Live
* The Big Four: Live from Sofia, Bulgaria
* Countdown to Extinction: Live

Tours|

* So Far, So Good... So What! Tour
* Clash of the Titans
* Gigantour
* American Carnage Tour
* European Carnage Tour
* Mayhem Festival 2011

Related articles|

* Discography
* Members
* Songs
* Awards
* MD.45 (The Craving)
* Humanary Stew: A Tribute to Alice Cooper
* Ellefson v. Megadeth, Inc.
* Vic Rattlehead
* Metallica
* F5
* EMP Label Group
* Murder in the Front Row
* Lee Rauch
* Kerry King
* Mike Albert
* James MacDonough

* Category

* v
* t
* e

Alice Cooper

* Alice Cooper
* Chuck Garric
* Tommy Henriksen
* Glen Sobel
* Ryan Roxie
* Nita Strauss

* Original band members
* Former solo band members

Studio albums|

| with Alice Cooper (band)|

* Pretties for You
* Easy Action
* Love It to Death
* Killer
* School's Out
* Billion Dollar Babies
* Muscle of Love

|

as Alice Cooper (solo)|

* Welcome to My Nightmare
* Alice Cooper Goes to Hell
* Lace and Whiskey
* From the Inside
* Flush the Fashion
* Special Forces
* Zipper Catches Skin
* DaDa
* Constrictor
* Raise Your Fist and Yell
* Trash
* Hey Stoopid
* The Last Temptation
* Brutal Planet
* Dragontown
* The Eyes of Alice Cooper
* Dirty Diamonds
* Along Came a Spider
* Welcome 2 My Nightmare
* Paranormal
* Detroit Stories
* Road

with Hollywood Vampires|

* Hollywood Vampires
* Rise

Live albums|

* The Alice Cooper Show
* Toronto Rock 'n' Roll Revival 1969, Volume IV
* A Fistful of Alice
* Brutally Live
* Live at Montreux 2005
* Live from the Astroturf

Singles|

* "Reflected"
* "I'm Eighteen"
* "Caught in a Dream"
* "Under My Wheels"
* "School's Out"
* "Elected"
* "Hello Hooray"
* "No More Mr. Nice Guy"
* "Billion Dollar Babies"
* "Halo of Flies"
* "Teenage Lament '74"
* "Only Women Bleed"
* "Department of Youth"
* "Welcome to My Nightmare"
* "I Never Cry"
* "You and Me"
* "How You Gonna See Me Now"
* "Clones (We're All)"
* Talk Talk
* "7 and 7 Is"
* "I Am the Future"
* "He's Back (The Man Behind the Mask)"
* "Teenage Frankenstein"
* "Freedom"
* "Poison"
* "Bed of Nails"
* "House of Fire"
* "Only My Heart Talkin'"
* "Hey Stoopid"
* "Love's a Loaded Gun"
* "Feed My Frankenstein"
* "Lost in America"
* "It's Me"
* "Brutal Planet"
* "Gimme"
* "Keepin' Halloween Alive"

Compilations
and box sets|

* School Days: The Early Recordings
* Greatest Hits
* Prince of Darkness
* Toronto Rock 'n' Roll Revival 1969, Volume IV
* Classicks
* The Life and Crimes of Alice Cooper
* Mascara and Monsters: The Best of Alice Cooper
* The Definitive Alice Cooper
* The Essentials: Alice Cooper
* Hell Is
* School's Out and Other Hits

Videography|

* Good to See You Again, Alice Cooper
* The Nightmare
* Welcome to My Nightmare
* Alice Cooper and Friends
* The Strange Case of Alice Cooper
* The Nightmare Returns
* Alice Cooper Trashes the World
* Brutally Live
* Live at Montreux 2005
* Super Duper Alice Cooper

Tours|

* Operation Rock & Roll
* Masters of Madness Tour

Related articles|

* Discography
* Filmography
* Nights with Alice Cooper
* The Hollywood Vampires

* Category

* v
* t
* e

Suicidal Tendencies

* Mike Muir
* Dean Pleasants
* Ben Weinman
* Tye Trujillo
* Jay Weinberg

* Mike Clark
* Ron Bruner
* Jimmy DeGrasso
* Josh Freese
* Anthony Gallo
* Rocky George
* Dave Hidalgo
* Josh Paul
* Robert Trujillo
* Brooks Wackerman
* Steve Bruner
* Thomas Pridgen
* Eric Moore
* Dave Lombardo

Studio albums|

* Suicidal Tendencies
* Join the Army
* How Will I Laugh Tomorrow When I Can't Even Smile Today
* Controlled by Hatred/Feel Like Shit... Déjà Vu
* Lights...Camera...Revolution!
* The Art of Rebellion
* Still Cyco After All These Years
* Suicidal for Life
* Freedumb
* Free Your Soul and Save My Mind
* 13
* World Gone Mad
* Still Cyco Punk After All These Years

Infectious Grooves|

* The Plague That Makes Your Booty Move... It's the Infectious Grooves
* Sarsippius' Ark
* Groove Family Cyco
* Mas Borracho

Compilation albums|

* F.N.G.
* Prime Cuts
* Playlist: The Very Best of Suicidal Tendencies
* No Mercy Fool!/The Suicidal Family
* コレクション (Collection)

Extended plays|

* Six the Hard Way
* Get Your Fight On!

Split albums|

* Friends & Family, Vol. 1
* Friends & Family, Vol. 2
* Year of the Cycos

Video albums|

* Lights...Camera...Suicidal
* Live at the Olympic Auditorium

Notable songs|

* "Institutionalized"
* "Trip at the Brain"
* "You Can't Bring Me Down"
* "Send Me Your Money"
* "Nobody Hears"

Related articles|

* Discography
* List of band members
* No Mercy
* Beowülf
* Excel
* Uncle Slam
* Los Cycos
* Luicidal
* Clash of the Titans Tour
* Murder in the Front Row

* Category

* v
* t
* e

White Lion

* Mike Tramp
* Vito Bratta
* Joe Hasselvander
* Bruno Ravel
* Dave Spitz
* James LoMenzo
* Greg D'Angelo
* Jimmy DeGrasso
* (full list)

Studio albums|

* Fight to Survive
* Pride
* Big Game
* Mane Attraction
* Remembering White Lion
* Return of the Pride

Live albums|

* Rocking the USA
* Live Extended Versions
* White Lion Live

Compilations|

* The Best of White Lion
* Anthology 83–89

Videos|

* Escape from Brooklyn
* Concert Anthology: 1987–1991
* Bang Your Head Festival 2005

Singles|

* "Broken Heart"
* "Wait"
* "Tell Me"
* "When the Children Cry"
* "All You Need Is Rock 'n' Roll"
* "Little Fighter"
* "Radar Love"
* "Cry for Freedom"
* "Goin' Home Tonight"
* "Love Don't Come Easy"
* "Lights and Thunder"
* "Broken Heart '91"
* "Out with the Boys"
* "When the Children Cry '99"
* "Wait (Live)"
* "When the Children Cry (Live)"
* "Cry for Freedom {2023)"
* "Little Fighter (2023)"
* " Lights and Thunder (2024)"

Solo albums|

* Capricorn
* Recovering the Wasted Years
* More to Life Than This
* Rock 'N' Roll Alive
* Songs I Left Behind
* The Rock 'N' Roll Circuz
* Stand Your Ground
* Cobblestone Street
* Museum
* Nomad
* Maybe Tomorrow
* Stray from the Flock
* Second Time Around
* Trampthology
* Songs of White Lion

Related articles|

* Discography
* Songs of White Lion
* Freak of Nature (band)

* v
* t
* e

David Lee Roth

Albums|

* Eat 'Em and Smile
* Skyscraper
* A Little Ain't Enough
* Your Filthy Little Mouth
* DLR Band
* Diamond Dave

EPs|

* Crazy from the Heat

Compilations|

* The Best
* Greatest Hits/The Deluxe Edition

Songs|

* "California Girls"
* "Just a Gigolo/I Ain't Got Nobody"
* "Yankee Rose"
* "That's Life"
* "Tobacco Road"
* "Just Like Paradise"

Former guitarists|

* Eddie Martinez
* Sid McGinnis
* Steve Vai
* Jason Becker
* Steve Hunter
* Joe Holmes
* John 5

Former bassists|

* Willie Weeks
* Billy Sheehan
* Matt Bissonette
* Marco Mendoza
* James LoMenzo
* Todd Jensen

Former drummers|

* John Robinson
* Sammy Figueroa
* Gregg Bissonette
* Ray Luzier
* Pat Torpey
* Jimmy DeGrasso

Former keyboardists|

* Brett Tuggle
* Edgar Winter

Related articles|

* Discography
* Crazy from the Heat
* The David Lee Roth Show
* Van Halen
* Manny Roth
* Strummin' with the Devil: The Southern Side of Van Halen
* "Diamond Dave"

* v
* t
* e

Y&T

* Dave Meniketti
* John Nymann
* Mike Vanderhule
* Aaron Leigh

* Leonard Haze
* Phil Kennemore
* Joey Alves
* Jimmy DeGrasso
* Stef Burns
* Steve Smith
* Brad Lang

Studio albums|

* Yesterday and Today (1976)
* Struck Down (1978)
* Earthshaker (1981)
* Black Tiger (1982)
* Mean Streak (1983)
* In Rock We Trust (1984)
* Down for the Count (1985)
* Contagious (1987)
* Ten (1990)
* Musically Incorrect (1995)
* Endangered Species (1997)
* Facemelter (2010)

Live albums|

* Open Fire (1985)

Compilation albums|

* Best of '81–'85 (1990)

Authority control databases

International|

* ISNI
* VIAF

National|

* Czech Republic

Artists|

* MusicBrainz

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