Joseph Anthony Vitale (born April 2, 1949) is an American singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist. In a career spanning more than 55 years, Vitale has played with many of the top names in music during a career dating back to the 1970s. Vitale pursued a solo career and released his debut album Roller Coaster Weekend in 1974. Since then, he has released two studio albums. His only single to chart is "Lady on the Rock". Early life Of Italian heritage, Joseph Anthony Vitale was born on April 2, 1949, in Canton, Ohio. He started playing the drums at an early age, as his father was a barber, and would trade haircuts for drum lessons. The Vitales moved to Florida for a short time, where Joe played in a youth orchestra, but they soon moved back to Ohio. In high school Vitale played for a while with a band called the Knights. He formed a polka band with his brother and father called the Tony Vitale Trio, with his father on accordion and his brother on bass, but the band was short-lived and didn't make any studio or live recordings. In 1965 the polka band and a rock band called the Echoes were both playing at the Magnolia Homecoming. The Echoes' drummer didn't attend the gig, so Vitale played drums for them. As a result, he joined the Echoes as their regular drummer. Career Beginnings Vitale started his professional music career with the Echoes, who signed with Warner and became the Chylds (1964–68). He gained valuable experience with the band and sang vocals on their single "I Want More (Lovin')." He eventually enrolled at Kent State University and was attending during the May 4, 1970, shootings. Vitale also played with Marble Cake, a band out of Kent Ohio, from 1968–1970. His first national break came when Ted Nugent hired him to play drums in the Amboy Dukes in 1971. Joe Walsh That fall Vitale was invited by his former Kent State classmate Joe Walsh to join Barnstorm, a new band being formed by Walsh in Colorado. The band recorded two albums together and Vitale and Walsh began a longtime partnership (incl. co-writing "Rocky Mountain Way"), although Barnstorm broke up in 1974. After the breakup, Vitale was (temporarily) the original drummer for the Michael Stanley Band (before Tommy Dobeck), and he recorded his first solo album, 1974's Roller Coaster Weekend, produced by Ron