View source for Joe Lala

{{short description|American musician}}
{{One source|date=March 2014}}
{{Infobox person
| name          = Joe Lala
| image         = Lala1972.jpg
| alt           = <!-- descriptive text for use by speech synthesis (text-to-speech) software -->
| caption       = Lala ([[Manassas (band)|Manassas]], [[TopPop]]) in 1972
| birth_name    = Joseph Anthony Lala
| birth_date    = November 3, 1947
| birth_place   = [[Ybor City]], [[Florida]], U.S.
| death_date    = {{dda|2014|3|18|1947|11|3}}
| death_place   = [[Tampa]], Florida, U.S.
| occupation    = {{hlist|Musician|actor}}
| years_active  = 1966–2014 (musician)<br>1977–2006 (acting)
| spouse        = {{marriage|[[Ginny McSwain]]|1996|2004|end=div}}
| module        = {{Infobox musical artist|embed=yes
| background    = non_vocal_instrumentalist
| genre         = [[Rock music|Rock]]
| instrument    = {{hlist|Percussion|vocals}}
| associated_acts = {{hlist|[[Blues Image]]|[[Stephen Stills]]|[[Manassas (band)|Manassas]]|[[The Byrds]]|[[Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young]]|[[Neil Young]]|[[The Stills-Young Band]]|[[The Bee Gees]]|[[Whitney Houston]]|[[Joe Walsh]]}}
}}
}}
'''Joseph Anthony Lala''' (November 3, 1947 – March 18, 2014) was an American musician and actor. In 1966, he co-founded the [[rock music|rock]] [[musical ensemble|band]] [[Blues Image]].
==Life and career==
Lala was born in [[Ybor City, Tampa, Florida]],<ref name=independent>{{cite news|last=Perrone|first=Pierre|title=Joe Lala: Sought-after percussionist who switched careers when illness struck to become an actor and voice-over artist |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/joe-lala-soughtafter-percussionist-who-switched-careers-when-illness-struck-to-become-an-actor-and-voiceover-artist-9334826.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220609/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/joe-lala-soughtafter-percussionist-who-switched-careers-when-illness-struck-to-become-an-actor-and-voiceover-artist-9334826.html |archive-date=2022-06-09 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|access-date=April 14, 2015|newspaper=[[The Independent]]|date=May 7, 2014}}</ref> into a family of [[Italian Americans|Italian-American]] background.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Perrone |first=Pierre |date=7 May 2014 |title=Joe Lala: Sought-after percussionist who switched careers when illness struck to become an actor and a voice-over artist |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/joe-lala-soughtafter-percussionist-who-switched-careers-when-illness-struck-to-become-an-actor-and-voiceover-artist-9334826.html |work=[[The Independent]]}}</ref> His father left the family when Joe was a child, so he was raised by his mother on her own. Lala's mother, Janie Cacciatore, an avid dancer, took her son to as many shows as she could. Lala spoke fluent Spanish and Italian.<ref name=tampabay/> He started out playing the drums in several Florida bands, before forming the band [[Blues Image]]. He also occasionally sang lead vocals, most notably on the song "Leaving My Troubles Behind". As a drummer and percussionist, he worked with [[The Byrds]], [[Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young]], [[Manassas (band)|Manassas]], [[The Stills-Young Band]], [[The Bee Gees]], [[Whitney Houston]], [[Joe Walsh]], [[Andy Gibb]] and many others. He played the trademark congas that drove the Bee Gees' 1976 US chart-topper ''[[You Should Be Dancing]]'', subsequently included on the multi-million selling Saturday Night Fever soundtrack. Lala provided the wide selection of percussive effects on [[Barbra Streisand]]'s 1980 worldwide No. 1 album ''[[Guilty (Barbra Streisand album)|Guilty]]'', and contributed to Whitney Houston's eponymous 1985 debut album.<ref name=independent/> Throughout his career, Lala accumulated 32 [[Music recording sales certification|gold record]]s and 28 platinum records. He played on the movie soundtracks of ''[[Saturday Night Fever]]'', ''[[Staying Alive (1983 film)|Staying Alive]]'', ''[[D.C. Cab]]'', ''[[Streets of Fire]]'', ''[[All the Right Moves (film)|All the Right Moves]]'', ''[[Breathless (1983 film)|Breathless]]'', ''[[Defiance (1980 film)|Defiance]]'', ''[[The Lonely Guy]]'' and ''[[Airplane!]]''. A severe case of carpal tunnel syndrome<ref name=independent/> ended Lala's career as a percussionist. It kept him from performing full-time, but he continued to record with Stephen Stills, Graham Nash, the acoustic band Firefall, Dan Fogelberg, Dolly Parton, Rod Stewart and many others.<ref name=tampabay>{{cite news|last=Meacham |first=Andrew|title=Legendary Tampa percussionist Joe Lala dies at 66|url=https://www.tampabay.com/news/obituaries/legendary-tampa-percussionist-joe-lala-dies-at-66/2171028/|access-date=April 15, 2015|date=March 19, 2014}}</ref> Joe Lala was the last in the drummer stool for the handful of concerts given in February 1973 by the disintegrating [[Byrds]].
He made the most of his Italian-American background and his mastery of Spanish, Cuban and Puerto Rican accents with TV roles in ''[[Miami Vice]]'', ''[[General Hospital]]'', ''[[Melrose Place]]'', ''[[Seinfeld]]'',<ref name=independent/> ''[[Hunter (1984 U.S. TV series)|Hunter]]'', and ''[[Who's the Boss?]]'', and starred in a summer replacement show named ''Knight & Daye''. He portrayed another native of Ybor City, Dr. [[Ferdie Pacheco]], in ''[[Ali: An American Hero]]'', and co-starred with [[Andy Garcia]] in ''For Love or Country: The Arturo Sandoval Story''. His films included ''Active Stealth'', ''[[Sugar Hill (1994 film)|Sugar Hill]]'', ''[[On Deadly Ground]]'', ''Deep Sleep'', ''[[Havana (film)|Havana]]'' (with Robert Redford), ''[[Out for Justice]]'', ''[[Marked for Death]]'', ''Eyewitness to Murder'', and ''[[Born in East L.A. (film)|Born in East L.A.]]'', plus many more.
Lala also guest-starred on several animated shows; ''[[Batman: The Animated Series]]'', ''[[Pinky and the Brain]]'', ''[[Quack Pack]]'', ''[[The Angry Beavers]]'', ''[[The Adventures of Jimmy Neutron, Boy Genius]]'', ''[[Danger Rangers]]'', ''[[ChalkZone]]'', ''[[Johnny Bravo]]'', ''[[Ozzy & Drix]]'', ''[[Superman: The Animated Series]]'', ''[[The New Woody Woodpecker Show]]'', and many more. Additionally, he voiced Kun Lan in the 2005 video game ''[[Killer7]]''.
Lala was married to voice director [[Ginny McSwain]] from 1996 until their divorce in 2004.<ref>[https://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/joe-lala-sought-after-percussionist-who-switched-careers-when-illness-struck-to-become-an-actor-and-9334826.html www.independent.co.uk]</ref>
In the mid-2000s, Lala retired from acting to care for his mother, who had dementia. Lala coached young actors at the Italian Club in his native Ybor City.<ref name=ultimateclassicrock>{{cite news|url=http://ultimateclassicrock.com/pete-haycock-dies/|author=Jeff Giles|title=Drummer Joe Lala Dead at 66|date=March 19, 2014|publisher=Ultimate Classic Rock|access-date=April 15, 2015}}</ref>
Joe Lala died from complications of [[lung cancer]] on March 18, 2014, at the age of 66.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Guzzo |first=Paul |date=March 18, 2014 |title=Drummer Lala, who teamed with a generation of rock stars, dead at 66 |url=http://tbo.com/events/drummer-lala-who-teamed-with-a-generation-of-rock-stars-dead-at-66-20140318/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140319162138/http://tbo.com/events/drummer-lala-who-teamed-with-a-generation-of-rock-stars-dead-at-66-20140318/ |archive-date=March 19, 2014 |access-date=March 19, 2014 |website=The Tampa Tribune}}</ref>
== Filmography ==
=== Film ===
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Year !! Title !! Role !! Notes
|-
| 1991
| ''[[Out for Justice]]''
| Vermeer
|
|-
| 1997
| ''Demolition University''
| Carlos Ramos
| Direct-to-video
|-
| 1998
| ''[[Golgo 13: Queen Bee]]''
| Don Roccini, Gomez (voice)
| English dub; direct-to-video
|-
| 1999
| ''[[Our Friend, Martin]]''
| Reporter, Demonstrator (voice)
| Direct-to-video<ref name="btva">{{cite web |title=Joe Lala (visual voices guide) |url=http://www.behindthevoiceactors.com/Joe-Lala/ |access-date=May 23, 2024 |publisher=Behind The Voice Actors}} A green check mark indicates that a role has been confirmed using a screenshot (or collage of screenshots) of a title's list of voice actors and their respective characters found in its credits or other reliable sources of information.</ref>
|-
| 1999
| ''[[Active Stealth]]''
| Salvatore
| Direct-to-video
|-
| 2000
| ''[[An American Tail: The Mystery of the Night Monster]]''
| Bootlick (voice)
| Direct-to-video<ref name="btva" />
|-
| 2001
| ''[[Monsters, Inc.]]''
| Augustus "Spike" Jones (voice)
|
|-
| 2002
| ''[[The Hunchback of Notre Dame II]]''
| Guard (voice)
| Direct-to-video<ref name="btva" />
|}
=== Television ===
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Year !! Title !! Role !! Notes
|-
| 1995
| ''[[Pinky and the Brain]]''
| Francois (voice)
| Episode: "Napoleon Brainaparte"<ref name="btva" />
|-
| 1995
| ''[[What-a-Mess]]''
| Additional Voices
| 3 episodes
|-
| 1996–1997
| ''[[Superman: The Animated Series]]''
| Electrician, Maitre D' (voice)
| 2 episodes<ref name="btva" />
|-
| 1997
| ''[[The Legend of Calamity Jane]]''
| Additional Voices
| 13 episodes
|-
| 1998
| ''[[Oh Yeah! Cartoons]]''
| Fox, Old Timer, Max (voice)
| 2 episodes<ref name="btva" />
|-
| 1999–2002
| ''[[Hey Arnold!]]''
| Miller, GIs, Cops (voice)
| 2 episodes<ref name="btva" />
|-
| 1999
| ''[[The Angry Beavers]]''
| El Grapadura, Alien (voice)
| Episode: "Norberto y Daggetto en El Grapadura y el Castor Malo"<ref name="btva" />
|-
| 1999
| ''[[Johnny Bravo]]''
| Raoul (voice)
| Episode: "Mama's New Boyfriend"<ref name="btva" />
|-
| 1999
| ''[[Batman Beyond]]''
| Spike, Sailboat Captain (voice)
| 2 episodes<ref name="btva" />
|-
| 2001
| ''[[Static Shock]]''
| Security Guard (voice)
| Episode: "Replay"<ref name="btva" />
|-
| 2001
| ''[[Time Squad]]''
| [[Leonardo da Vinci]] (voice)
| Episode: "Daddio DaVinci"
|-
| 2002
| ''[[Samurai Jack]]''
| Owner, Engineer, Passenger, [[Baba Looey]] (voice)
| Episode: "Couple on a Train"<ref name="btva" />
|-
| 2003
| ''[[Ozzy & Drix]]''
| Hector's Dad (voice)
| 2 episodes<ref name="btva" />
|-
| 2004–2006
| ''[[The Adventures of Jimmy Neutron, Boy Genius]]''
| Sir Estevez (voice)
| 4 episodes<ref name="btva" />
|-
| 2004–2005
| ''[[The Batman (TV series)|The Batman]]''
| Crime Bosses, Bomb Technician (voice)
| 2 episodes<ref name="btva" />
|-
| 2005
| ''[[All Grown Up!]]''
| Enrique, Doctor (voice)
| Episode: "Dude, Where's My Horse?"
|-
| 2005
| ''[[Danger Rangers]]''
| Hector, Joey Clams, Raccoon Dad (voice)
| Episode: "Water Works"<ref name="btva" />
|-
| 2006
| ''[[W.I.T.C.H. (TV series)|W.I.T.C.H.]]''
| Guard, Mayor (voice)
| Episode: "X is for Xanadu"
|}
=== Video games ===
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Year !! Title !! Role !! Notes
|-
| 1992
| ''[[It Came from the Desert]]''
| Koolman
|
|-
| 1999
| ''[[Gabriel Knight 3: Blood of the Sacred, Blood of the Damned]]''
| Train Conductor, Vittorio Buchelli, Bartender
|<ref name="btva" />
|-
| 2005
| ''[[Killer7]]''
| Kun Lan
|<ref name="btva" />
|}
== Collaborations ==
'''With [[Gypsy (band)|Gypsy]]'''
* ''[[In the Garden (Gypsy album)|In the Garden]]'' (Metromedia Records – KMD 1044, 1971)
'''With [[Barbra Streisand]]'''
* ''[[Guilty (Barbra Streisand album)|Guilty]]'' (Columbia Records, 1980)
'''With [[Stephen Stills]]'''
* ''[[Manassas (album)|Manassas]]'' (Atlantic Records, 1972)
* ''[[Down the Road (Manassas album)|Down the Road]]'' (Atlantic Records, 1973)
* ''[[Stills (Stephen Stills album)|Stills]]'' (Columbia Records, 1975)
* ''[[Illegal Stills]]'' (Columbia Records, 1976)
* ''[[Thoroughfare Gap]]'' (Columbia Records, 1978)
* ''[[Right by You]]'' (Atlantic Records, 1984)
* ''[[Man Alive! (Stephen Stills album)|Man Alive!]]'' (Pyramid Records, 2005)
'''With [[Dionne Warwick]]'''
* ''[[Heartbreaker (Dionne Warwick album)|Heartbreaker]]'' (Arista Records, 1982)
'''With [[David Crosby]]'''
* ''[[Oh Yes I Can]]'' (A&M Records, 1989)
'''With [[Joe Walsh]]'''
* ''[[The Smoker You Drink, the Player You Get]]'' (ABC Records, 1973)
'''With [[Dan Fogelberg]]'''
* ''[[Souvenirs (Dan Fogelberg album)|Souvenirs]]'' (Epic Records, 1974)
* ''[[Nether Lands]]'' (Epic Records, 1977)
* ''[[Twin Sons of Different Mothers]]'' (Epic Records, 1978)
* ''[[The Innocent Age]]'' (Epic Records, 1981)
* ''[[Windows and Walls]]'' (Epic Records, 1984)
* ''[[Exiles (Dan Fogelberg album)|Exiles]]'' (Epic Records, 1987)
'''With [[Don Felder]]'''
* ''[[Airborne (Don Felder album)|Airborne]]'' (Asylum Records, 1983)
'''With [[Bill Wyman]]'''
* ''[[Monkey Grip (Bill Wyman album)|Monkey Grip]]'' (Atlantic Records, 1974)
'''With [[Ringo Starr]]'''
* ''[[Stop and Smell the Roses (Ringo Starr album)|Stop and Smell the Roses]]'' (RCA Records, 1981)
'''With [[Neil Diamond]]'''
* ''[[Beautiful Noise]]'' (Columbia Records, 1976)
'''With [[Jackson Browne]]'''
* ''[[Hold Out]]'' (Asylum Records, 1980)
'''With [[Kenny Rogers]]'''
* ''[[Eyes That See in the Dark]]'' (RCA Records, 1983)
'''With [[Graham Nash]]'''
* ''[[Earth & Sky (album)|Earth & Sky]]'' (Capitol Records, 1980)
* ''[[Innocent Eyes (Graham Nash album)|Innocent Eyes]]'' (Atlantic Records, 1986)
'''With [[Neil Young]]'''
* ''[[Trans (album)|Trans]]'' (Geffen, 1982)
'''With [[Rod Stewart]]'''
* ''[[A Night on the Town (Rod Stewart album)|A Night on the Town]]'' (Warner Bros. Records, 1976)
'''With [[Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young]]'''
* ''[[CSNY 1974]]'' (Rhino Records, 2014)
==References==
{{reflist}}
==External links==
*{{Official website|http://www.joelala.com}}
*{{IMDb name|id=0482329}}
*{{allMusic|artist|mn0000137830}}
* {{Discogs artist|Joe Lala}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lala, Joe}}
[[Category:1947 births]]
[[Category:2014 deaths]]
[[Category:American rock drummers]]
[[Category:American male voice actors]]
[[Category:American male television actors]]
[[Category:Blues Image members]]
[[Category:Musicians from Tampa, Florida]]
[[Category:Male actors from Tampa, Florida]]
[[Category:Souther–Hillman–Furay Band members]]
[[Category:Thomas Jefferson High School (Tampa, Florida) alumni]]
[[Category:Male actors from Florida]]
[[Category:Deaths from lung cancer in Florida]]
[[Category:American rock percussionists]]
[[Category:American session musicians]]
[[Category:Timbaleros]]
[[Category:Conga players]]
[[Category:Bongo players]]
[[Category:Tambourine players]]
[[Category:Maracas players]]
[[Category:Güiro players]]
[[Category:American people of Italian descent]]
[[Category:Manassas (band) members]]