David Donato (singer)

David Thomas Donato [2] was an American singer known for his involvement in Black Sabbath. He recorded several demos with the band and rehearsed throughout 1984 and 1985.

For the Australian rules footballer, see David Donato (footballer).
David Donato
Birth nameDavid Thomas Donato
Born1954 (age 66–67) Date of death: February 2, 2021
Genres
Occupation(s)Vocalist
InstrumentsVocalist
Years active1984-1990?
Associated acts

Career

Black Sabbath
Main article: Black Sabbath

"After Gillan, we were living out in America, in LA again," recalled guitarist Tony Iommi. "We were auditioning all sorts of different singers… and this Dave Donato was one of the ones who we did try a few times… He seemed to look alright and whatever else, and seemed to be okay, but it was just auditions. We never actually had him in, as a part of the band. But it happened that Kerrang! or somebody came out to do an interview and, of course, he was there at the time, and they took a picture of everybody. So automatically this guy suddenly becomes part of the band – according to everybody else."[3]

Contrary to reports,[4] Donato was not fired after an interview with Kerrang!. The band soon fell apart, and Iommi formed an entirely new Sabbath the following year.[5]

The Donato demos – containing songs such as "No Way Out", "Dancing with the Devil", "Don't beg the Master" and "Sail On" – remain out of the public domain, but a 1984 rehearsal session featuring Donato, Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler, and Bill Ward surfaced online in 2006. This was produced by Bob Ezrin.[5]

White Tiger
Main article: White Tiger (band)

After Sabbath, Donato joined the glam metal band White Tiger with former KISS guitarist Mark St. John, who was in a band with Donato prior to joining Kiss.

Donato recorded a 7 track demo in 1988 with White Tiger, the intention was to record a second album but White Tiger split up before the album was ever completed, it only wasn’t until 1999 when the un-completed album was released filled with many demo tracks under the name Raw.[6][7]

Later career

In 1990 Donato joined The Keep founded by former Kiss members Peter Criss and his former White Tiger bandmate St. John. This became what was essentially White Tiger, with Criss replacing Brian Fox on drums, and Donato replaced David MacDonald. They only performed live just once, on May 2, 1990 at a drum clinic at the Guitar Center music store in Lawndale, California.[8]

Death

David Donato passed away on February 2, 2021 after a long illness.

Discography

Album
  • White Tiger (1986)
  • Raw (1999)

References
  • Sharpe-Young, Garry (2006). Sabbath Bloody Sabbath: The Battle for Black Sabbath. Zonda Books Limited. ISBN 0-9582684-1-X.
Notes
  1. "Kiss Related Recordings; The Tree (a.k.a. The Keep) - demo 1989 - 1990". Kiss-related-recordings.nl. Retrieved 2 December 2017.
  2. "David Donato discography". RateYourMusic. Retrieved 2019-05-10.
  3. Tommy Vance's Friday Rock Show, BBC Radio 1, 28 June 1992, transcribed in Sabbath fanzine Southern Cross #14, October 1994, p39
  4. "Zero the Hero...David Donato's place in Black Sabbath history has been massively misrepresented over the years". Rockdetector. 2006-04-29. Archived from the original on 2007-06-12. Retrieved 2011-07-25.
  5. bravewords.com. "BLACK SABBATH Update: More David Donato "Mystery Years" Info Available". bravewords.com. Retrieved 2019-05-10.
  6. https://web.archive.org/web/20071012183439/http://rockdetector.com/interviews/artist%2C1108.sm?id=94
  7. http://www.allmusic.com/album/raw-mw0000602733
  8. http://ultimateclassicrock.com/peter-criss-post-kiss-career/
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