Wild Cherry

Rob Parissi (lead vocals & guitar) was raised in the tough, diverse steel mill town of Mingo Junction, Ohio. Parissi graduated from Mingo High School in 1968. Rob formed his first band in 1970 in Steubenville, Ohio, one mile north of Mingo Junction along the Ohio River. The band's name "Wild Cherry" was taken from a box of cough drops while Rob was recuperating from a brief hospital stay. The band played the Ohio Valley region, the West Virginia panhandle, and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

The original lineup included: Ben DiFabbio (drums and vocals), Louie Osso (guitar, lead and background vocals) from Steubenville, Ohio, Larry Brown (bass, lead and background vocals) from Weirton, West Virginia, Larry Mader (keyboards, lead and background vocals) from East Springfield, Ohio. Over time, the band members changed, with Osso, Brown, and Mader leaving the band, replaced by Rob's cousin, Coogie Stoddart (guitar, lead and background vocals) and Joe Buchmelter (bass). Buchmelter was soon replaced by Buckie Lusk.