Dave Smalley (pop musician)

Early years

Smalley was born in Franklin, Pennsylvania on July 10, 1949, and moved to the Cleveland area in his youth.

His musical career began at age 15 with the Mods, a Cleveland band that became the Choir (garage rock), where he was the lead singer. The Choir charted a #1 regional hit, "It's Cold Outside", which also became a top 100 hit.

1970s

Upon returning from duty in Vietnam in 1971, he joined some former band mates in Raspberries, famous for their hits "Go All the Way", "I Wanna Be with You" and "Overnight Sensation (Hit Record)". From 1971-1973, he wrote, played, sang, and toured with them and recorded three albums with Capitol Records. As bassist and contributing songwriter, often sharing credits with front man Eric Carmen, Smalley also provided background vocals while Carmen and lead guitarist Wally Bryson shared the spotlight.

On the Raspberries' debut album Raspberries, Dave Smalley wrote; "Rock & Roll Mama" & "Get It Moving"; on the Raspberries' second album Fresh Raspberries he wrote "Every Way I Can" and with Eric Carmen co-wrote "Goin' Nowhere Tonight," "Nobody Knows," "It Seemed So Easy," and "Drivin' Around"; and on the Raspberries' third album Side 3 he wrote "Making It Easy," "Hard To Get Over A Heartbreak" & "Should I Wait."

In 1973, after having been ejected from Raspberries after their third album Side 3, Smalley formed a band called Dynamite with fellow former Raspberry Jim Bonfanti and Kevin Raleigh, later keyboardist with the Ohio-based Michael Stanley Band.

1980s

In 1980, he formed The Secret, a classic Rock and Roll band that performed locally in the Cleveland area. After The Secret split up, Smalley moved to Arizona. In 1988, Smalley, Bryson and Bonfanti reunited with The Choir in Cleveland for a Father's Day concert sponsored by WMMS.

1990s

In 1998, Smalley joined Scott McCarl (Smalley's replacement in Raspberries), Bryson and Bonfanti for McCarl's solo show in Cleveland which included segments with a Choir reunion and with the four performing tunes from the Raspberries days.

Millennium and after

In March 2000, reuniting as Raspberries with former members Bryson and Scott McCarl (who replaced Smalley in 1974), and with the aid of some session musicians, the band recorded new material and released it as a six song EP, Refreshed.

Some 30 years after the Raspberries' breakup, Smalley released his first solo album, Internal Monologue. According to Smalley, the songs are "a collection of personal favorites".

In November 2004, the four original Raspberries (Smalley, along with Carmen, Bryson, and Bonfanti) played together for the first time in 30 years, at the House of Blues in Cleveland. It escalated into a reunion tour that lasted nearly a year. A date from the 2005 tour was recorded and released in 2007 as "Live on Sunset Strip."