1. Joseph Anthony Lala was an American musician and actor.
12 Facts About Joe Lala
2.
Joe Lala was born in Ybor City, Tampa, Florida, into a family of Italian-American background.
3.
Joe Lala's father left the family when Joe was a child, so he was raised by his mother on her own.
4.
Joe Lala started out playing the drums in several Florida bands, before forming the band Blues Image.
5.
Joe Lala occasionally sang lead vocals, most notably on the song "Leaving My Troubles Behind".
6.
Joe Lala 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.
7.
Joe Lala provided the wide selection of percussive effects on Barbra Streisand's 1980 worldwide No 1 album Guilty, and contributed to Whitney Houston's eponymous 1985 debut album.
8.
Joe Lala was the last in the drummer stool for the handful of concerts given in February 1973 by the disintegrating Byrds.
9.
Joe Lala 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.
10.
Joe Lala was married to voice director Ginny McSwain from 1996 until their divorce in 2004.
11.
Joe Lala coached young actors at the Italian Club in his native Ybor City.
12.
Joe Lala died from complications of lung cancer on March 18,2014, at the age of 66.