Rob Parissi is an American singer and guitarist of the American funk group Wild Cherry, under which he had his biggest, and so far only hit Play That Funky Music

Play That Funky Music

"Play That Funky Music" is a funk song written by Robert Parissi and recorded by the band Wild Cherry. The performers on the classic recording included the members of the band at the time: lead singer Parissi, guitarist Bryan Bassett, bassist Allen Wentz, and drummer Ron Beitle, with session horn...

.He was raised in the steel mill town of Mingo Junction, Ohio. He graduated from Mingo High School in 1968. Rob formed the band Wild Cherry in 1970 in Steubenville, Ohio, one mile north of Mingo Junction along the Ohio River. The band played the Ohio Valley region, Wheeling, West Virginia

Wheeling, West Virginia

Wheeling is a city in Ohio and Marshall counties in the U.S. state of West Virginia; it is the county seat of Ohio County. Wheeling is the principal city of the Wheeling Metropolitan Statistical Area...

 and the rest of the Northern West Virginia panhandle, and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Pittsburgh is the second-largest city in the US Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Allegheny County. Regionally, it anchors the largest urban area of Appalachia and the Ohio River Valley, and nationally, it is the 22nd-largest urban area in the United States...

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After Wild Cherry disbanded in 1979, Parissi became a producer and dedicated himself to adult contemporary music. Rob is now writing and recording in the Smooth Jazz genre, as well as collaborating with Steve Oliver and Will Donato for his next upcoming CD release in the fall of 2011. His current CD Ocean Sunset contains the singles "Ocean Sunset" and "Let's Get Right Down To It" that are both getting worldwide radio play.