Rob Parissi

Rob Parissi is an American singer and guitarist, perhaps best known as frontman for the American funk group Wild Cherry , under which he had his biggest, and so far only hit " Play That Funky Music . " 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 and the rest of the Northern West Virginia panhandle, and Pittsburgh , Pennsylvania . After Wild Cherry disbanded in 1979, Parissi became a producer and dedicated himself to adult contemporary music. Rob is now [ when? ] writing and recording in the Smooth Jazz genre, as well as collaborating with Steve Oliver and Will Donato .