Drummer Bobby Rondinelli recently opened up about the moment he turned down a spot in KISS to join Rainbow instead, sharing the story in an interview with VRP Rocks.
Rondinelli explained that he had been a finalist for the KISS drummer position, competing directly against Eric Carr, before circumstances led him toward Ritchie Blackmore’s Rainbow.
“It was actually down to me and Eric Carr. I think it started, they got like 2,000 tapes or whatever, and it was down to me and him,” Rondinelli said.
He then described how his connection with Ritchie Blackmore came about while he was still in the running for the KISS gig.
“And during that time I met Ritchie, a guy named Barry Ambrosio, brought Ritchie down to hear me play at a club and asked me if I wanted to jam. So I said, ‘Hell yeah. Hell yeah.’ He knew I was up for the gig in KISS, but he said, ‘If you want to play with us, I want you.’ So I said, ‘All right, well, we’ll see what happens,'” he continued.
Rondinelli went on to explain the decision-making process that ultimately led him to commit to Rainbow before hearing back from KISS.
“So I waited a couple of days, and then I said to myself, you know, I was never really a KISS fan. I was a big Rainbow fan and Purple fan. So I called Ritchie and I said, ‘Look, if you still want me, I want to do it.’ And he goes, ‘What if KISS calls you?’ I said, well, ‘I’ll tell them, I already got a gig,'” he said.
He added that his decision was made before he officially learned he had not been chosen for KISS.
“And a couple of days later I got a letter from Bill Aucoin, who was their manager, saying, ‘Thanks, but no thanks.’ But I took the Rainbow gig before I knew I wasn’t in KISS,” Rondinelli said.
Eric Carr ultimately landed the KISS drummer role. Rondinelli went on to join Rainbow.
That decision placed Rondinelli right at the center of one of Rainbow’s most significant lineup shifts. He stepped in as the replacement for Cozy Powell in 1980, joining a band that at the time featured Ritchie Blackmore, bassist Roger Glover, keyboardist Don Airey, and vocalist Joe Lynn Turner. Taking over from a drummer as respected as Powell was no small task. It put Rondinelli in a lineup already known for pushing Rainbow’s sound in new directions.
During his time with the band, Rondinelli recorded two studio albums, “Difficult to Cure” in 1981 and “Straight Between the Eyes” in 1982. Both records marked a noticeable shift toward a harder, more metal-driven sound for Rainbow, moving away from the more melodic rock the band had leaned on in earlier years. His drumming played a key role in that transition, helping shape the heavier direction the band took during that period.
As for the KISS side of the story, the deciding factor between Rondinelli and Carr came down to more than just drumming ability. Carr’s vocals gave him an edge over Rondinelli in the final selection process, since KISS valued a drummer who could also contribute backing vocals on stage and in the studio.
Rondinelli’s stint with Rainbow ultimately lasted until the middle of 1982. That chapter saw him contribute to two commercially successful albums before he moved on to other projects in the years that followed. His run with the band remains one of the more notable “what if” moments in rock history, given how close he came to taking the KISS drum throne instead.
