The Sunnyvale Sun

Cover Story

Rock On

Cupertino's own Papa Doo Run Run plays long and strong

By Michael Cronk

Don Zirilli laughs recalling the time he boarded an airplane and encountered a cabin full of men dressed in business suits. Zirelli was dressed in his typical summer garb--a Hawaiian shirt and shorts.

"A guy asked me if I was on vacation and I said 'No, I'm going to work,' " says Zirilli. "He asked me what I did, and I told him I was in a band."

The man paused, and then declared: "You're the envy of every guy on this plane."

Zirilli, the keyboardist, vocalist and manager for Papa Doo Run Run, couldn't disagree.

"I haven't had a real job in 42 years," says Zirilli of the band's phenomenal run that began when he and three other Cupertino High School graduates formed it in 1965. "It's been 40 years of summer. It doesn't get any better than this."

Papa Doo Run Run--renowned for its uncanny and award-winning renditions of the songs of the Beach Boys, with other classic rock thrown in--is still going strong and averages 100 performance dates a year, primarily these days at corporate gigs. The band has toured the world, played with the Beach Boys and surf music legends Jan and Dean, had a giant hit single, two gold records and a Grammy nomination for California Project, its groundbreaking CD.

Over the years, Papa has played at virtually every high school in California and was the "house band" at Disneyland from 1975 to 1990. Its summer concerts at the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk draw thousands.

The band's success, longevity and influence were acknowledged last fall when it was inducted into the San Jose Rocks Hall of Fame.

Dan Orloff, a public relations executive, co-founded San Jose Rocks to acknowledge and honor this area's many contributions to the music industry.

"There's not a form of music that has been recorded or played whose origins can't be traced to the Silicon Valley," he says. "Starting from the first radio station broadcasting music in 1909 from downtown San Jose, to eight-track Ampex tape recording in the '50s, to Apple's iPod, iTunes and garage band software."

On the music front, Orloff says, groups such as Credence Clearwater Revival, the Grateful Dead, Jefferson Airplane, Fleetwood Mac, Smash Mouth, Faction and Trapt have substantial roots in San Jose and Silicon Valley. Papa Doo Run Run is high on that list.

Orloff attributes "Papa's Role 'n Rock," as he puts it, to three things.

"Surfer-style music is one of the most recognizable styles, and it's indigenous to California. Secondly, every one of those guys is a talented musician, and they actually improve on the arrangements of the songs they cover," he says.

"Lastly, they are superb showmen. Without those things you don't get to the top."

Zirilli adds, "We play the soundtrack of people's lives, especially the baby boomers. We play songs that they are familiar with and can sing to."

Zirili, 61, still lives in Cupertino with his wife, Margie. Growing up, he worked summers picking apricots and cherries. "You can't find an apricot tree now to save your life," he says.

The band's original four members were Zirilli, Jim Rush on bass, Steve Dromensk on guitar and Jim Shippey on drums. They began practicing in a garage.

"We knew we were getting better when the neighbors stopped calling the police," says Zirilli. "There were kids in the driveway listening to the band practice."

Zirilli, who describes himself as "a wallflower" in high school, says he wanted to be in a band to play at a high school dance and to get girls. "That how you got girls at the time."

The band had three names from 1965 to 1971--ZU, Goodie Two Shoes and Papa Du Run Da Run. That was later shortened to Papa Doo Run Run.

The band was a "Top 40 act" until 1971 when it was the opening act for Tower of Power, which was late in arriving. Papa was asked to an extra half-hour, and the members decided to do some Beach Boys' songs. It was a risky move because the Beach Boys were considered passe at the time. The guys expected to be booed. But, Zirilli says, "The place went nuts. That night we decided to get rid of everything else and just do Beach Boys stuff."

In the early '70s Papa went on tour with Jan and Dean and later appeared in a movie about the duo's life titled Deadman's Curve. Papa also recorded the sound track for the movie.

The band's biggest hit came in 1975 with its rendition of "Be True to Your School."

"It was a huge success for us. It was No. 1 in the Bay Area, Top 40 in California and a Hot 100 in the rest of the country," says Zirilli.

Over the years, band members have come and gone. Besides the original four members, musicians who've played, or still play, with Papa Doo Run Run include Charlie Rush, Mark Ward, Jim Armstrong, Steve Barone, Andy Parker, former Beach Boy Jeffrey Foskett, Bo Fox, Adrian Baker, Randall Kirsch and Bob Gothar.

"I love getting to travel to places and meet a lot of terrific people. It's something I will cherish all my life," says Zirilli.

"When the phone stops ringing," he says, "then I'll stop."

There are more than 100 audio and video clips, and CDs and T-shirts for sale on the band's website at www.papadoo.com, There are also video links to performances by the groups inducted into the San Jose Rocks Hall of Fame at www.San Jose Rocks.org.