Bassist Sal Maida who played with bands Roxy Music, Sparks passes away at 76
Feb 04, 2025
New York [US], February 4 : Sal Maida, a New York-born bassist who played with bands including Roxy Music, Sparks and Milk 'N' Cookies passed away at the age of 76 in New York, as per The Hollywood Reporter.
Maida's wife Lisa Burns-Maida announced that he passed away on February 1 due to complications resulting from a fall in December, as quoted by The Hollywood Reporter.
During his career, Maida performed with Ronnie Spector, The Runaways, Cracker/Camper Van Beethoven, Mary Weiss of the Shangri-Las, Annie Golden of The Shirts and Velveteen.
Born in New York on July 29, 1948, Salvatore Maida was raised in Manhattan. The singer developed his love for music when he heard a multitude of sounds emanating from the jukebox below his window.
It included the songs from "Frank Sinatra to the Stones, Motown, Ray Charles, The Beatles and Dinah Washington," wrote Sal Maida once as quoted by The Hollywood Reporter.
After graduating from Fordham University with a bachelor's degree in economics, the singer travelled to London to work in a record store.
While working, he met the Roxy Music drummer Paul Thompson. Following this, he joined the art rock band for their Stranded Tour in 1973 and the next year became a member of Milk 'N' Cookies.
Though short-lived, the Milk 'N' Cookies band proved to be influential for many people. It was reissued in the mid-2000s. They briefly reformed and played occasional shows through the 2010s.
Maida was also with the American pop and rock duo--Sparks for their 1976 album, Big Beat. In recent years, the fun-loving Maida hosted a radio show, Spin Cycle.
He also wrote the 2017 memoir Four Strings, Phony Proof and 300 45s -- the last bit of the title is a reference to his prodigious collection of 45s -- published by HoZac Books, as per The Hollywood Reporter.
HoZac recently released an updated edition of the book, adding Bottoms Up, where Maida wrote about his top bassists from 1960-70.
