Born Sandy Pesavento in Long Beach, California, she was a singer, songwriter and a drummer. "It will never be the same for me again to step on a stage, because Sandy West … Following her untimely death, she was interred at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Cypress, Orange County, California. "Sandy West loved her fans, her friends and family almost to a fault," Currie said in a statement.
The most athletic of seven sisters, Sandy was an avid surfer and water skier. The most athletic of seven sisters, Sandy was an avid surfer and water skier.
Sandy West, Soundtrack: The Runaways. Time magazine described her as a "pioneering rock drummer". Musician. West formed her own group the Sandy West Band and released the solo album "The Beat is Back."
Unable to support herself as a musician, she worked mostly in construction as well as a small amount of time as both a bartender and a veterinary assistant in order to keep herself afloat.
Sandy West, (Sandy Pesavento), American musician (born 1959, Los Angeles, Calif.—died Oct. 21, 2006, San Dimas, Calif.), used her powerful drumming to ignite the influential all-female rock band the Runaways, which she founded in 1975 with Joan Jett. Unable to support herself as a musician, Sandy worked mainly in construction as well as a small amount of time as both a bartender and a veterinary assistant in order to keep herself afloat.
She was an important member of the band for four years and wrote all her own drum parts.
The most athletic of seven sisters, Sandy was an avid surfer and water skier.
Choose an adventure below and discover your next favorite movie or TV show. After the break up of The Runaways, Sandy West began working in construction while …
Drummer, singer, songwriter and guitarist Sandy West was born as Sandy Pesavento on July 10, 1959 in Long Beach, California and was raised in Huntington Beach. However, she did continue to perform live in concert with former the Runaways lead singer Cherie Currie on several occasions throughout the years. She was the drummer for the 1970s teenage/all-female rock group West began playing the violin as a kid, but soon switched to drums at age nine after her grandfather bought her a drum kit. While the Runaways failed to achieve much commercial success in America, they were a huge smash in Japan, where they performed in arenas to sold out crowds and released a live album that went gold.
She started performing in public at age thirteen as the sole female member of a local band.
At age sixteen Sandy co-founded the seminal all-female rock group the Runaways in 1975. Her mother is shown interviewed throughout the documentary Edgeplay (2004) talking about her daughter's involvement in the band, Drummer, singer, songwriter and guitarist Sandy West was born as Sandy Pesavento on July 10, 1959 in Long Beach, California and was raised in Huntington Beach.
Drummer, singer, songwriter and guitarist Sandy West was born as Sandy Pesavento on July 10, 1959 in Long Beach, California and was raised in Huntington Beach. "Sandy West loved her fans, her friends and family almost to a fault," Currie said in a statement.
Sandy West died at the tragically young age of 47 on October 21, 2006. Alas, the Runaways broke up in 1979.
See high school TV and movie icons then and now, from "Looking for something to watch? The most athletic of seven sisters, Sandy was an avid surfer and water skier.
Drummer, singer, songwriter and guitarist Sandy West was born as Sandy Pesavento on July 10, 1959 in Long Beach, California and was raised in Huntington Beach. In 1975, at age sixteen she co-founded the seminal all-female rock group the Runaways, which included members Joan Jett, Cherie Currie, Lita Ford and Jackie Fox.
Moreover, West was widely acknowledged as an exceptionally fine and proficient drummer who influenced many women rock musicians to start playing the drums. She's featured as an interview subject in the 2004 documentary "Edgeplay: A Film About the Runaways."
Sandy was diagnosed with lung cancer in 2005.
The group became known for such hard-driving hit anthems as “Cherry Bomb” and “Born to Be Bad” before it disbanded in 1979.