Mario Cipollina is an American musician, playing the bass guitar. He is a founding member of the American rock band Huey Lewis and the News.

Biography

Cipollina was born in San Rafael, California in 1954. His older brother, John Cipollina (1943–1989) was the guitarist for Quicksilver Messenger Service. Cipollina was in the band Soundhole, based in the San Francisco Bay Area. Their biggest competition was Clover. In 1979, members of Soundhole and Clover joined forces to form Huey Lewis and the News. The News' sound draws upon early pop, rnb, doo-wop, blue-eyed soul and new wave. They had many top ten hits in the 1980s, including "Do You Believe in Love", "Heart and Soul", "I Want a New Drug", "The Heart of Rock & Roll", "If This Is It", "Hip to Be Square", "I Know What I Like", "Doing It All for My Baby" and "Perfect World". Cipollina was in USA For Africa, and sang in the chorus for the charity single We Are the World. Cipollina was fired from Huey Lewis and the News in 1995 due to suffering from drug addiction. From 2002 to 2004, Mario was a member of "Quicksilver Gold", a tribute band to Quicksilver Messenger Service. In 2007, Cipollina joined the News on stage for a state fair in California.