Jimmy Destri

Jimmy Destri (born James Mollica, April 13, 1954, Brooklyn, New York City, United States) is an American musician. Destri is of Italian descent. His father was a novelist who also wrote screenplays and eventually advertising copy to support his family while his mother was a housewife. He has a sister, Donna Destri, who is also a singer and did backing vocals for Blondie and Jimmy's own solo record. Destri grew up in Boro Park and was raised in his grandmother's house. His uncle played drums for Joey Dee and the Starlighters. He attended Catholic schools and went to Bishop Ford High School. Destri dropped out of high school in order to form his first band. He played keyboards in the rock band Blondie, and was one of the principal songwriters for the band along with Chris Stein and Deborah Harry. He rejoined Blondie in 1997. Destri ceased touring with the band in 2004, but remained an official member for several more years. After he stopped playing Blondie he worked full time as a drug counselor/therapist at the outpatient recovery center Carnegie Hill Institute in New York City. In April 2020, he went back to practice as a drug counselor/therapist at Seabrook in New Jersey.