Mic drop: The 2024 RIP thread for musicians

Pour one out for Greg and blast some Weird Al

Greg Kihn, An Iconic Figure in the Realm of Rock Music Has Passed Away at the Age of 75. | Greg Kihn

 

Alzheimer's. Terrible.

What? No more albums with plays on words featuring his last name? Hopefully, "Next of Kihn" will be his last anthology.

Actually, he was a prolific songwriter and performer, particularly in the Bay Area. Seemed like you couldn't swing a crazy cat lady without hitting him playing somewhere between San Francisco, San Jose or the East Bay in the 1980s.

RIP. And they don't write 'em like that any more.

 

Sad news. "The Breakup Song" is a classic.

He was older than I would have guessed.

 

Kihn was only three years younger than the lead singer of Iron Butterfly, whose biggest hit came 15 years before "Jeopardy." I always thought of Kihn as a poor man's Huey Lewis: both lifers from the Bay Area who finally managed some hits in their 30s.

 

Overnight sensation! After almost 14 years of playing and at least seven years of being an underground success in the Bay Area. Berzerkly Records! I had completely forgotten that label.

 

RIP Jack Russell of Great White, 63.

https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/jack-russell-great-white-dead-obituary-1235081385/

Sadly, Great White will be remembered more for the deadly fire in Providence in 2003 than for being a better-than-average hair band.

 

Great White was definitely underrated in terms of bands of their era. They were a musical version of a mid-rotation starter...maximized the best of their skills (in this case, a lead singer who was by far the best Robert Plant soundalike of the decade) and went as far as they could before the bottom fell out. They had some really good songs even beyond the obvious hits (and covers).

Jack Russell had a really rough go of it...lots self-inflicted (plenty of substance abuse and he was busted for shooting a maid in the '70s) long before the event for which Great White will always be known. I don't know if he fibbed about his age (I figure a lot of guys from that era did) or if he aged badly post-fire, but he looked a lot older than just 63. I always found it a little unfair that they bore the brunt of the blame for that. Sure, it was dumb as hell to set off pyros in a dingy club, but there's no way the tour manager deserved the same punishment as one of the club owners (another one didn't even serve prison time).

I also found it sad that the band kept touring--in two different incarnations--after the Station fire. It wasn't their fault, but continuing to tour after the worst concert tragedy in history always felt wrong. It's hard enough to tour for an '80s band to tour today without becoming a punchline, but how could anyone think of anything other than the fire when they saw Great White was coming to town? They were well beyond their prime and it was sad they couldn't or wouldn't do anything else, even when their only option was playing county fairs with eighth-generation replacement members or an obviously hobbled Jack touring with his version of the band. (The other version generated controversy in 2020 for doing a packed show in North Dakota) Hopefully Jack has found peace now. RIP.

 

Walk Thru and Flex stood out in the genre. RIP.

 

RIP Herbie Flowers, most remembered for the epic bassline in Walk on the Wild Side

Bass guitarist Herbie Flowers dies aged 86

Herbie Flowers: The Story Behind Lou Reed's "Walk on the Wild Side" Bass Line

 

"Rock On" by David Essex was amazingly weird sounding, even for 1973, retro-futuristic. And the lyrics were unusual, too.

Not surprised Herbie played the bass on both those songs, now that I think about it.

 

“Dream Weaver”

 

Another of the Jackson 5 is gone.

https://www.cnn.com/2024/09/16/us/tito-jackson-death/index.html