Quiet Riot Singer Kevin Dubrow: Dead
So, I just got back from a Thanksgiving trip and settled in. I looked forward to seeing your comments and putting together some smart-ass post.
That was before I saw the news today.
According to this story up on cnn.com, Kevin Dubrow (lead singer of pop metal pioneers Quiet Riot) was found dead at his home in Las Vegas today at the age of 52.
Like many of us that came of musical age in the 1980s, Quiet Riot was my first quasi-metal band. I had no idea that Ozzy Osbourne guitar legend Randy Rhoads had been in the band. I knew nothing about the group, really.
But with “Cum on Feel the Noise” and the follow-up “Bang Your Head (Metal Health),” they got me hooked on that guilty pleasure of the ‘80s (well, at least one of them): hair metal. Say what you will about Dubrow’s scary hair. And argue all you want that his voice wasn’t the best in rock.
But a piece of my past has died.
And the sad part is that he was only 52. Not young, I know—but he wasn’t even on my list of “Most Likely Celebrities To Die.” Yes, I have such a list … and if Dubrow would have appeared on it, he would’ve been far below #95: Dustin Diamond, “Screech” from Saved by the Bell.
I will listen to my Quiet Riot albums with a different mood this week.
And you should all hope that Ratt’s Stephen Pearcy, Crüe’s Vince Neil, Metallica’s James Hetfield, and Tesla’s Jeff Keith stay healthy. I couldn't handle losing more of my past right now.
posted by David Amulet @ 4:24 PM
22 wisecracks
22 Comments:
I hear ya, David. I got real sad when I heard the news. I hate adding names to my blog that's a tribute to rock musicians who have died, its one blog I wish I never had to write on.
Its hard for some people to understand how deeply some of us can be affected by the loss of someone we had never "met", but don't even try and console me if BS dies before me...I will be in mourning for a long time. Maybe I'll go first....
Rock stars just won't age. I don't understand it. Last year Brad Delp of Boston passed away.
the weirdest thing about hair bands of the 80s was that no one thought they were weird.
Barbara: Another entry, another sad day. I hear you about BS, although at least he's got a few more years behind him than KB ....
-- david
WIGSF: The Stones (the alive ones, that is) are getting up there, as are two of the Beatles and assorted other 60s artists. But the rate of dying young sure seems higher for rockers.
Just Me: I remember thinking they were odd, but I didn't mind odd very much.
-- david
52 is too young. But I bet he lived more than most ever do.
I never was into the metal sounds. At that time I was a new wave fan. The Alarm, New Order, Echo and the Bunnymen, etc. But 52 is not too far for me, just another 17 years or so. Yikes.
Mimi: We'll never know what he might have done in the rest of his career.
Mike: It makes you sit up and notice, doesn't it? Back then, 52 seemed old ... now, it seems possible.
-- david
52 is VERY YOUNG, way too young to die :(
1980 I was 15 years old, and at the height of my own little Beatlemania. My mother came home from work late and told me John Lennon was dead. When you are 15, you think everything is going to last forever. Sadly, it doesn't. But you can touch the echos of what was every time you play his music.
Just "imagine" that great gig up in the sky... John Lennon and Kevin Dubrow dueting on "Cold Turkey" and "Bang Your Head"... now there is a concert to die for.
At least he's not looking for love like Brett Michaels.
RIP
52 is way too young to die. Any word yet on cause of death?
Dubrow was three years younger than me; Brad Delp was only a year older than me. Not to mention the very untimely death of Sean Taylor at the age of 24.
I don't want to become one of those people who reads the obits to see if people he knows has died...
With the first #1 Metal album, Quiet Riot brought metal to the forefront. Any rock band that has came after them and says that they were not influenced by them are liers.
Dabich: I don't know what the right age is, but 52 feels wrong.
GW: And Jimi's playing lead guitar.
Maggie: Good point--he kept his pride, most of it.
Cube: I still haven't seen anything, but I'm not actively seeking it out, either.
Bruce: The Sean Taylor murder is the dominant news, as you can imagine, north of you here in the DC area ... it's even bigger than the MIddle East peace prospects.
Fuzz: Agreed. Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath may have laid the foundation, but QR opened the doors for '80s metal.
-- david
I'm hoping Dylan keeps ticking. I really never liked him much until recently, although I liked Blood on the Tracks and Desire.
Hey, thanks for stopping by!
And here I thought your Kevin Dubrow comment was totally random. I had no idea this happened. Now I have to check out how he died...
EotR: Dylan will live forever. Just like Ted Kennedy.
Janet: I am usually quite random, as you know, but this is all too real.
-- david
I'm sorry you are so sad :-(
And 52 is wayyyy too young to die.
Hope you and your evil twin had a fun holiday anyway!
That was weird to hear about his death. Just surreal.
Who's number one on your list?
Lindsey Lohan is mine.
Lisa: We were having a decent time until today ... see my next post!
Phoenix: Number one on my list for most of 2007 has been Britney, but today it's Carson Daly. I just read that he's going ahead on his show with picket line-crossing writers. A bad move.
-- david
I heard it took Vegas police a while to ID the body because they couldn't get that mask off...
joking - this is how I deal with grief and mourn.
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