Greg Kihn has died aged 75(Picture: Gary Miller/Getty Images)
80s rock legend Greg Kihn has died aged 75.
The singer behind hits Jeopardy and The Breakup Song passed away on Tuesday from complications related to Alzheimer’s disease, with his social media page posting a tribute.
‘Rest in peace, dear Greg. Your music, your voice, your stories, your spirit and your passion will forever echo in our hearts and inspire countless souls,’ it said.
A statement on his website read: ‘With a unique songwriting style that blended folk, classic rock, blues and pop, his sound helped define a rich musical legacy in the San Francisco Bay Area scene.
‘Greg rose to worldwide fame in the 1980s and left an indelible mark for generations to come.’
He was born in Baltimore, Maryland before moving to San Fransico where he began releasing more rock ‘n’ roll music.
The Greg Kihn Band (Picture: Richard McCaffrey/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images)
Kihn founded and led The Greg Kihn Band, which also included Dave Carpenter, Gary Phillips, Steve Wright, and Larry Lynch.
During the 1979s a new album was brought out each year, but the first hit came in 1981 with The Breakup Song. While, Jeopardy landed at number two on the Billboard Hot 100 just behind Michael Jackson’s hit, Beat It in 1983.
In the 1980s, Kihn was almost constantly touring, and opened for Journey, the Grateful Dead, and the Rolling Stones.
Kihn continued performing throughout his life (Picture: John Atashian/Getty Images)
Alongside music, Kihn has also written several novels, including one in the horror genre and another about The Beatles. He also presented on San Jose classic rock radio station KFOX, where he was the morning host from 1996 through 2012.#
In a 2022 interview, Kihn said: ‘Life has been very good to me. I’ve had a wonderful career, several careers: radio, records, and literary.
‘I feel like I’ve been blessed and I had a great life. And if it all ended tomorrow, which I don’t think it will, I look back on it as a big fat plus. I really feel like I’ve been very lucky.’
He continued to the Psychedelic Scene: ‘And being a musician, you’re just trying to put one foot in front of the other. You just follow your footsteps. And it’s like that being a writer or a guy on the radio. So for me, I follow my footsteps. And it has led me here, and I don’t know where it’s going to lead me next.’
Kihn is survived by two children, son Ry, a guitarist, and Lexi, a nurse.
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