Quiet Riot's Kevin Dubrow Dies

Angie Mohr CA CMA, Yahoo! Contributor Network
Nov 26, 2007 "Share your voice on Yahoo! websites. Start Here."

The lead singer of the rock band Quiet Riot, Kevin Dubrow, was found dead by friends Sunday afternoon in his Las Vegas, Nevada home. He was 52. Long time bandmate, Franki Banali, is quoted as saying, "I'm at a loss for words. I've just lost my best friend. Out of respect for both Kevin and his family, I won't comment further. There's going to be a lot of speculation out there, and I won't add to that. I love him too much." The Clark County coroner's office was examining the body on Monday afternoon to determine the cause of death which is unknown at this time.

Dubrow, along with original bandmates Randy Rhoads, Kelli Garni, and Drew Forsyth, released Quiet Riot's debut album in Japan in 1977. After a second album, Rhoads left the band in 1979 to join Ozzy Osborne, after the band's inability to score a US hit.

Quiet Riot began a slow dissolution until Dubrow rekindled it in 1982, replacing all original band members as he went. Quiet Riot's 1983 album, Metal Health, was released and its first single, Cum on Feel the Noize, hit the Billboard Hot Singles chart; the first ever heavy metal song to do so. A follow up album in 1984 proved less successful and the band slowly imploded into chaos due to in-fighting, alcohol and drugs. The final album was released in 2006 with a rotation of musicians but the success Quiet Riot enjoyed in its prime was never revisited.

Dubrow is the most recent in a long and prestigious list of rock chartmakers to die before their time. Included in that list is Quiet Riot's original guitarist, Randy Rhoads, who died in an irresponsible plane crash in 1982 when he was 26 years old. Freddie Mercury of Queen died of complications from AIDS in 1991 at the age of 45. At age 52, Dubrow was the same age as the ubiquitous Frank Zappa upon his death from cancer in 1993. The world of rock has lost Joey and Johnny Ramone, John Entwistle, Warren Zevon, Joe Strummer, and Syd Barrett, all in the past seven years and all while still actively contributing to rock and roll history.

It is something of a badge of honor for a rocker to die before his or her time. There is always speculation as to what they could have become. Their fame is forever cast in stone, never to tarnish under the inevitable pressures of fame, marketability and old age. Jim Morrison would still be a golden god, swaggering on stage nightly with brilliant new material, Kurt Cobain would still be creating tortured melodies to go along with his pained words, and Jeff Buckley would be wildly famous and less misunderstood. Although none of these things are likely, early death provides a convenient platform upon which to speculate. Perhaps even Quiet Riot would have once again mounted the charts.

Published by Angie Mohr CA CMA - Featured Contributor in Finance and Lifestyle

Angie Mohr is a Chartered Accountant and Certified Management Accountant who has worked with thousands of business clients from home-based entrepreneurs to rock bands to celebrity chefs. She is also the auth... View profile

Quiet Riot's Kevin Dubrow Dies

23 Comments

Yahoo! Voices

Also on Yahoo!

Yahoo! Contributor Network