Who was Greg Kihn? Rock hitmaker of 'The Breakup Song' and 'Jeopardy' passes away at 75 following Alzheimer’s battle

Popular rock musician, Greg Kihn has tragically passed away at the age of 75 after a long battle with Alzheimer’s disease. While the family hasn't disclosed details about his death, Skyler Turtle, who works on Kihn’s management stated that the musician died on Thursday, August 15, 2024.

The eulogy by Turtle 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. 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. Rock Kihn Roll Forever!"

Born in July 1949, Kihn was a rock musician, novelist, and radio personality. He was also the founder of the popular rock band, The Greg Kihn Band, which wrote and released many hit songs including The Breakup Song, Jeopardy, Happy Man, Lucky, and many more.

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The Greg Kihn Band consisted of Robbie Dunbar, Steve Wright, and Larry Lynch

Greg was one of the most popular musicians of the 1970s and was known to release an album every year during those times. Greg started his musical career in his hometown, Baltimore, and later moved to San Francisco where he started singing at coffee shops, and restaurants.

He started rising to success when he was signed with Beserkley Records and then formed his band, The Greg Kihn Band in 1976. Apart from Greg, Steve Wright, Robbie Dunbar on guitar, and Larry Lynch on drums were also the members of the group, who together released their first album, Greg Kihn in 1976. After this, the band released one album every year.

The band had members leaving and others joining over the years.

Greg, with his bandmates also released other hit albums including Greg Kihn Again, Next of Kohn, With the Naked Eye, Glass House Rock, and RocKihnRoll, Kihntinued, Kihnspiracy, Kihntagious, Citizen Kohn, Love and Rock and Roll, from 1976 to 1986. The band then did not release any albums in 1987 and 1988 and again started every year releases from 1989.

During these years, they released many popular albums like KohnSolidation: The Best of Greg Kihn, Kihn of Hearts, Mutiny, Horror Show, True Kihnfessions, Jeopardy, and even ReKihndled.

In a 2018 interview with Music Recall Magazine, Greg said:

“We weren’t like the other SF bands. Our music was derived from the British bands like the Who and the Faces. We were always writing new songs, and the fans came back week after week to see what we’d come up with. It was all about the songs, not the jamming.”

Furthermore, Kihn was also an author as he had released six novels, his first one being Horror Show in 1996. He then released Caved in Rock: Short Stories by Musicians. Other books by Greg also include Shade of Pale, Mojo Hand, Rubber Soul, Big Rock Beat and even Painted Black.

As the rock musician passed away, social media users started pouring in tributes for the legendary singer. However, at the moment, the family has not yet revealed details about his funeral and memorial services.