Greg Kihn


Greg Kihn has passed at the age of seventy-five. He had a great career. RIP.

robert53

@larsman Yeah, my bad. Growing up in the 80's, I assumed he was from SoCal..for whatever reason. While his music got a fair amount of airplay, there was not a whole lot of ink devoted to him on the east coast. 

Just for fun, I looked up his concert dates back in the 80's and he played as the "opening act" for Bobby and the Midnites, led by Bob Weir in Passaic, NJ in 1984.

He also played at the Tower Theater in Upper Darby, PA in 1983 as the featured act with Thompson Twins as the opening act. 

He also played in the Philly area in 1980 & again in 1981 as an opening act for Cheap Trick and the Tubes. 

So I had opportunities to see him, but in those years I was broke and did not go to concerts unless a group of friends were going and I managed to scrape a few dollars together to get there- which was often- but I could not go to all of them.

I kept most of the ticket stubs from the those days but regret not making it a point to see him.

One other thought, during the early 80's - I was just out of HS - I just "believed" that my rock heroes were my age and only recently figured out that I did not do due diligence. Greg died at 75, making him over 15 years my senior. I also was a big fan of local Philly favorite, Robert Hazard, who died in 2008. After doing some math, I found he was in his early to mid 30's - while I was 19 - and I always believed he was my age. 

Youth is fleeting and I wandered through most of it.

@goodlistening64 - Southern California boy? He was originally from Baltimore and then moved to San Francisco in 1974, and was one of the first artists on Berkeley-based Beserkely Records. SF and Berkeley are in Northern California.

Just looked at his Wiki; didn't realize he also wrote some popular horror novels... 

@woofman74 

Very Cool!  Lots of those Parkwest shows were discounted tickets via WRXT.  Those were the days when concerts were affordable.  Loads of fun and memories.

@pgaulke60 +1 

I saw Greg Kihn during that same time period at the Park West in Chicago and it was a fun show.  Rockin’ good time.  
 

Side note for Jeopardy fans (both kinds): check out Weird Al Yancovic’s “I Lost on Jeopardy” 

Was a big fan of Greg Kihn. Kinda odd that a southern California boy wrote a song about a Madison Avenue man, but still know most of the lyrics. Certainly an icon for CA but he was popular in PA back in the day.

RiP Greg...yeah I remember him on MTV videos back in the late 70 early 80s...

  I saw him in person for the first time at the Bass Lake Triathlon. His band played in the parking lot at the village area. The event was also significant as it was one of the first pro triathlons. His music is great and I’ve enjoyed him ever since. He put out a live album later on and they do my favorite “ The Break up Song “. His son Rye plays guitar and rips off a great solo. There has always been a place in my heart for bands like this that are just basic Rock N Roll. Well Played Greg, and thanks for the good times. Bless you and your family. 

I used to see Greg Kihn regularly in Chicago in the late 70's and early 80's.  He was a great rock n' roller.  Great band.  His live shows were awesome.  I have some live tapes around here somewhere.  His hits were no where near as satisfying as his shows.  

His records were a bit new wavy for me, tho "rockihnroll" holds up remarkably well. he was a great live act, largely because  he  always had a burner on guitar (including, for a spell, joe satriani). springsteen  was a big fan. very nice guy by all accounts.

So sad to hear this - the Beserkely legend; saw him play a number of times here in the SF Bay Area. Always loved 'The Breakup Song'.... 

Sad to hear.  One of very early favorites as I got into music.  Had the pleasure of seeing him twice many moons ago.  Put on a great show.

R.I.P. Greg...you're no longer in jeopardy.

Bummer.I lived in San Jose for many years,used to walk my dog right past KFOX radio station every mourning when he was broadcasting...His dad was killed in WWII.He had a lot of support for veterans locally,doing VA concerts & benifits...