Greg Kihn, 1980s Hitmaker, Dies

Greg Kihn wrote major hits in the 1980s, including ” Jeopardy ” And ” The Breakup Song “.

The singer of the 1980s Greg Kihnbest remembered for his MTV-era hits “ The Breakup Song (They Don't Write 'Em) ” And “ Jeopardy », died Tuesday, August 13 at the age of 75 from Alzheimer's disease.

Kihn began his career as a folk singer-songwriter in his native Baltimore, but moved to San Francisco in the early 1970s, where he formed the Greg Kihn Band with guitarist Robbie Dunbar, bassist Steve Wright, and drummer Larry Lynch. They released five albums on the independent Beserkley Records label, which drew little attention despite good reviews and their reputation as excellent live acts.

” The question is why Greg Kihn hasn't made it yethe declared to WECB in 1980. I don't know and I don't care…I've stopped caring about the throne. Those are the kind of non-musical things that can hold a band back. For now, though, I'd like to get on the radio. »

The turning point came the following year, when ” The Breakup Song (They Don't Write 'Em) “, written by Kihn and Wright, reached No. 15 on the Hot 100. I never really finished the lyrics of “The Breakup Song,” he told WECB in 1983. The ah-ah-ahs in the song were just filler, I was planning on writing lyrics later. Then I played it for the band and they were like, “Wow, that’s the deepest lyric you’ve ever written.” I tried to act like it was planned, but in reality, I had no idea. It took me three weeks to write a song about that. Now it takes me five minutes. »

The song's success earned the band opening spots for the Rolling Stones and Journey. Two years later, Kihn achieved even greater success with ” Jeopardy “, the opening song of the album Kihnspiracy by Greg Kihn's Band, released in 1983. This song reached number two on the Hot 100, but was knocked off the top spot by ” Beat It » by Michael Jackson.

” Sometimes it feels like you're pulling a song out of nowhere, and that's what happened with ““Jeopardy,” Kihn wrote decades later on his website. It was like the song was floating in the air and I had caught it. It was completely spontaneous. Steve looked at me and we both realized what we had done. »

A year after the success of “ Jeopardy “, “Weird Al” Yankovic paid tribute to him with the parody “ I Lost on Jeopardy ” Kihn himself appears in the video as the driver of the car that takes Yankovic away after he loses on the game show.

It was impossible to surpass the success of ” Jeopardy “, although the single ” Lucky ” in 1985 reached No. 30 on the Hot 100. In the years that followed, Kihn continued to tour and record on a smaller scale. In 1996, he became a disc jockey on San Francisco's classic rock station KUFX. He also published a series of horror novels and short stories.

He also played the 1980s nostalgia circuit until health issues sidelined him in 2019. He never left a show without playing “ Jeopardy ” And “ The Breakup Song “.