 |
Greg Kihn | |
|---|---|
 Kihn in concert, September 2008 | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Gregory Stanley Kihn |
| Born | July 10, 1949 Baltimore, Maryland, U.S. |
| Genres | Rock |
| Occupation(s) |
|
| Instrument(s) | Vocals, guitar |
| Years active | 1976–present |
| Labels | Beserkley, CleanCuts |
| Website | gregkihn.com |
Gregory Stanley Kihn (born July 10, 1949) is an American rock musician, radio personality, and novelist. He founded and led The Greg Kihn Band, which scored hit songs in the 1980s, and has written several horror novels.
Kihn was born in Baltimore, Maryland, United States, [1] to parents Stanley J. Kihn, a city Health Department inspector who fought in the Battle of the Bulge during World War II, and Jane (Gregorek) Kihn. [2]
His early influence was The Beatles and their appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show . "Just about every rock and roll musician my age can point to one cultural event that inspired him to take up music in the first place: The Beatles on Ed Sullivan. If you were a shy 14-year-old kid who already had a guitar, it was a life-altering event. ... In a single weekend everything had changed. I'd come home from school the previous Friday looking like Dion. I went back to class on Monday morning with my hair dry and brushed forward. That's how quickly it happened." [3]
Kihn began his career in his hometown of Baltimore, working in the singer/songwriter mold but switched to straightforward rock & roll when he moved to San Francisco, California, in 1974. [1] He started writing songs and playing coffee houses while still in high school in the Baltimore area. When Kihn was 17, his mother submitted a tape of one of his original songs to the talent contest of the big local Top 40 radio station WCAO, in which he took first prize and won three things that would change his life: a typewriter, a stack of records, and a Vox electric guitar.
Following his move to California, Kihn worked at painting houses, singing in the streets, and the counter at Berkeley record store Rather Ripped Records with future bandmate and Earth Quake guitarist Gary Phillips. The following year, he became one of the first artists signed to Matthew King Kaufman's Beserkley Records. [1] Along with Jonathan Richman, Earth Quake, and The Rubinoos, Kihn helped to carve the label's sound—melodic pop with a strong 1960s pop sensibility — an alternative to the prog rock of the time.
In 1976, after his debut on the compilation Beserkley Chartbusters, he recorded his first album with his own ensemble, called The Greg Kihn Band, comprising Robbie Dunbar (guitar), Steve Wright (bass), and Larry Lynch (drums). [1] Dunbar, already a member of Earth Quake, was replaced by Dave Carpender in time to record their second album, Greg Kihn Again. [1] Meanwhile, Kihn's old record store pal, Gary Phillips, who had contributed guitars to Kihn's first album, returned as a session musician on the band's Glass House Rock (1980) album and officially joined the band as keyboardist for the follow-up album, Rockihnroll (1981). [1] The lineup of Kihn, Wright, Lynch, Phillips, and Carpender lasted until 1983, when Greg Douglass replaced Dave Carpender. [1]
Through the 1970s, Kihn released an album each year and built a strong cult following through constant touring, becoming Beserkley's biggest seller. In 1981, Kihn earned his first bona-fide hit on The Billboard Hot 100 with the # 15 single, "The Breakup Song (They Don't Write 'Em)," from the Rockihnroll album. [1] Kihn continued in a more commercial vein through the 1980s with a series of pun-titled albums: Kihntinued (1982), Kihnspiracy (1983), Kihntageous (1984), and Citizen Kihn (1985).
Kihn scored his biggest hit with "Jeopardy" (1983), which reached number 2 in the Billboard Hot 100, from the Kihnspiracy album. [1] In 1983, the groundbreaking "Jeopardy" video became an MTV favorite. Many of the videos that followed were sequels with connecting story lines. One of the earliest examples of a "concept" video with its Night of the Living Dead theme, "Jeopardy" received heavy airplay on the fledgling cable music channel and spawned countless imitators. "Jeopardy" was spoofed by "Weird Al" Yankovic as "I Lost on Jeopardy", on Yankovic's album "Weird Al" Yankovic in 3-D (1984); Kihn authorized Yankovic to make the spoof under the condition he could participate; which was seen at the end of Yankovic's music video where Yankovic is tossed into a convertible, revealing Kihn to be the driver.
Kihn spent most of the 1980s touring constantly, opening arena-sized shows for groups such as Journey, the Grateful Dead, and the Rolling Stones. Kihn often appeared on TV during this period on shows such as Solid Gold , American Bandstand , and Saturday Night Live . On May 10, 1981, Kihn and Willie Nile appeared live on the King Biscuit Flower Hour from the Savoy Theater, New York City.
In 1985, Kihn broke with Beserkley Records and signed with EMI. Matthew Kaufman continued to produce Kihn's albums. "Lucky" (1985) reached a modest # 30 on the Hot 100 and spawned a splashy video sequel to the popular "Jeopardy" video.
In 1986, Joe Satriani replaced Greg Douglass on lead guitar, Tyler Eng replaced Larry Lynch on drums, and Pat Mosca replaced Gary Phillips on keyboards. This is the lineup that went into the studio to record the album Love and Rock & Roll (1986). [1]
From 1996 through 2012, Kihn was a morning radio disc jockey for San Francisco Bay Area classic rock radio station KUFX. [4] Kihn's literary career also began in 1996 with the release of his first novel, Horror Show, published by Tor/Forge Books. [1] Horror Show was nominated for the prestigious Bram Stoker Award for Best First Novel. It was followed by Shade of Pale (1997), Big Rock Beat (1998), and Mojo Hand (1999). Kihn also published many short stories during this period, some appearing in the Hot Blood series of erotic horror fiction. Kihn was contributing editor to Carved in Rock, a compilation of short fiction by musicians including Pete Townshend, Joan Jett, Ray Davies, and Kinky Friedman.
The Greg Kihn Band continues to play with a line-up comprising Kihn's son Ry Kihn on lead guitar, Dave Danza (from Eddie Money) on drums, Dave Medd (from the Tubes) on keyboards, and Robert Berry (from Hush) on bass.[ citation needed ]
Kihn was inducted into San Jose Rocks Hall of Fame in 2007. [5] [ importance? ]
In September 2013, Kihn conducted an interview with Music Life Radio detailing his life, including music, radio, and writing careers. [6]
Kihn has done charity work for “Operation Care and Comfort”, a military support group responsible for sending care packages to hundreds of military units deployed in harm’s way around the world. He was nominated for the 2010 “Man of the Year Award” by the Lymphoma Society and does work for Children’s Hospital in Oakland, California, in the never ending fight against cancer.
Kihn has two children: son Ry, a guitarist; and Lexi, a nurse. [7] Kihn is of Polish descent.
Kihn has written four horror fiction novels, beginning with Horror Show (1996), which nominated for the Bram Stoker Award for Best First Novel, followed by Shade of Pale (1997). [8] Big Rock Beat and Mojo Hand were subsequently released as sequels to Horror Show.
Kihn also released Carved in Rock: Short Stories by Musicians, a collection of short stories written by him and other well-known rock musicians including Pete Townshend, Graham Parker, Joan Jett, and Ray Davies.
In 2013, Kihn released Rubber Soul, a murder mystery novel featuring the Beatles.
Jonathan Michael Richman is an American singer, songwriter and guitarist. In 1970, he founded the Modern Lovers, an influential proto-punk band. Since the mid-1970s, Richman has worked either solo or with low-key acoustic and electric backing. He is known for his wide-eyed, unaffected, and childlike outlook, and music that, while rooted in rock and roll, is influenced by music from around the world.
The Modern Lovers were an American rock band led by Jonathan Richman in the 1970s and 1980s. The original band existed from 1970 to 1974 but their recordings were not released until 1976 or later. It featured Richman and bassist Ernie Brooks with drummer David Robinson and keyboardist Jerry Harrison. The sound of the band owed a great deal to the influence of the Velvet Underground and the Stooges, and is now sometimes classified as "proto-punk". It pointed the way towards much of the punk rock, new wave, alternative and indie rock music of later decades. Their only album, the eponymous The Modern Lovers, contained idiosyncratic songs about dating awkwardness, growing up in Massachusetts, love of life, and the USA.
Dominick George "Don" Pardo Jr. was an American radio and television announcer whose career spanned more than seven decades.
"Weird Al" Yankovic in 3-D is the second studio album by American singer-songwriter "Weird Al" Yankovic, released on February 28, 1984, by Rock 'n Roll Records. The album was one of many produced by former McCoys guitarist Rick Derringer. Recorded between October and December 1983, the album was Yankovic's follow-up to his modestly successful debut LP, "Weird Al" Yankovic.
Beserkley Records was an American independent record label based in Berkeley, California, from 1973 to 1984. Beserkley is usually regarded as a power pop and rock and roll label. During the 1970s, the label released albums by Earth Quake, Greg Kihn, Jonathan Richman, and The Modern Lovers, the Rubinoos, and the Tyla Gang. Several other artists appeared on singles, or on compilation albums. From 1980 to its dissolution in 1984, Beserkley was a one-artist label, the artist being Greg Kihn.
"Weird Al" Yankovic's Greatest Hits is a compilation album of parody and original songs by "Weird Al" Yankovic, featuring his best known songs from his first five studio albums, all of which were released in the 1980s. "Weird Al" Yankovic's Greatest Hits was met with mostly positive reviews from critics, with Heather Phrase of AllMusic noting that it provided a good overview of the early part of Yankovic's career. Despite this, the album failed to chart upon release, and ranks as one of Yankovic's lowest-selling records.
"Jeopardy" is a song released by the Greg Kihn Band, from their 1983 album Kihnspiracy. It was the band's only Top 10 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart, reaching number 2 in May 1983, and also hit number 1 on the Billboard Hot Club Dance Play chart for two weeks a month earlier. The song also reached number 63 on the UK Singles Chart, becoming the band's only charting song in the UK. The song is written in the key of D minor.
The Greg Kihn Band is an American band that was started by frontman Greg Kihn and bassist Steve Wright. Their most successful singles include "The Breakup Song " and "Jeopardy". The band's musical style and genres comprise rock, pop rock and power pop.
"Roadrunner" is a song written by Jonathan Richman and recorded in various versions by Richman and his band, in most cases credited as the Modern Lovers. Richman has described it as an ode to Massachusetts Route 128.
The Rubinoos are an American power pop band that formed in 1970 in Berkeley, California. They are perhaps best known for their singles "I Think We're Alone Now", "I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend" (1979), and for the theme song to the 1984 film Revenge of the Nerds. Although "I Think We're Alone Now" has been their highest charting hit, reaching No.45 in 1977, the group has a significant enduring cult following among fans of the power pop genre.
Matthew "King" Kaufman is an American record producer who was the owner of leading independent label Beserkley Records in Berkeley, California from the mid-1970s through the mid-1980s, successfully producing records by Jonathan Richman, Greg Kihn and others.
"I Lost on Jeopardy" is a song by American musician "Weird Al" Yankovic from his second album, "Weird Al" Yankovic in 3-D, released in 1984. The song is a parody of "Jeopardy" by The Greg Kihn Band, released in 1983, and its refrain "Our love's in jeopardy". The parody's lyrics center on the game show Jeopardy!, and features a guest vocal from Don Pardo, who announced for Jeopardy! from 1964 to 1975. The music video uses a set inspired by the game show, and in addition to Pardo, features cameos from the show's host Art Fleming as well as Dr. Demento and Greg Kihn. The song was released just prior to the revival of Jeopardy! in 1984, though contrary to popular theory, the revival was already in the works and was not inspired by Yankovic's song.
Earth Quake is an American power pop band, formed in the San Francisco area in 1966, who released several albums in the 1970s, mostly on Beserkley Records, a company which they were involved in setting up.
Gary Phillips was an American musician who played keyboard with The Greg Kihn Band. He joined them in 1981, just before their US #15 hit "The Breakup Song". In 1983, they had a #2 US/#63 UK hit with "Jeopardy". He was also a writer, who sang and played guitar in the Bay Area band Copperhead along with John Cipollina. Prior to joining Copperhead he played in the San Francisco band Freedom Highway. Phillips was also a co-guitarist in the East Bay band Earth Quake and was with them for four albums. He sang lead on "Tin Soldier" and "Street Fever".
Alfred MatthewYankovic, known professionally as "Weird Al" Yankovic, is an American musician best known for creating comedy songs that make light of pop culture and often parody specific songs by contemporary musicians. He also performs original songs that are style pastiches of the work of other acts, as well as polka medleys of several popular songs, most of which feature his trademark accordion.
"Love's Made a Fool of You" is a song co-written and originally performed by Buddy Holly. It was later re-recorded by Sonny Curtis and the Crickets, with the lead vocal by Earl Sinks, and famously covered by the Bobby Fuller Four.
Glass House Rock is the fifth studio album by Greg Kihn and the second album to be released as The Greg Kihn Band in 1980.
Next of Kihn is a 1978 studio album by American singer-songwriter Greg Kihn. It was the third and last album to be released under the name Greg Kihn before the group changed into The Greg Kihn Band in 1979.
Kihnspiracy is a studio album by the Greg Kihn Band, released in 1983 by Beserkley Records. The album features the hit single "Jeopardy", the band's only top 10 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart. It reached number 2 in May 1983, beneath Michael Jackson's "Beat It". A parody of the song, "I Lost on Jeopardy", was released by "Weird Al" Yankovic in 1984.
Greg Douglass is an American rock guitarist.
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Artists | |
