‘Jeopardy’ singer Greg Kihn dead at 75 following Alzheimer’s battle
The music world is mourning one of their own.
Greg Kihn, the pop star best known for his catchy hit “Jeopardy,” has died. He was 75.
His publicist, Michael Brandvold, shared the sad news, revealing the singer passed away on Tuesday after a battle with Alzheimer’s, per the Hollywood Reporter.
His family did not wish to disclose the location of his death.
Kihn helped define the 1980s power-pop era with his blend of folk, classic rock, blues and melodic pop.
The singer’s first hit, “The Breakup Song,” reached No. 15 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1981.
Kihn reached new heights in 1983, with “Jeopardy” becoming an instant classic.
The song reached No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100, while “Weird Al” Yankovic parodied it, titling his version “I Lost on Jeopardy.”
Kihn was grateful to Yankovic for lending his song even more staying power over the years.
“I loved his version of ‘I Lost on Jeopardy,’” he said in a 2018 interview with Music Recall Magazine. “It was a brilliant parody. Al is a super talented musician. He invited me to appear in his video and I had a ball. God bless that man! I still get mailbox money from Weird Al!”
Kihn was one of many artists to come out of the Bay Area label Beserkley Records in the mid-1970s.
The songwriter released his first song as a solo artist in 1976 on the famous compilation “Beserkley Chartbusters Vol. 1.”
Kihn rose to popularity alongside other Beserkley acts, including Jonathan Richman, the Rubinoos and Earth Quake.
“We weren’t like the other SF bands,” Kihn told the outlet. “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.”
Kihn grew up in Baltimore and, as a high school student, won a talent contest sponsored by a local radio station.
Kihn moved to San Francisco in 1972 and signed with Beserkley a year later, though his first album, “Greg Kihn,” was not released until 1976.
Once he got going, Kihn produced an abundance of music. His albums included “Next of Kihn” (1978), “RocKihnRoll” (1981), “Kihntinued” (1982), “Kihntagious” 1984) and “Rekihndled” (2017).
In addition to his music, the singer also published six novels, starting with his first book, “Horror Show” in 1996.
