Dead Boys guitarist and co-founder Cheetah Chrome has died at 71. The Cleveland-bred punk group announced the news in an Instagram message on Sunday night (Sept. 13) in which they wrote, “We are incredibly sad to announce the news of the passing of our beloved friend and bandmate Cheetah Chrome. Cheetah was a true original, an architect of the punk rock movement. a one man hurricane tearing up the musical landscape with his feral guitar riffs and manic energy.”
The tribute to the punk pioneer born Eugene Richard O’Connor in Cleveland on Feb. 18, 1955, continued, “Beyond all that Cheetah was also just a really sweet guy that loved rock-roll. We extend our deepest condolences to Cheetah’s family, friends and fans around the world. His music lives on and will continue to inspire others for generations to come. We ask for privacy during this difficult time.” At press time Billboard had not independently confirmed the details of Chrome’s death and no cause of death had been announced.
Chrome got his start in the short-lived, chaotic pre-punk Cleveland band Rocket From the Tombs, joining the band fronted by journalist and future Pere Ubu singer David Thomas for a year before it imploded and produced the Dead Boys and Pere Ubu.
Dead Boys was fronted by kinetic, unpredictable live-wire singer Stiv Bators —who died at 40 in June 1990 —and earned a reputation as one of the most intense, unhinged bands of the era. The group, which also featured drummer Johnny Blitz, bassist Jeff Magnum and rhythm guitarist Jimmy Zero, moved to New York in 1976 and gained notoriety with a series of wild shows at the Mecca of punk: CBGB.
The group’s 1977 debut album, Young, Loud and Snotty, was produced by former Escorts singer Genya Ravan and exploded out of the gate with the song that would become their signature howl to arms: “Sonic Reducer.” The headlong blitz featuring Bators’ strangulated vocals, Chrome’s paint-peeling guitar solo and Blitz’s double-time surf rock solo is considered one of the building blocks of the punk movement. It’s been covered by bands from Pearl Jam to Foetus, the Dictators and Patti Smith and was the featured cover by former Replacements bassist Tommy Stinson during his stint with Guns N’ Roses.
The group only managed to release one more LP during their original run, 1978’s We Have Come For Your Children, produced by ex-Mountain bassist Felix Pappalardi and released before the band melted down the next year and Chrome set out on his own with Cheetah Chrome and the Casualties. The album did produce another stone classic in turgid, Stooges-esque album rager “Ain’t It Fun,” which GNR covered on their 1993 covers album The Spaghetti Incident? The Dead Boys would reunite several times over the years for shows, including in 1987, 2004 and 2017, but never released another studio album.
Chrome also performed around New York with the Stilettos, performed on Ronnie Spector’s 1980 debut solo album, Siren, as well as recording with punk agitator G.G. Allin and told his life story in the 2010 memoir Cheetah Chrome: A Dead Boy’s Tale From the Front Lines of Punk Rock. He reformed Rocket From the Tombs in 2003 with a lineup featuring Thomas and bassist Craig Bell, as well as Television’s Richard Lloyd to record Rocket Redux, a compilation of re-recorded songs from the band’s heyday. Chrome left the group again shortly after they released the new LP Barfly in 2011 and took up a gig as creative director of A&R for Plowboy Records in his new hometown of Nashville, releasing his long-awaited solo debut, Solo, on the label in 2014.
Former Harry Potter actor Rupert Grint portrayed Chrome in the 2013 movie CBGB.
The Dead Boys —with no original members —announced a 2027 tour celebrating the 50th anniversary of the group’s 1977 Sire Records debut album, Young, Loud and Snotty in August, with the dates slated to kick off in Morro Bay, Calif. on Jan. 7.
