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Kihn of Rock and Roll: Greg Kihn of '80s 'Jeopardy' Song Fame Dies at 75
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By Associated Press
Published 5 months ago on
August 16, 2024

Greg Kihn, a rock and roll musician best known for his '80s hit songs "Jeopardy" and "The Breakup Song," has died at 75. (Facebook/Greg Kihn)

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SAN FRANCISCO โ€” Greg Kihn, a rock and roll musician best known for his โ€™80s hit songs โ€œJeopardyโ€ and โ€œThe Breakup Song,โ€ has died.

Kihn died of Alzheimerโ€™s disease on Tuesday, his management team said in a statement posted to Kihnโ€™s website. He was 75.

From Baltimore to San Francisco: Kihnโ€™s Musical Journey

He was born on July 10, 1949, in Baltimore and moved to the San Francisco area in the 1970s. He was signed to Beserkley Records. With a songwriting style that blended folk, classic rock, blues and pop, his Greg Kihn Band had their first hit with โ€œThe Breakup Song,โ€ released in 1981.

In 1983, the bandโ€™s song โ€œJeopardyโ€ rose to No. 2 on the Billboard HOT 100 songs chart behind Michael Jacksonโ€™s โ€œBeat It.โ€ The song was also seen and heard regularly in the early years of MTV.

Wordplay and Tributes: Kihnโ€™s Legacy in Music

Kihnโ€™s albums often carried entertaining titles that played off his name โ€” from โ€œRocKihnRollโ€ to โ€œKihntinuedโ€ to โ€œKihntagious and โ€œCitizen Kihn.โ€

Martha Quinn, an original MTV VJ, posted to that effect in her tribute Thursday on social media. โ€œMy condolences go out to his loved ones, and thank you Greg for the Rock KIHN Roll,โ€ Quinn wrote.

โ€œWeird Alโ€ Yankovic did a parody of the โ€œJeopardyโ€ song in the โ€™80s called โ€œI Lost on Jeopardy.โ€ Kihn said he loved it and that it gave his song more of an afterlife than it might otherwise have had, Variety reported.

โ€œIt was a brilliant parody,โ€ Kihn said. โ€œHe invited me to appear in his video, and I had a ball.โ€

Beyond Music: Kihnโ€™s Diverse Career

Kihn was also a longtime DJ starting in the mid-1990s for KUFX radio in the San Francisco Bay Area and was a nationally syndicated nighttime radio host.

Kihn also wrote novels and short stories.

On his birthday in July, Kihn posted on his Facebook page โ€” addressing his fans as Kihnfolk โ€” thanking them for the birthday wishes and apologizing for not posting an update for nearly a year.

โ€œAfter so many years of touring as well as doing radio shows โ€ฆ itโ€™s finally time I get to chill out,โ€ the post said. โ€œThank you to each and every one of you for all your love and support now and over the years. Rock on!โ€

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