SAN FRANCISCO (AP) 鈥� Greg Kihn, a rock and roll musician best known for his '80s hit songs 鈥淛eopardy鈥� and 鈥淭he Breakup Song,鈥� has died. He was 75.
Kihn died of Alzheimer鈥檚 disease Tuesday, his management team said in a statement posted to Kihn's website.
Born July 10, 1949, in Baltimore, Kihn moved to the San Francisco area in the 1970s and 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 鈥淭he Breakup Song,鈥� released in 1981.
In 1983, 鈥淛eopardy鈥� rose to No. 2 on the Billboard HOT 100 songs chart behind Michael Jackson鈥檚 鈥淏eat It.鈥� The song was also seen and heard regularly in the early years of MTV.
Kihn鈥檚 albums often carried entertaining titles that played off his name 鈥� from 鈥淩ocKihnRoll鈥� and 鈥淜ihntinued鈥� to 鈥淜ihntagious and 鈥淐itizen Kihn.鈥�
Martha Quinn, an original MTV VJ, posted a tribute to him Thursday on social media, saying, 鈥淢y condolences go out to his loved ones, and thank you Greg for the Rock KIHN Roll.鈥�
鈥淲eird Al鈥� Yankovic did a parody of 鈥淛eopardy鈥� in the '80s called 鈥淚 Lost on Jeopardy.鈥� Kihn said that he loved it and that it gave his song more of an afterlife than it might otherwise have had, .
鈥淚t was a brilliant parody,鈥� Kihn said. 鈥淗e invited me to appear in his video, and I had a ball.鈥�
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.
He also wrote novels and short stories.
On his birthday in July, Kihn posted on his Facebook page 鈥� addressing his fans as 鈥淜ihnfolk鈥� 鈥� thanking them for the birthday wishes and apologizing for not posting an update for nearly a year.
鈥淎fter so many years of touring as well as doing radio shows ... it鈥檚 finally time I get to chill out,鈥� he said. 鈥淭hank you to each and every one of you for all your love and support now and over the years. Rock on!鈥�
The Associated Press
