Greg Kihn, songwriter/guitarist and founder of the Greg Kihn Band, died August 13. He was 75 and battled Alzheimer’s disease.
Born in Baltimore, Kihn started playing guitar as a kid, strumming Harmony and Kay acoustics before he found a Guild 12-string that became his main instrument writing and performing folk music as a teen.
In his mid 20s, Kihn moved to Berkeley, California, where he busked while painting houses and working at a record store. After shifting to play rock and roll, he was signed to the upstart label Beserkley Records and recorded his 1976 debut album with a four-piece band; his ’60s-inspired melodic pop (dressed with the tones of his Rickenbacker 360/12 and Vox Phantom XII) became part of the label’s identify. Over the next five years, Kihn (and starting in ’79) the Greg Kihn Band released five studio albums and one live disc. In ’81, they scored a hit with “The Breakup Song (They Don’t Write ’Em), which reached #15 on the Billboard Hot 100 and finished the year as the #47 pop single. His second (and final) hit came with 1983’s “Jeopardy” from the album Kihnspiracy. It reached #2 and was held out of the top spot by Michael Jackson’s “Beat It.” The following year, “Weird Al” Yankovic’s parody, “I Lost on Jeaopardy,” reached the Hot 100 thanks in part to the corresponding video, in which Kihn made a cameo appearance.
The success kept Kihn busy touring, holding opening slots for the Rolling Stones, Journey, the Grateful Dead and garnering appearances on TV’s “Solid Gold” and “American Bandstand.”
On tour, Kihn’s workhorse guitar was a sunburst Telecaster with a late-’60s body and an ESP neck. At ChicagoFest in ’83, guitarist Gary Phillips used it to defend Kihn from a man who jumped onstage and started running toward Kihn; having just grabbed the instrument while a string was being replaced on his own guitar, Phillips swung it like a baseball bat and knocked the would-be assailant out cold, then kept playing.
“The Tele stayed in tune!” Kihn laughed while telling the story to VG’s Bret Adams in 2018. “There’s still a big nick in it from where the guy lost a tooth. You can brain a guy with [a Tele] and it stays in tune. Unbelievable!”
In the mid ’90s, Kihn began a 17-year stint as morning-radio host on KOME/KUFX in San Jose and also released his first of six novels. He also hosted a nationally syndicated radio program and is a member of the Bay Area Radio Hall of Fame.
In 2007, Kihn was inducted to San Jose Rocks Hall of Fame. In ’10, he was recognized by the Lymphoma Society. He also donated time and helped raise money for Operation Care and Comfort, which sends care packages to deployed military units.
After his radio stint, the Greg Kihn Band returned to recording and performing with Kihn’s son Ry, on lead guitar. Their final album was Rekihndled, which he discussed in the March ’18 issue of VG. At the time, Kihn owned about a dozen guitars including Martin and Gibson acoustics, the Tele, Les Pauls, and a boutique 12-string acoustic he used for solo shows.
Kihn is survived by his wife, Jay Arafiles-Kihn, son Ryan, daughter Alexis Harrington-Kihn, and extended family.
This article originally appeared in VG’s October 2024 issue. All copyrights are by the author and Vintage Guitar magazine. Unauthorized replication or use is strictly prohibited.
