Greg Kihn, the singer-songwriter who reached number two with his upbeat song “Jeopardy,” has died. He was 75.
Kihn died Tuesday of Alzheimer's disease, according to a statement posted Thursday on Kihn's website.
Kihn, a fixture of the Bay Area rock scene in the 1980s, was best known for the Greg Kihn Band's upbeat 1983 hit “Jeopardy,” which was eclipsed only by Michael Jackson's “Beat It” on the Billboard singles chart.
The song and video, which was an MTV staple from the start, later received an affectionate parody by Weird Al Yankovic as “I Lost on Jeopardy” (Kihn gave Yankovic permission to cover it, and he made a cameo in the video).
Kihn was born in Baltimore and moved to the Bay Area in the 1970s. He developed a sound that blended folk, classic rock, blues and catchy pop, and signed with local independent label Beserkley Records to release his first album in 1976. Kihn had his first Hot 100 hit with “The Breakup Song (They Don't Write 'Em),” which peaked at No. 15 in May 1981. He released dozens of playfully self-titled albums (“Next of Kihn,” “Citizen Kihn”), leading up to 2017's “Rekihndled.”
Kihn was also a fixture on morning radio in the Bay Area, where he served as a morning host on San Jose-based station KUFX-FM (KFOX) for 17 years, retiring from that position in 2018. An avid horror aficionado, he also published several genre novels and edited a short story collection featuring original work by fellow rockers Ray Davies, Pete Townshend, and Joan Jett. He was also passionate about his niche hobby, insects, breeding rare praying mantises.
Kihn is survived by his wife, Jay; his children, Ryan and Alexis; his son-in-law, Samora; his grandchildren, Nate and Zuri; his sister, Laura; his brother-in-law, Lou; and his nephews, Larry, Lou and Matthew.
