I was saddened today to read that Kevin Dubrow, lead singer for the metal band Quiet Riot, was found dead in Las Vegas today. I was a bit of a metal head in the 80s, but never had the opportunity to see Quiet Riot perform live. However, I did own their debut album, Metal Health, which was the first metal album to reach the #1 position on the Billboard chart.
Dubrow, 52, was found in his Vegas home after a neighbor called the police. There were no signs of forced entry and the police reported no suspicious circumstances surrounding the death. The cause of death will not be announced until autopsy and toxicology test results are available.
The band was originally formed in the mid-70s by guitarists Randy Rhoads and Kelly Garni, with Dubrow as the lead singer. When Rhoads left to play for Ozzy Osbourne in 1979, Dubrow renamed the band Dubrow. When Rhoads died in a 1982 plane crash, Dubrow renamed the band Quiet Riot and replaced all the original members.
Quiet Riot, which also included brothers Tony and Carlos Cavazo and Rudy Sarzo, was a musical heavyweight in the early 80s. Their debut album scored two hit singles with “Cum on Feel the Noise” (a cover of the 1973 hit song by English glam rock band Slade), which reached #5 on Billboard’s Hot 100 Singles chart and “Metal Health (Bang Your Head),” which reached #31 on the charts. Personally, I liked “Metal Health” better, but it seemed that Quiet Riot was destined to be remembered for “Cum on Feel the Noise.”
Quiet Riot released eight studio albums after Mental Health, but they never managed to achieve their previous success. Dubrow was fired as the lead singer briefly in 1987 and the band broke up in 1989, but reunited in 1991 with Dubrow as the lead singer once again. The band broke up again 2003, but reformed in 2005. Dubrow released a solo album in 2004 called In for the Kill. Quiet Riot released their last album, Rehab, with Dubrow in October 2006.
On September 19, 2007, Quite Riot performed a free show for the men and women stationed at Keesler AFB in Biloxi, MS.