Kevin DuBrow, the lead singer of the 1980s heavy metal band Quiet Riot

[Volitzer]

(CNN) -- Kevin DuBrow, the lead singer of the 1980s heavy metal band Quiet Riot, has died, CNN has confirmed. He was 52.
DuBrow

Kevin DuBrow and Quiet Riot hit No. 1 with "Metal Health" in 1983.

DuBrow died at his home in Las Vegas, Nevada, according to TMZ.com. The Clark County coroner's office was examining the body to determine the cause of death, according to TMZ.

"I'm at a loss for words. I've just lost my best friend," Quiet Riot drummer Frankie Banali told CNN. "Out of respect for both Kevin and his family, I won't comment further. There's going to be a lot of speculation out there, and I won't add to that. I love him too much."

Quiet Riot hit the top of the charts with its 1983 album, "Metal Health," considered by some sources as the first heavy metal album to hit No. 1. The album was driven by the group's cover of Slade's "Cum on Feel the Noize," which hit the Top 40.

The band's other hits included "Bang Your Head (Metal Health)" and another Slade cover, "Mama Weer All Crazee Now."

The band formed in the mid-1970s behind DuBrow and guitarist Randy Rhoads, who later joined Ozzy Osbourne's band and died in a tour accident. After several years, during which time the band disbanded, regrouped and built an audience, everything came together for "Metal Health," which put Quiet Riot in the vanguard of the Los Angeles heavy metal movement.

But the band's rushed follow-up, "Condition Critical," didn't do as well, and DuBrow started taking shots at other L.A. bands, such as Motley Crue and Ratt, according to Allmusic.com. Within a few years, the band had mutinied (leaving DuBrow at a hotel in Hawaii while other members returned to California, Allmusic's Eduardo Rivadavia observes) and taken on a new lead singer. The bad blood prompted a lawsuit from DuBrow.

By the 1990s tempers had calmed and the band got together again, putting out a live album in 1999 and a new studio set, "Guilty Pleasures," in 2001. The group's most recent album, "Rehab," came out last year.

[Volitzer]

Ex-Quiet Riot Bassist Gives Details About Kevin DuBrow's Death
Kelly Garni was alerted to trouble by security company, DuBrow's girlfriend.

By Gil Kaufman
Views    26,657

Original Quiet Riot bassist Kelly Garni posted a statement online Wednesday describing the details of how he learned about the death of Kevin DuBrow, his friend and the band's singer, and again asked fans to withhold speculation on what might have caused the 52-year-old singer's passing.

"I want to thank everyone who refrained from jumping to conclusions and starting rumors," wrote Garni, who has spent his years since leaving the band as a professional photographer. He explained that at around 3:15 p.m. Sunday he got a call from the security company that handles DuBrow's home. "I am the only one who gets a call whenever his alarm goes off and usually I go to his house and let the guards in to check things out," he said. "However, Kevin had had his front doors replaced a few weeks ago and I did not yet have a key, so I told them to send the guards and if there was a problem I would go there and take care of it. They also told me that Kevin's voicemail was full. That was the first sign of trouble to me."

Garni said he called Quiet Riot drummer Frankie Banali to see if DuBrow was with him, but Banali said he hadn't talked to the singer for more 10 days and that he was likely with a girlfriend. Banali gave Garni the woman's number and, when he called, she told him that DuBrow had missed Thanksgiving dinner with her — apparently she was one of two different women DuBrow had planned to spend Thanksgiving with — and that she had gone to his house and left him multiple messages but had gotten no response, adding that she "had a very bad feeling about this."

While speaking to the woman, Garni said he heard from Banali on another line that DuBrow was dead. He was also speaking to another of DuBrow's girlfriends at around the same time, Lark Williams. She, too, was worried about DuBrow and had asked a paramedic friend of hers to check on the singer. "The guy happened to be very close to his house," Garni said. "With Lark on the phone, the guy went to Kevin's and was looking into windows and told Lark he could see his keys on the counter. Lark told him to break in immediately. It was a very ballsy and good thing she did. The guy broke in (hence the call from the alarm company) and found Kev. This all happened in about 20 minutes' time. From there, police, fire, everybody was called. He was found in bed. I talked with a detective who was there and they hadn't even removed Kevin yet. He said, 'We have found no signs of foul play and are ruling this an accidental death.' "

Garni said DuBrow's brother told him a funeral service was being planned for this Sunday in Corona del Mar, California, where DuBrow will be buried next to his father. However, those plans may change. The coroner has not yet finished the inquest into DuBrow's death.

"The last time I saw him was on our mutually shared birthday, October 29," said Garni, who, like many who worked with DuBrow, said he had a rocky but loving relationship with the singer. "He gave me a big hug and a really great present.

"The best present, though, was the hug."

[Volitzer]

Sorry I didn't post this before !!!