Died On This Date (January 10, 2001) Bryan Gregory / The Cramps
themusicsover Bryan Gregory
February 20, 1951 – January 10, 2001
Bryan Gregory is best remembered as the founding guitarist for influential psychobillyists, the Cramps. Formed while he and lead singer, Lux Interior worked together at a New York City record store, the band were instrumental in the development of the early punk scene whose centerpiece was the CBGB’s club. The band in those days also included lead guitarist, Poison Ivy and Gregory’s sister, Pam Balaam on drums. It was Gregory’s unique guitar sound and crazy stage antics that endeared him to early fans. He played on the band’s first two albums, Gravest Hits and Songs The Lord Taught Us before leaving in 1980. Gregory spent the next few years in a band called the Beast before playing a zombie in George Romero’s Dawn of the Dead and moving to Florida where he ran an adult book store. The early ’90s found him in Los Angeles where he formed the Dials and played in Shiver. Bryan Gregory was 49 when he suffered “multiple systems failure” after driving himself to a Southern California hospital emergency room. He had reportedly been in ill-health after previously suffering a heart attack, but official cause of death was not released.
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