Died On This Date (March 8, 2011) Mike Starr / Alice In Chains

Mike Starr
April 4, 1966 – March 8, 2011

Mike Starr was the original bassist for Seattle grunge band, Alice In Chains.  Morphed from Diamond Lie, a band made up of Starr, Jerry Cantrell, Layne Staley, and Sean Kinney, Alice In Chains went on to become one of the biggest rock bands in the world.  Starr can be heard on the band’s Facelift and Dirt albums.  He and Alice In Chains parted ways during their Dirt tour of 1992/93. Starr went on to play in Sun Red Sun, a band that also included Ray Gillen of Black Sabbath and Badlands fame.   In 2009, Starr appeared on VH1’s drug rehabilitation program, Celebrity Rehab as he attempted to beat his heroin addiction.  He also participated in the show’s spin-off, Sober House and later episodes of Celebrity Rehab.  At the time of his death, Starr was playing with Days Of The New, whose original singer, Travis Meeks, found him unconscious in the home they were sharing.  Mke Starr was 44 when he was pronounced dead on March 8, 2011.  Cause of death was not immediately released.

Thanks to Craig Rosen at Number1Albums and Nancy Powell for the assist.

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Dirt - Alice In Chains


 

Died On This Date (December 1, 1993) Ray Gillen / Black Sabbath; Badlands

Ray Gillen
May 12, 1959 – December 1, 1993

Ray Gillen was a hard rock singer who, although he spent a minute as lead singer of Black Sabbath, is perhaps best remembered as the lead singer of Badlands.  Gillen had been singing for a series of New Jersey area bands when, in 1986, he was summoned to substitute for then-Black Sabbath vocalist, Glenn Hughes, who was suffering from vocal problems. Following the tour, Gillen began working with Black Sabbath on their The Eternal Idol album, but never finished the sessions due to various factors.  In 1988, Gillen formed Badlands with Jake E. Lee, best known as Ozzy Osbourne’s guitarist, Craig Chaisson, and Eric Singer.  Gillen fronted Badlands for three albums, Badlands, Voodoo Highway, and Dusk.  The band’s self-titled debut sold respectably due to video play on MTV, but the follow-ups barely registered a blip, so Gillen broke up the band in 1989.  Over the next couple of years, he worked on a handful of other projects.  On December 1, 1993, Ray Gillen, age 32, died of AIDS-related complications.

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Badlands