Johnny Solinger, the former Skid Row singer who served 15 years as the vocalist for the metal act, has died at the age of 55.
In May, Solinger revealed he had spent the past month in a hospital due to liver failure. “It is with a heavy heart I must let everyone know what’s going on with me and my health. I have been hospitalised for over the last month,” he wrote on Facebook May 8th.
“I have been diagnosed with liver failure. And prognosis is not so good. As with most musicians I do not have health insurance and it’s very difficult to get proper care without it.”
On Saturday, his former band mates announced that Solinger had died. “We are saddened to hear the news of our brother Johnny Solinger,” the band wrote on social media. “Our thoughts are with his family, friends and fans. Godspeed Singo. Say hello to Scrappy for us.” (Scrappy was the nickname of Solinger’s grandfather, with the singer naming his 2014 country debut Scrappy Smith as tribute.)
Three years after “classic era” lead singer Sebastian Bach’s exit from Skid Row in 1996, the band enlisted Solinger, who sang on the group’s two most recent albums, 2003’s Thickskin and 2006’s Revolutions Per Minute. Solinger, the longest-tenured singer in Skid Row’s 35-year history, also appeared on the band’s first two United World Rebellion EPs before amicably parting ways with the group to pursue a solo career.
Solinger said at the time, “The past 15 years has been a great experience and I have appreciated the opportunity to be the lead singer in one of the most prominent bands of the 1990s and share stages with the likes of Aerosmith, Bon Jovi and Kiss, performing in front of millions throughout the world.”
Skid Row founding guitarist Dave “Snake” Sabo tweeted Sunday morning, “A good man with a good soul taken way too soon. Thank you Johnny for everything you gave us. God bless you and your family.