Greg Kihn of ’80s ‘Jeopardy’ song fame dies at 75

This undated photo provided by Riot Media shows the Greg Kihn Band, with Greg Kihn, front left, a rock and roll musician best known for his ’80s hit songs “Jeopardy” and “The Breakup Song,” who died Tuesday, Aug. 13, 2024, at age 75. (Pat Johnson/Riot Media via AP)

SAN FRANCISCO — Greg Kihn, a rock and roll musician best known for his ’80s hit songs “Jeopardy” and “The Breakup Song,” has died. He was 75.

Kihn died of Alzheimer’s disease Tuesday, Aug. 13, his management team said in a statement posted to Kihn’s website.

Born July 10, 1949, in Baltimore, Kihn moved to the San Francisco area in the 1970s and was signed to Beserkley Records. With a songwriting style that blended folk, classic rock, blues and pop, his Greg Kihn Band had their first hit with “The Breakup Song,” released in 1981.

In 1983, “Jeopardy” rose to No. 2 on the Billboard HOT 100 songs chart behind Michael Jackson’s “Beat It.” The song was also seen and heard regularly in the early years of MTV.

Kihn’s albums often carried entertaining titles that played off his name — from “RocKihnRoll” and “Kihntinued” to “Kihntagious and “Citizen Kihn.”

Martha Quinn, an original MTV VJ, posted a tribute to him Thursday on social media, saying, “My condolences go out to his loved ones, and thank you Greg for the Rock KIHN Roll.”

“Weird Al” Yankovic did a parody of “Jeopardy” in the ’80s called “I Lost on Jeopardy.” Kihn said that he loved it and that it gave his song more of an afterlife than it might otherwise have had, Variety reported.

“It was a brilliant parody,” Kihn said. “He invited me to appear in his video, and I had a ball.”

Kihn was also a longtime DJ starting in the mid-1990s for KUFX radio in the San Francisco Bay Area and was a nationally syndicated nighttime radio host.

He also wrote novels and short stories.

On his birthday in July, Kihn posted on his Facebook page – addressing his fans as “Kihnfolk” – thanking them for the birthday wishes and apologizing for not posting an update for nearly a year.

“After so many years of touring as well as doing radio shows … it’s finally time I get to chill out,” he said. “Thank you to each and every one of you for all your love and support now and over the years. Rock on!”