Cinderella guitarist Jeff LaBar has reportedly died of unknown causes at the age of 58.
The news was broken by his son Sebastian, guitarist for the band Tantric. “So i just got the call… Jeff LaBar, my father, my hero, my idol, passed away today,” he wrote on Instagram. “I’m currently at a loss for words.”
LaBar joined Cinderella in 1985 and played on all four of their studio albums, including their 1986 debut Night Songs and 1988’s Long Cold Winter, both of which sold over three million copies.
After the release of 1994’s Still Climbing, the band entered a long period of fitful activity, with recurring vocal issues for frontman Tom Keifer and record label troubles keeping them from recording another studio album. Their last major tour took place in 2012. LaBar released a solo album, One for the Road, in 2014.
In a 2016 appearance on Another FN Podcast with Izzy Presley (as reported by Blabbermouth), LaBar theorized that his substance abuse problems had prevented a Cinderella reunion. “I can only speculate, but I believe it’s all my fault. It’s no secret that I’ve had a drinking problem. And it showed its ugly face on one of those [cruises that Cinderella played]. I guess that’s what caused a rift… When I fell out on one of those cruise ships in front of everybody — like, basically O.D.’d — that’s when the band, and mostly Tom, took notice and was, like, ‘What the fuck?'”
After explaining that he was at least in semi-regular contact with drummer Fred Coury and bassist Eric Brittingham, LaBar stated, “It’s just Tom and I that don’t talk anymore. And I can only speculate that he’s very disappointed and doesn’t wanna see me die. He doesn’t wanna witness me dying.”
In Memoriam: 2021 Deaths
Remembering the musicians, actors, producers and others who have died in 2021.
