Former Skid Row Singer Johnny Solinger Dead at 55

Former Skid Row singer Johnny Solinger has died at age 55 following a battle with liver failure.

“We are saddened to hear the news of our brother Johnny Solinger,” the band wrote on Facebook on Saturday (June 26), the day Solinger died. “Our thoughts are with his family, friends and fans. Godspeed Singo. Say hello to Scrappy for us.”

Solinger revealed his liver failure diagnosis on social media last month. He said he had been “hospitalized for over the last month” due to the diagnosis, and his prognosis was “not so good.” “As with most musicians I do not have health insurance and it’s very difficult to get proper care without it,” he wrote.

The rocker further explained that he was taking at least seven different medications, getting his abdomen drained of fluid every few days and undergoing physical therapy. At the time, he said he was looking into setting up a fundraiser to help pay for his mounting medical bills and upcoming palliative care.

Solinger joined a newly reformed Skid Row in 1999, taking the place of Sebastian Bach, who left the group in 1996, the same year they broke up. With Solinger at the helm, Skid Row released two full-length albums, 2003’s Thickskin and 2006’s Revolutions per Minute, and two EPs, 2013’s United World Rebellion: Chapter One and 2014’s Rise of the Damnation Army — United World Rebellion.

Solinger left Skid Row in 2015; his position was filled briefly by TNT singer Tony Harnell and then by ex-DragonForce frontman ZP Theart, who currently fronts the group. Solinger’s 16-year tenure with Skid Row made him the band’s longest-serving lead singer.