Remembering Johnny Solinger: Skid Row Singer Dies at 55

Johnny Solinger was an American songwriter and singer, popularly known for being the lead singer for Skid Row. He was the longest-serving lead vocalist for the band, doing so for more than 15 years, from 1999 to 2015. He is also known for his solo projects, some of which he features other members of the Skid Row band. He was, and is, quite popular not only in the country and rock genres of music but also in music as a whole. Thus, his death has been a huge loss to both his fans and the entire music community. It is only right that we remember him and make sure that his name never dies.

Beginnings

Johnny was born in Dallas, in the Fort Worth Area. Ever since he was a small boy, he was always a fan of music, with hard rock and country music being his preferred genres. Ergo, it came as no surprise to his friends and family that in 1990, he formed his band, Solinger, in Dallas. His band recorded four independent albums, Solinger, Solinger II, Chain Link Fence, and Solinger Live. All these projects were a huge success, and he was quite popular in the Southwest because of his live performances and radio appearances. He continued to tour and make music with his band for quite some time, and his popularity continued to grow and proliferate. In 1999, arguably at the peak of his band’s popularity, Skid Row, one of the most popular bands in the country at the time, came calling.

Skid Row

Before Johnny joined Skid Row, Sebastian Bach was the lead vocalist for the band and had been so for quite some time. When he, Sebastian, left the band, the other band members, namely Dave ‘The Snake’ Sabo, Scotti Hill, and Rachel Bolan, decided to replace the vacated slot, and they agreed to bring on Johnny. The following year after Johnny had joined the band, they went on tour with the band Kiss, and they were the opening act for them. The tour was called ‘The Farewell Tour, and it was a huge success, and it propelled Skid Row, which was simply an opening act, to a lot of popularity.

Musical projects

Johnny and Skid Row went on to produce a lot of music over those fifteen years in which he was a member of the band. They released a total of four albums together, plus a myriad of singles. The four albums were Thichskin, which was released in 2003, Revolutions Per Minute, which was released in 2006, United World Rebellion; Chapter One, released in 2013 and the last album being Rise of the Damnation Army-United World Rebellion; Chapter two, released a year before Johnny left the band, in 2014. All the said albums were a huge commercial success, and they were also critically acclaimed. At the end of this tenure with the band, Skid Row was popular in the United States and the world over, and they would sell out tour dates in almost every country they set tour stops in.

His solo career

Johnny did have a pretty illustrious solo career. Apart from the band, he started with; he was managed to make a couple of solo albums when he was part of Skid Row. In 2008, he decided, after consulting and getting a blessing from his bandmates, that he would release a solo album. The album was titled Johnny Solinger, and it was his first country album, though it did have some rock elements. The album was only released regionally, but it was still a huge success. The album is a song called ‘You Lie,’ which he had recorded with his Skid Row bandmates.

Health complications

In June of 2021, Johnny, through his family, announced that he was hospitalized and was suffering from liver failure. The Facebook post stated that the prognosis was not good. Like many other musicians and Americans in general, he did not have health insurance and thus was having a bit of a hard time trying to procure proper health services. It also stated that, at the time, he was under seven different medications. He had to have his abdomen drained every couple of days to prevent the buildup of fluid in his body. Moreover, he stated that he required physical therapy because he had lost much of his strength during that period. This was a huge surprise to his fan base and that of the band. Fans from all over the world sent heartwarming messages to him, his bandmates, and his family. In May, an online fundraiser had been set up May a couple of his fans to try and raise some money for his medical expenses and had done a good job in raising the money due to the influence that he and the band had in the USA and the rest of the world.

Passing on

A month later, on July the 26th, 2021, via a post on Instagram. It was confirmed that Johnny, the longest-serving vocalist for Skid Row, had passed on while in hospital due to liver failure. The Instagram post was from the band’s official Handle. It followed a caption from the band, which said that they were sad to hear the passing on of their fellow band member and lifetime friend. They sent their condolences to the family and friends of the late vocalist. The online fundraiser that had been set up also confirmed the passing of ZP Theart, a name by which Johnny went by and one that was widely used by his fans. The fundraiser also asked that the fans continue to donate to the cause to have enough money to cover the medical bills that had been left and the funeral expenses.