Beastie Boys member John Berry dead at 52

RockstarX3000 · May 19, 2016

May 19, 2016
http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/original-beastie-boys-member-john-berry-dead-at-52-20160519

John Berry, an original member of hip-hop group the Beastie Boys, died Thursday morning at 7:30 a.m. at a hospice in Danvers, Massachusetts. He was 52.

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John Berry III, Berry’s father, confirmed his death Thursday afternoon to Rolling Stone. He said his son suffered from frontal lobe dementia, which had worsened in recent months.

Berry is credited with coming up with the name Beastie Boys when they were teenagers. He attended the Walden School in New York with Mike Diamond. The group formed in July 1981, with Berry and Diamond joined by Adam Yauch and Kate Schellenbach. The first Beastie Boys shows took place at Berry's old loft at the corner of West 100th Street and Broadway in Manhattan’s Upper West Side, where a small crowd gathered to hear the fledgling hardcore/punk band.

Beastie Boys 'Polly Wog Stew' album.
Berry played on the Beastie Boys' first seven-inch EP Polly Wog Stew, which was recorded at 171A studios in November 1982. He left the group shortly after, followed by Schellenbach in 1983. Adam Horowitz (Ad-Rock) replaced both members. Berry was a member of several other bands, including Even Worse, Big Fat Love, Highway Stars and Bourbon Deluxe.

The Beastie Boys did not neglect Berry’s role in the band. When they were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2012, Horowitz read a speech by Adam Yauch, who died later that year at age 47 of cancer. Yauch’s speech mentioned John as a formative member of the band’s early years.
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d---, another older rapper gone too soon this year. We've already lost a f--- ton of musicians this year, and another one is gone
RIP

Ricky · May 19, 2016

May 19, 2016
d---... It's sad. Rest in peace Mr. Berry!

Tone Riggz · May 20, 2016

May 20, 2016
He wasn't really part of the Beastie Boys that the world knew. He was part of the band's Punk phase but it doesn't seem that he was there when they turned into a Rap group. I think calling him a co-founder of the group would be more appropriate than saying that he was a member. Anyway, RIP.

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