The musician was Cheetah Chrome, co-founder and guitarist of the pioneering American punk band Dead Boys. Born Eugene Richard O’Connor in Cleveland, Ohio, he became a defining figure in the city’s early punk movement.
Chrome first emerged with Rocket From the Tombs in 1974 before joining Stiv Bators, Jimmy Zero, Jeff Magnum and Johnny Blitz to form Dead Boys. In 1976, encouraged by Joey Ramone, the group moved to New York and became part of the scene surrounding the legendary CBGB club.
Their 1977 debut, *Young, Loud and Snotty*, was not a major commercial success at first, but its influence grew far beyond its sales. The album helped establish Dead Boys as a key early American punk band, with Chrome’s fierce guitar style at the center of their sound.
His legacy also reached a new generation through “Ain’t It Fun,” a song Chrome helped write that was later covered by Guns N’ Roses. The version introduced his work to rock listeners who may never have encountered the original band.
Dead Boys later split and reunited several times. Chrome remained active in music through other projects and solo work, and in 2010 he published his memoir, *Cheetah Chrome: A Dead Boy’s Tale From the Front Lines of Punk Rock*.
The band announced his death in an emotional statement, remembering him as a true original and an important architect of punk rock. They also described the man behind the stage persona as kind and deeply devoted to rock ’n’ roll.
Cheetah Chrome was 71. No cause of death had been publicly announced at the time of the reports. His music helped define punk’s raw, unruly edge, and the influence of that sound will continue to live on through generations of musicians and fans.