I would’ve happily been his love. Well, at least when I was 20. I was a solid groupie of the Greg Kihn Band for a brief part of 1979 with a kihng-size crush on Greg. {My kids asked if I was sure if I was a real groupie…well, as they defined it, I guess I was a big fan!} I was a typical ’70’s kid. I had posters of David Cassidy and Bobby Sherman on my wall next to my sister’s posters of Elton John and Bernie Taupin. We were fangirling back then. But nothing prepped me for my big crush on Greg.
Before their breakthrough with “The Breakup Song” and “Jeopardy”, there were many of us who crowded The Old Waldorf down at the SF Embarcadero as well as other local venues to listen to this great up and coming Bay Area band. They had a great vibe.
I had their first four albums which I played non-stop. I knew all the lyrics…I still know some of them to this day. But for most of 1979, Greg Kihn song lyrics were written all over my journals. The lyrics from the songs shaped, probably adversely, what I expected from romance. When he went super low in “Last of Me”, “…after the magic passes, I will still believe…”, Wow! “You will never see the end of love or the last of me.” Romantic magic. And we will never see the last of Greg and his band because we have their music.
Greg Kihn was my music. You know, the music you find. Just like Neil Young. My brother is a Deadhead, and I loved the Dead too, but not like the GKB. I don’t remember how I found about him, but when I did, I became a rabid fan. No one that I knew, except my sister Linda’s friend Cheryl, was as much as a fan as I was. I went to many shows at the Old Waldorf wearing my red beret. I know he saw me a few times, I’m sure of it. I was hoping he would write a song about the Girl in the Red Beret…but, alas, no.
I never met him, but those four albums have been with me through thick and thin. Through decades of raising kids, through a sad divorce and even now entering my golden years, I will drop that vinyl and get to work rocking out to “Rendevous” and “In the Naked Eye”. I had Greg Kihn Again on loop just this last Sunday.
But, Greg, you were supposed to live longer than 75. Your smooth voice and wonderful songs are now immortal. You are immortal now. Nothing can transport me back to those early adult years like “For You”, “Beside Myself” and “Madison Avenue” as well as “Chinatown”, “Politics” and “Last of Me”. Thank you!
I texted my kids that he passed. They know what kind of loss this is for me. They were raised on the four albums. They don’t get my sadness for this particular singer. But, I’ll just tell them, he was my Prince. They’ll understand that. He was.
It’s hard to let these icons of our past go. Willie Mays just died; boy, the Bay is taking a hit. But, this one hurts so bad that I am beside myself. I know that this kind of love can make a fool of you, but I’m not about to put it in jeopardy by dismissing it as trivial because Greg was a real big man in life.
Although Greg didn’t make his cold hard cash on Madison Avenue, he did earn the same kind of respect and admiration as the man who shot Liberty Valance. So I intend to have a rendezvous on another lonely Saturday night, and will remember and feel sorry for everybody else who loved this fallen idol.
RIP, Greg, Steve and Dave. Thanks so much for great rockihnroll!
FROM THE SHOE 
great tribute. I was a huge fan of those albums in the same way…except as a teen in Canada in the late 80s. Thanks for sharing.
”Rendezvous” was my fave song of his. Lovely piece, and I related to so much of it. Thanks for sharing it 🩷
I am a Bay Area big fan as well and saw him many times. You definitely should have found a way to introduce yourself. He loved to meet his fans and would have loved to have met you. A wonderful man. Thanks for sharing your story.