Classic Rock Revisited founder Jeb Wright has issued the following tribute to QUIET RIOT vocalist Kevin DuBrow:

"The Rock World lost one of its most outrageous and colorful personalities over the holiday weekend. Quiet Riot vocalist Kevin Dubrow was found dead in his Las Vegas home. Full details of his untimely death have not yet been released.

As editor and owner of Classic Rock Revisited.com I am particularly saddened and grief stricken to hear this news. Over the years Kevin and I built a friendship as he was a big fan of our website. When I was in Las Vegas we would meet and have dinner (of which he always paid the bill). We were together at the first Rock Honors after show party where I saw him gushing over meeting and talking with Brian May of Queen. We conducted many interviews over the years and Kevin even interviewed Mick Abrahams and Glenn Hughes for Classic Rock Revisited.

While most people knew Dubrow as a loud-mouthed rock star who made headlines when he bashed other bands on the Sunset Strip, there was another side of him that not everyone saw. Kevin Dubrow was first and foremost a music fan. Whether it was Humble Pie, Blodwyn Pig or Trapeze, Dubrow would spend hours convincing anyone who would listen as to why these bands were important to the history of rock. It is on that level that Kevin and I based our friendship.

In our very first interview in 1999, we found a common ground that stayed with us until his demise. Ironically, the interview almost never happened. I called Kevin in his hotel room during a night off on tour. We began chatting about whatever current Quiet Riot project that was going on. Kevin gave me one line answers to my questions and it was quickly apparent that he was not into the interview. I stopped the interview and said to him, 'If this is a bad time I can do this another day.' He replied in a surprised tone, 'No, we can do it now.' We spoke for a while off the record about other bands that we were into. Kevin was impressed that we had a lot of the same musical tastes and we hit it off and stayed in touch.

I went backstage as an invited guest of Quiet Riot during the Rock Never Stops tour and was greeted by a smiling Kevin Dubrow. He gave me a hug and we started talking. During our conversation a well built blonde came up to us, took off her shirt and asked Kevin to take her back to the bus. He obliged. I printed in my article that he got a blowjob from the girl and when he read the article on Classic Rock Revisited I got a frantic phone call telling me that if his current girlfriend saw that article he was in big trouble! We laughed about it and luckily she never saw the story. Anytime I saw him or spoke to him after that he always brought up the story and bragged of his conquest. Kevin always made me laugh as he was a terminal teenager always ready to get into mischief.

Kevin cemented his musical legacy years ago. 'Cum on Feel the Noise' and 'Metal Health' will always be included in any 'Best of the 80's' or 'Best Metal Songs of All Time' polls that will ever be conducted. His crazy interviews will also go down in history as will the fact that he was in a band with the legendary Randy Rhoads before Randy joined Ozzy Osbourne. But it is important to remember that Kevin Dubrow was into the music as much as anyone who will read this article. He was a true rock nerd who got lucky and got to live the dream.

Dubrow was a Rock Star in the truest sense of the word. From his leopard print fashion statements to his striped microphone stand to his ever changing hairstyle, Dubrow always kept us on our toes. Whether he was playing Live Aid or Nudestock, Dubrow strutted the stage. He also threw fits, got into fights with band members and even forgot to show up to a few gigs. He was born to front a hard rock band and did so to the best of his ability. Say what you will about Kevin Dubrow, one must admit that he was 100% genuine in presenting himself to the media and the fans -- sometimes this was pretty and sometimes it was downright ugly but it was always exactly how he felt at the time.

I will miss seeing Kevin out on the road. I will miss our emails and phone calls. The next time I am in Las Vegas it will hit me that I can't pick up my cell phone and have him pick me up and go out to eat. I am stunned and shocked at the loss of a true friend and a huge supporter of Classic Rock Revisited. Kevin was there for me anytime I asked and he enjoyed both being interviewed and conducting the interviews he did for the website. I can only hope that Kevin is in heaven right now smiling down upon us and jamming with Randy once again. I know how much he loved Randy and that nothing would make him happier. Just thinking that thought makes this sad news somehow more bearable. If there is a heaven then it just got a lot louder and more fun that ever before. R.I.P. Kevin. You may be gone but your spirit burns brightly within the hearts of your friends and loved ones you left behind.

Fly on Thunderbird.....fly."

Jeb Wright

Editor

Classic Rock Revisited