Jeff LaBar, guitarist with U.S. glam metal outfit Cinderella, died Wednesday (July 14), at the age of 58. The cause of death has yet been revealed.
A statement from LaBar’s surviving Cinderella bandmates confirms his passing. “Heavy hearts cannot begin to describe the feeling of losing our brother Jeff,” reads the message. “The bond between us over decades of creating music and touring the world is something that we as a band uniquely shared.”
Formed in Philadelphia back in 1983, Cinderella welcomed LaBar to the lineup two years later, following the departure of Michael Schermick.
During their heyday, Cinderella toured with Bon Jovi, Poison and other heavyweights in the “hair metal” scene, and the band landed eight tracks on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in the late ‘80s and early ‘90s, starting off with 1986’s “Nobody’s Fool,” which enjoyed momentum on MTV and reached No. 13 on the singles survey. Their best, a No. 12 peak for 1988’s power ballad “Don’t Know What You Got (Till It’s Gone).”
The band also impacted the Billboard 200 chart with all four titles, including a No. 3 for 1987’s debut Night Songs and No. 10 for 1988’s Long Cold Winter. The band went on hiatus following the 1994 studio album Still Climbing. Though Cinderella would reunite for several live dates in the 2010s, Still Climbing would mark the band’s last release.
LaBar worked on a handful of side projects, including Naked Beggars and Cheap Thrill, and dropped his own debut solo EP, One for the Road, in 2014. It too would crack the Billboard 200, topping out at No. 130. On Road For the Road, LaBar wrote all the songs and played all the instruments, with the exception of drums.
“Those memories with Jeff will be forever alive in our hearts,” reads the band statement, signed by Tom Keifer, Eric Brittingham and Fred Coury. “It’s unimaginable that one of our band brothers has left us.”
LaBar leaves behind his wife Debinique, and son Sebastian. “Jeff’s memory and music will be with us forever,” the Cinderella statement adds. “We all… band, family and management appreciate the overwhelming outpouring of love. Rest In Peace Jeff.”
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