Shawn Cripps, Limes frontman and Memphis garage rock stalwart, died in a road accident earlier this week, The Memphis Commercial Appeal reports. Cripps’ former wife Nicole Perugini confirmed the news on Facebook. “It is with a heavy heart—and trembling hands—I tell you Shawn Cripps died Sunday 12/12/21 just after 11 a.m. in an accident on a Missouri highway,” Perugini wrote. “Ironically, he left this earth the very way he had once described in his song—‘Die in a Motorcar.’” He was 54 years old.
Born in San Diego, California, Cripps moved around the country for years, living in Colorado, Texas, Arkansas, and elsewhere before settling in Memphis, where he was known as a pillar of the underground music community. He paid the bills as a truck driver, but wrote songs and recorded for years. As Memphis Commercial Appeal notes, he recorded in the cab of his semi on occasion.
Cripps issued Limes’ first album Tarantula! in 2005 with bassist and frequent collaborator Harlan T. Bobo. Two LPs followed: 2006’s Blue Blood and 2010’s Rhinestone River. In 2011, Goner Records reissued Tarantula! and Blue Blood. Cripps’ debut was originally issued in a limited CD run on a small Australian label.
In addition to his own catalog, Cripps contributed to records by Mr. Airplane Man, Harlan T. Bobo, and Spider Bags. He played on Spider Bags’ album Shake My Head, which featured the song “Shawn Cripps Boogie.”
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