Punk rock has lost one of its original wild men.
Cheetah Chrome, the influential guitarist best known for his work with the Dead Boys and Rocket from the Tombs, has died at 71.
The Dead Boys announced his death on Sunday, Sept. 13. A cause of death was not disclosed.
“We are incredibly sad to announce the news of the passing of our beloved friend and bandmate Cheetah Chrome,” the band said in a tribute.
They remembered Chrome as “a true original” and an architect of the punk rock movement, praising his explosive guitar playing and relentless stage energy.
The band also described him as a kindhearted man who simply loved rock and roll.
Born Eugene Richard O’Connor in Cleveland on Feb. 18, 1955, Chrome became part of the city’s underground music scene in the 1970s.
He joined Rocket from the Tombs in 1974, a short-lived but highly influential group that would help lay the groundwork for the punk explosion that followed.
After the band broke up, Chrome helped form the Dead Boys alongside Stiv Bators, Jimmy Zero, Jeff Magnum and Johnny Blitz.
The group eventually moved to New York City, where they became regulars at the legendary CBGB club in Manhattan.
The Dead Boys released their debut album, “Young, Loud and Snotty,” in 1977, followed by “We Have Come for Your Children” the next year.
Chrome remained connected to the band through multiple reunions over the decades.
In 2017, the Dead Boys marked the 40th anniversary of their debut album with a tour and released “Still Snotty: Young, Loud and Snotty at 40,” a newly recorded version of the record.
Tributes quickly poured in following news of Chrome’s death.
Guns N’ Roses bassist Duff McKagan credited Chrome with helping shape his own understanding of punk guitar and said getting to know him later in life had been an honor.
“Forever Dead Boys. Forever Cheetah Chrome!!” McKagan wrote.
Chrome leaves behind a legacy as one of the musicians who helped give early punk its raw, loud and unmistakably rebellious sound.