Jonathan Melvoin
Jonathan David Melvoin | |
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![]() Melvoin in the music video for the Smashing Pumpkins song "Zero" | |
Background information | |
Born | (1961-12-06)December 6, 1961 Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
Died | July 12, 1996(1996-07-12) (aged 34) New York City, U.S. |
Genres | Alternative rock, pop |
Occupation(s) | Musician |
Instrument(s) | Keyboards, piano, drums, percussion, vocals |
Years active | 1980s–1996 |
Jonathan David Melvoin (December 6, 1961 – July 12, 1996) was an American musician, active in the 1980s and 1990s.
Early life
He was the son of Constance (née Ives) and Mike Melvoin, keyboardist for the Wrecking Crew, and brother of twins Susannah and Wendy Melvoin of Prince and the Revolution. He first learned to play drums at the age of five.[1]
Career
Melvoin performed with many punk bands in the 1990s, such as the Dickies. He was also a member of the Family, a Prince side project band that produced the original recording of "Nothing Compares 2 U",[2] "Screams of Passion" and "Mutiny", and made musical contributions to many Wendy & Lisa projects, as well as to Prince and the Revolution's 1985 album Around the World in a Day. He also played drums on "Do U Lie?" from the 1986 Prince and the Revolution album Parade. At the time of his death he was the touring keyboardist for the Smashing Pumpkins during their worldwide tour for the album Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness.
Death
Melvoin died at age 34 as the result of a heroin overdose. Melvoin injected high purity heroin that was intended for snorting. He had previously consumed alcohol, which can lower the body's drug tolerance.[3] The Smashing Pumpkins were not invited to Melvoin's funeral.[4] Pumpkins drummer Jimmy Chamberlin injected the same heroin that night. Yet despite rumors of injecting together after acquiring the drugs, both musicians retired to their own rooms to use alone.[citation needed] Several songs were inspired by his death, including the Sarah McLachlan song "Angel", the Wendy & Lisa song "Jonathan" (as Girl Bros.), and Prince's "The Love We Make" from the album Emancipation.[5]
References
- ^ People Staff (July 29, 1996). "The Night the Music Died". People. Archived from the original on November 16, 2017.
- ^ Goldman, John J. & Hochman, Steve (July 13, 1996). "Heroin Linked to Death on Smashing Pumpkins Tour". Los Angeles Times.
- ^ "Police: 'Red Rum' killed rocker - UPI Archives".
- ^ Bansal, Sachin (1998–99). "The Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness Era: 1996". The Smashing Pumpkins Chronology.
- ^ Giles, Jeff (November 29, 2017). "Prince Mourns a Drug-Related Loss with 'The Love We Make'". Diffuser.
External links
- Jonathan Melvoin at Find a Grave
- v
- t
- e
- Gish
- Siamese Dream
- Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness
- Adore
- Machina/The Machines of God
- Machina II/The Friends & Enemies of Modern Music
- Zeitgeist
- Oceania
- Monuments to an Elegy
- Shiny and Oh So Bright, Vol. 1 / LP: No Past. No Future. No Sun.
- Cyr
- Atum: A Rock Opera in Three Acts
- Aghori Mhori Mei
- Lull
- Peel Sessions
- American Gothic
- "I Am One"
- "Tristessa"
- "Siva"
- "Cherub Rock"
- "Today"
- "Disarm"
- "Rocket"
- "Mayonaise"
- "Bullet with Butterfly Wings"
- "1979"
- "Zero"
- "Tonight, Tonight"
- "Thirty-Three"
- "The End Is the Beginning Is the End"
- "Ava Adore"
- "Perfect"
- "The Everlasting Gaze"
- "Stand Inside Your Love"
- "Try, Try, Try"
- "Untitled"
- "Tarantula"
- "That's the Way (My Love Is)"
- "G.L.O.W."
- "Freak"
- "The Celestials"
- "Panopticon"
- "Being Beige"
- "Drum + Fife"
- "Run2me"
- "Solara"
- "Silvery Sometimes (Ghosts)"
- "Cyr/The Colour of Love"
- "Beguiled"
- "Spellbinding"
- "Rhinoceros"
- "Drown"
- "Muzzle"
- "Eye"
- "Crestfallen"
- "Doomsday Clock"
- "Widow Wake My Mind"
- "Owata"
- "One and All"
- "Soma"
- "Landslide"
- "Let Me Give the World to You"
- "FOL"
- "A Song for a Son"
- "Quasar"
- Vieuphoria
- Greatest Hits Video Collection (1991–2000)
- If All Goes Wrong
- Katie Cole
- Dennis Flemion
- Jonathan Melvoin
- Sierra Swan
- Mark Stoermer
- Mark Tulin
- Matt Walker
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