The remaining members of Cinderella are mourning the loss of late guitarist Jeff LaBar.
Late Wednesday (July 14) evening, Cinderella frontman Tom Keifer, drummer Fred Coury and bassist Eric Brittingham shared a joint statement with Music Mayhem on the passing of their brother and fellow bandmate LaBar.
“Heavy hearts cannot begin to describe the feeling of losing our brother Jeff,” the statement to Music Mayhem from the band’s publicist read. “The bond between us over decades of creating music and touring the world is something that we as a band uniquely shared. Those memories with Jeff will be forever alive in our hearts. It’s unimaginable that one of our band brothers has left us. We’re sending his wife Debinique, his son Sebastian, family, and friends our deepest condolences.”
The bands statement concluded, “Jeff’s memory and music will be with us forever. We all… band, family and management appreciate the overwhelming outpouring of love. Rest In Peace Jeff” – Tom, Eric & Fred”
The legendary rock guitarist, LaBar, passed away on Wednesday (July 14), LaBar was a member of the popular glam metal band Cinderella since 1985, when he replaced their original guitarist Michael Schermick, and continued as their guitarist until their breakup in 2017.
According to TMZ, who contacted LaBar’s ex-wife, Gaile LaBar-Bernhardt, the late Cinderella guitarist was found dead inside his Nashville apartment early Wednesday. His ex-wife continued to explain that he recently had gone off the grid for a few days and family and friends have been unable to reach him, so she went to check on him and found him dead.
His son, Sebastian Labar, who plays guitar in the bands Mach22 and Tantric, confirmed the sad news on his Instagram late Wednesday evening.
“So i just got the call… @jefflabar , my father, my hero, my idol, passed away today. I’m currently at a loss for words,” Sebastian captioned a series of photos with his late Father. “I love you pop! ❤️ if you could, please share pictures or video of all the fun times we all had with my dad. It would be greatly appreciated.”
The late guitarist has appeared on all four of Cinderella’s albums, including Night Songs, Long Cold Winter, Heartbreak Station and their final album, Still Climbing. In addition to appearing on all four of the band’s albums, he also appears on their two greatest hits compilation cds and their live project, Live At The Key Club. The band has sold over 15 million records worldwide.
The band has had several chart-topping hit singles including “Don’t Know What You’ve Got Until It’s Gone,” “Somebody Save Me,” “Heartbreak Station,” “Nobody’s Fool,” “The Last Mile,” & “Shake Me.”
Additionally, LaBar has also played in bands such as the Naked Beggars, Freakshow, Cheap Thrill and also fronted a solo project since 2014.
LaBar was born on March 18, 1963 and passed away on July 14, 2021 at the age of 58.
The band, their families and management request privacy at this time.
Cause of death remains unknown.
