Jani Lane
Photo: Alexander Sibaja/ Getty Images
Posted on 08/12/2011 7:36:30 AM PDT by Red Badger
Former hair-metal frontman was best known for hit 'Cherry Pie.'
Jani Lane, the golden-haired former lead singer of 1980s hair-metal band Warrant, was found dead on Thursday in a hotel room in Woodland Hills, California.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, police found the body of Lane (born John Kennedy Oswald), 47, at a Comfort Inn, with no cause of death available at press time. Lane was best known for the Warrant hit "Cherry Pie," which he wrote and which featured a guitar solo by Poison's C.C. DeVille. The double entendre-filled video for the song — packed, of course, with a bevy of video vixens — was a staple of MTV programming when it was released in 1990.
The singer was born in Akron, Ohio, on February 1, 1964. He began his career as a teenage drummer before moving to Florida and playing in a series of metal bands. Eventually he made the trek to Los Angeles with future Warrant drummer Steven "Sweet" Chamberlin in search of fame and a steady gig.
He was recruited to join Warrant in 1986 and the band released their major-label debut, Dirty Rotten Filthy Stinking Rich, in 1989, spawning the hits "Heaven" and "Down Boys." But it was 1990's Cherry Pie that really put them on the map, selling three million copies and making them hair-metal superstars. The title tune was written on the back of a pizza box, which can reportedly be seen on display at the Hard Rock Café in Destin, Florida.
The following years, though, proved tumultuous for Lane, who left the band several times as their fortunes faded and album sales dried up in the wake of the rise of the darker, more aggressive grunge rock sound. He rejoined the band in 2008, only to leave again that same year.
Lane released a solo album, Back Down to One, in 2003. He dabbled in acting, appeared on VH1's "Celebrity Fit Club" in 2005 and toured with Great White in 2010 as a fill-in lead vocalist.
Though a cause of death was not known at press time, Lane struggled with alcohol over the years, pleading no contest to misdemeanor DUI in 2009 after an arrest for reportedly crashing into a parked car. A similar incident sent him to jail for 120 days in 2010.
A number of Lane's musical cohorts tweeted their condolences overnight, including Mötley Crüe's Nikki Sixx, who wrote, "I just heard the sad news about Janie Lane. So hard to swallow when people have kids. RIP."
Another friend, Poison singer Bret Michaels, said, "We'd like to offer our deepest condolences to the family of Jani Lane regarding their loss. Respectfully, Bret and all at MEGI."
Former MTV VJ Martha Quinn also expressed her feelings on Lane, writing, "Super sad news. Janie Lane, dead at 47 ... #RIP Jani Lane."
A number of other cohorts also posted about Lane's death, including Slash, Crüe drummer Tommy Lee, former Guns N' Roses member Steven Adler, Ratt singer Stephen Pearcy and wrestler/rocker Chris Jericho.
Jani Lane
Photo: Alexander Sibaja/ Getty Images
Heaven isn’t too far away...
never heard of him, but what a name... John Kennedy Oswald....and he changed it to Jani?
Born “John Kennedy Oswald”? What kind of parent would to a kid?
I think at least one of his parents might have been a wacko.
Ya think?
Born February 1, 1964, just over two months after the assassination...............
Ironically, also the song least liked by Warrant band members. Lane wrote it in 15 minutes on a pizza box after the record company told him they needed a "rock anthem" to sell more records.
Would have been a great name if he were a punk rock singer.
He was born right after the assassination. They probably were Democrats and having the last name ‘Oswald’ would not have been a popular thing..................
“...(born John Kennedy Oswald)...”
Thanks for the emotional baggage Mom and Dad...
At least they didn’t name him Lee Harvey......................
“What kind of parent would do that to a kid?”
I went to school with a family whose last name was Kennedy. Yes... there was a John F, a Robert and a “Teddy”... I always thought it was kind of weird.
Don’t you know that you are a shooting star?
And all the world will love you just as long
As long as you are.
Was Jani a he-she? Never heard of it before and have no clue as to what a Warrant Singer is.
That’s what happens when you get along in years; you pay no attention to the decline of society.
Good point. But that’s still one heck of a monicker to put on a kid.
I was born almost exactly one month after this poor guy, and my parents spared me the ‘honor’. Of course, their last name isn’t Oswald and they weren’t (and still aren’t) democrats.
He was in another band.
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