C.J. Snare, the hair metal icon who fronted FireHouse for more than three decades, singing lead vocals and playing keyboard on all eight of its albums, died “unexpectedly” on Friday night, according to the hard rock band. He was 64.
The group expressed its “complete shock” at Snare’s death on Facebook. “Today is a sad day for Rock N Roll,” they said, calling Snare a “rock and roll warrior” and “arguably one of the best vocal talents of a generation.”
In its Sunday post, the band explained, “As you are all aware, CJ was expected to be back on stage with the band this summer after recovering from surgery. We are all in complete shock with CJ’s untimely passing.”
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A cause of death was not specified by the band, but Snare’s daughter told TMZ that he died after a long battle with cancer. “She says his official cause of death is cardiac arrest,” the tabloid reported.
FireHouse was founded in Richmond, Virginia, in 1984 by Snare, guitarist Bill Leverty, drummer Michael Foster, and bassist Perry Richardson. Signed by Epic Records in 1989, the band exploded into the mainstream with its self-titled debut album the next year, which sold more than two million copies, going double platinum.
The band enjoyed a run of successful singles throughout the early 1990s, including three Top 20 hits on the Billboard chart: 1991’s “Don’t Treat Me Bad” and “Love of a Lifetime” and 1992’s “When I Look Into Your Eyes.”
Katherine Little, Snare’s partner of eight years, said Sunday on social media that he’d been diagnosed with stage IV colon cancer in September 2020. “His initial prognosis was grim, but that didn’t stop him,” she said. Snare underwent “life-saving” surgery the next year, a procedure that “gave us these last years with him.
“He was so incredibly positive during this whole disease,” she said. “He was so strong. He never lost hope. All he wanted was to be the CJ that you all know and love.”
Snare’s health deteriorated again in early 2023 and another surgery in October left him “very weak,” according to Little. At the time, Snare told fans he would step back from “a few” of FireHouse’s shows while recovering from abdominal surgery. After the procedure, he posted on Instagram that he was excited to heal “and get back to the stage.”
Late last month, Snare reported that he was “Feeling Stronger Everyday !” On Instagram, he told fans, “I’ll be back on stage with FireHouse before you know it. Health is first so making a FULL recovery before my return.”
On Sunday morning, Bill Leverty said on Facebook that he was “absolutely devastated” by Snare’s death. Hours later, he posted that he was “still in shock” from the news.
“I’m trying to focus on the many great memories with him from over the decades of making music together, traveling the world and hanging out telling jokes,” the guitarist wrote. “We went through so much together on and off the stage, in the studio, on the bus, in the van, in the airport, in the dressing room, in the hotel, and on and on.”
Richardson, who left FireHouse in 2000 to play bass for the Christian metal group Stryper, also took to Facebook to mourn his former bandmate’s loss. “I am completely heartbroken and at a complete loss for words,” he wrote above a photo of the pair. “I started my musical journey with you. If it wasn’t for you, I don’t know if I would be where I am today.”
Snare was memorialized by other giants of the hard rock scene on Sunday. Jack Blades, the lead singer of Night Ranger, said he had “many wonderful memories” of collaborating and touring with FireHouse.
“CJ ‘s sweet soul and great smile always brightened up the day no matter what was happening,” he wrote. “And that golden voice… Blessings CJ & sing it loud in the stars my brother.”
Snare is survived by three children and Little.
