Grant Hart, punk rock pioneer and drummer of the legendary Hüsker Dü has died. The news was revealed by Hüsker Dü, which posted a picture of Hart on social media overnight. Hart had been battling cancer and died at the age of 56.
In addition to his ferocious drumming skills, Hart shared songwriting and singing duties in Hüsker Dü. From 1977 through 1988 the trio created influential albums blending hardcore and melodic rock, paving the way for the college rock genre. After Hüsker Dü broke up in 1988 Hart went on to launch a successful solo career - first with the project Nova Mob, then later he recorded and released several critically acclaimed records under his own name. Hart's amazing life was chronicled in the 2013 documentary Every Everything: The Music, Life & Times of Grant Hart.
Ex-bandmate Bob Mould, who had a sometimes tumultuous relationship with Hart paid tribute to his fallen bandmate:
"We made amazing music together. We (almost) always agreed on how to present our collective work to the world. When we fought about the details, it was because we both cared. The band was our life.
We stopped working together in January 1988. We went on to solo careers, fronting our own bands, finding different ways to tell our individual stories. We stayed in contact over the next 29 years — sometimes peaceful, sometimes difficult, sometimes through go-betweens. For better or worse, that’s how it was, and occasionally that’s what it is when two people care deeply about everything they built together.
The tragic news of Grant’s passing was not unexpected to me. My deepest condolences and thoughts to Grant’s family, friends, and fans around the world.
Grant Hart was a gifted visual artist, a wonderful story teller, and a frighteningly talented musician. Everyone touched by his spirit will always remember."
Read Mould's full tribute here.
Bassist Greg Norton has not yet commented publicly on Hart's death.
The trio had recently approved and announced a new box set Savage Young Dü, which focuses on their early recorded output from 1979 - 1982. The collection is reportedly first in the series of reissues/releases celebrating Hüsker Dü. The company putting out the release - Numero Group - shared a beautiful and heartfelt tribute written by Ken Shipley and posted it on the label's front page of their site. Shipley revealed Hart disclosed his cancer diagnosis in 2016 but told Shipley he was "positive about beating this thing in my guts." From Shipley's tribute:
"The last time I saw Grant was in March of this year. I was in Minneapolis to gather a few more bits and bobs and scheduled time to go to dinner. He wanted pizza and suggested Red's Savoy in downtown St. Paul. He ordered enough to have leftovers the next day. He was a bit gaunt, but wisecracking and flirting with the waitress all the while. This time we shook hands at the end. He was too weak for a hug. When plans were made to fly out to the Museum of Pop Culture in Seattle to pour through his archives, he wanted to join. But when it came time to go, he suddenly cooled to the idea and withdrew from the project entirely. "Can you get it out before I go?" he asked.
I'm sorry we failed, Grant. We pushed as hard as we could to get this beast into the wild, but it wasn't hard enough. You told me several times that you thought the material was subpar, that there were too many photos of Greg Norton, and insisted we change the title at the last moment just to see everyone scramble. And now it's two months to the release date and everyone is sad and asking a million questions. It's chaos down here and you're probably looking down with your arms crossed, a gigantic, mischievous grin running ear to ear. Just a boy living on Heaven Hill."
Read Shipley's tribute here.
R.I.P. Grant Hart, and thank you for the music.
Published September 14th, 2017