I couldn't believe my ears when I heard the news on the radio: Kevin Gilbert, who shared a Grammy nomination for the hit Sheryl Crow song "All I Wanna Do," was found dead in his bed of undisclosed causes on May 18, 1996 at his home in Pasadena, California. Kevin was just 29.

Kevin began his career with the San Jose, California, band Giraffe and caught the attention of Madonna's producer and writer, Patrick Leonard. The two created the album "Toy Matinee" in 1990. (I considered it to be the absolute best album released that year) featuring the single "Last Plane Out." Kevin toured with Toy Matinee (sans Leonard) and performed at The Roxy Theatre in Los Angeles. I was unfortunately out of town, but friends who saw the show still talk about it. It is said that his version of "Funeral For A Friend" even surpassed that of Elton. The band also featured Marc Bonilla on guitar.

Kevin was also a key member of Sheryl Crow's "Tuesday Night Music Club" release in 1993, co-writing 7 songs from the disc that included "All I Wanna Do" and "Leaving Las Vegas."

On another personal note, still upset about missing Kevin at The Roxy, I began a search to find material from Giraffe and updates on Kevin's whereabouts. I heard talk of new music on several Los Angeles radio stations, but nothing official. One day I picked up the L. A. WEEKLY Newspaper, and to my disbelief, I saw that Kevin was appearing at LA's Genghis Cohen night spot. It was an awe-inspiring acoustical evening with all new material accept an updated version of "The Ballad Of Jenny Ledge" from Toy Matinee.

Shortly after, Kevin officially re-surfaced with a solo album in 1995 called Thud. A special release of this disc also contained an additional disc with alternate song mixes plus Kevin's amazing version of Led Zeppelin's "Kashmir" that (even the industry admitted) was ridiculously overlooked for the Zep tribute record. (I feel fortunate to have a copy.) Kevin was apparently working on a project with his new band, Kaviar, when he died.

I had the pleasure of seeing Kevin perform live three times in Los Angeles during 1995 and 1996. Each performance was an incredible musical experience. At Genghis Cohen in Hollywood, I spoke with Kevin, and he signed my "Toy Matinee" disc with the words "Thanks for finding me."

In my own mind, I had big dreams for Kevin as I feel many of his followers did. As a singer/songwriter, he ranks with my all-time favorites. I can't express how sad I feel that Kevin will never create another melody for us to hear. His musical and lyrical wit, as well as his unique view of the world, separated Kevin from other writers. In his unreleased song "Smash," Kevin made fun of Top 40 radio saying he would write a smash hit "with more hooks than a tackle box." And in "Goodness Gracious" from Thud, he commented on today's youth saying, "Goodness gracious, we came in at the end. No sex that isn't dangerous, no money left to spend. We're the clean-up crew for parties we were too young to attend. Goodness gracious me."

Kevin - your voice will be missed.

Note - The ROCK RAG is interested in gathering any and all additional information about Kevin's life, music, and untimely death. If you or anyone you know can help in this quest, please contact The ROCK RAG. Thank you.