Cinderella Guitarist Jeff LaBar is Mourned at 58

Share This:

Jeff LaBar

Jeff LaBar, the longtime lead guitarist for the glam-metal band Cinderella, died July 14, 2021, at age 58, in Nashville, Tenn. No cause of death has been revealed. His son, Sebastian LeBar, a guitarist with the rock band Tantric, confirmed his death, referring to his father as “my hero, my idol.”

In a joint statement, Cinderella’s Tom Keifer, Eric Brittingham and Fred Coury, said, “Heavy hearts cannot begin to describe the feeling of losing our brother Jeff. 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.

Jeff LaBar (photo via his Facebook page)

“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.”

LaBar, born March 18, 1963, in Darby, Penn., joined Cinderella in 1985 after the departure of original guitarist Michael Schermick. The Philadelphia-based band’s 1986 debut album for Mercury Records, Night Songs, was an enormous success. Its single, “Nobody’s Fool,” reached #13 on the Hot 100, and the band’s exposure on MTV led to sales of more than three million copies in the U.S.

Cinderella proved to be a popular concert draw, opening tours for such classic rock bands as Poison, Van Halen and Bon Jovi.

Their next two albums, each released two years apart, had similar sales success, with the band scoring pop success with the power ballads “Don’t Know What You Got (Till It’s Gone)” (#12) and “Coming Home” (#20).

Cinderella’s fourth, and final, studio album was released in 1994, faring poorly. They went on hiatus numerous items and returned in 2006 for a highly successful 20th anniversary tour with Poison in 2006. LaBar released a solo album in 2014, One For the Road, touring with his son.

Related: Musicians we’ve lost in 2021