Nick Knox, who joined the legendary punk/psychobilly outfit The Cramps in 1977 and played on the group’s first four albums before leaving following 1990’s Stay Sick! and its minor commercial breakthrough “Bikini Girls with Machine Guns,” died this week at the age of 65.
John Morton, who played with Knox in the Electric Eels before the drummer joined The Cramps, announced his friend’s death on Twitter on Friday, and other former bandmates, including Kid Congo Powers (“Glad to have played to your boss beat”), soon contributed their own tributes to Knox’s tight, economic drumming.
Born Nicholas George Stephanoff, Knox became The Cramps’ third drummer after replacing Miriam Linna in 1977, and the following year, the band released the Alex Chilton-produced singles “Surfin’ Bird” and “Human Fly,” to be compiled on 1979’s Gravest Hits EP. The Cramps followed that with full-length albums Songs the Lord Taught Us in 1980 and Psychedelic Jungle in 1981, and would release another, A Date With Elvis, in 1986, before Knox’s swan song with the band, Stay Sick!
Knox left the band in 1991, and, according to an obituary in AltPress, returned to Garfield Heights, Ohio, and largely left the music scene entirely — though in 2013, he did play drums on several tracks on an album by Cheese Borger and The Cleveland Steamers.
Original Cramps guitarist Bryan Gregory died in 2001, and frontman Lux Interior passed away in 2009. Poison Ivy remains the sole surviving original (and constant) member of the band.
Below, see tributes to Knox and catch some live footage of The Cramps.
My friend Nick Knox shuffled off the mortal coil last night. I saw a self portrait of the artist Tseng Kwong Chi in front of the Eiffel Tower except his figure had been cut out. It was explained to me as a custom of remembering the dead by removing them from photos. pic.twitter.com/wr6ZD3iYZ6
— John D Morton (@Styrenes) June 15, 2018
Nick Knox Coolest of the cool. R.I.P. Glad to have played to your boss Beat. Meet you on the mystery plane .Nick said on his last email to me a few months ago “don’t take any wooden nickles or $20 bills with Reggie Jackson on ’em. Your friend and mine .” Already missed #nickknox
— Kid Congo Powers (@kidcongopowers) June 16, 2018
Just reading here that Nick Knox has passed away. Here’s a pic of Nick that I took at the erstwhile Tropicana Motel during The Cramps first visit to LA. Lux Interior art directed my shoot with help from @PleasantGehman1 . RIP Nick pic.twitter.com/d3svy95PDb
— Theresa Kereakes 🐾 (@TheresaKereakes) June 15, 2018
A small tribute to Nick Knox R.I.P. #thecramps 60 years old. What a tragedy. pic.twitter.com/pjS2QddV1i
— marc riley (@marcrileydj) June 16, 2018
Voodoo drummer of the gods your bones will be nailed up on the wall, well done, you played in the best band ever and will never be forgotten, ride on, see you on the other side……