John Berry, an original members of iconic rap group the Beastie Boys, passed away on Thursday at a hospice in Danvers, Massachusetts.
He was 52 years old.
The guitarist was credited by the band as the creator of its name.
He tragically suffered from frontal lobe dementia, however, which had grown worse in recent months, according to his father, John Berry III, via Rolling Stone.
Berry and Mike Diamond, who were classmates at the Walden School in New York, formed the Beastie Boys in July 1981 with Adam “MCA” Yauch and Kate Schellenbach.
The group’s first show even took place at Berry’s old loft at the corner of West 100th St. and Broadway on the Upper West Side of Manhattan in New York City.
In 1982, not long after the release of their first EP, Berry and Schellenbach departed the Beasties Boys and were replaced by Adam “Ad-Rock” Horovitz.
Fast forward to 2012 and The Beastie Boys were elected to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
Along with Run-D.M.C. and Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five, they were just the third rap group to earn this distinction.
Among their most popular hits, many of which you can still hear on the radio today, were “Fight for Your Right,” “No Sleep Till Brooklyn” and “So What’Cha Want.”
Yauch died at age 47 after a long battle with cancer in late 2012.
In 2014, Diamond confirmed that the Beastie Boys would not continue out of respect for their late member.
We send our condolences to the family, friends and loved ones of John Berry.
