Grant Hart, Drummer of Influential Rock Band Hüsker Dü, Dies at 56

“Grant Hart was a gifted visual artist, a wonderful story teller, and a frighteningly talented musician,” says bandmate Bob Mould

Grant Hart Husker DU
Wikimedia Commons

Grant Hart, drummer and singer of the alternative rock band Hüsker Dü, has died at 56, his bandmate Bob Mould confirmed on Facebook.

The band’s official Facebook page posted a photo of Hart with no caption early Thursday morning. Mould, however, wrote a detailed post about the news.

“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,” Mould wrote. “Grant Hart was a gifted visual artist, a wonderful story teller, and a frighteningly talented musician. Everyone touched by his spirit will always remember.”

Hüsker Dü (which is Danish and Norwegian for “do you remember”) was a rock band formed in 1979 in Saint Paul, Minn., featuring Hart, Mould and bassist Greg Norton. They were a punk staple in the Minnesota music scene before moving on to more alternative rock in the early 1980s.

They released music independently for years, including the concept album Zen Arcade, which was a massive critical success in that decade. Rolling Stone ranked it as the 33rd best album of the 1980s.

They released a few more albums before signing with Warner Bros. in 1985. They released “Candy Apple Grey” in 1986, which managed to hit the Billboard Top 200 chart, peaking at #140.

However, tension within the band, focused on the suicide of their manager and Hart’s drug use, caused the band to split up in 1988. Mould said he and Hart remained in contact over the years, although he said it was difficult.

“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,” he wrote on Facebook.

He released a number of solo albums and formed a new band, Nova Mob. Most recently, he released “The Argument,” a concept album based on “Paradise Lost,” in 2013.

Hüsker Dü might not have been a mainstream hit, but they were a huge influence on later rock bands and the indie music scene. Their music was rotated on college music stations, which added to their popularity. Later, their sound could be heard in 1990s bands such as Nirvana and Green Day.

Green Day lead singer Billie Joe Armstrong paid tribute to Hart on his Instagram.

“I wanted to be a song writer because of Hüsker Dü To put it simply there would be no GD if it wasn’t for Hüsker Dü,” he wrote. “Grant where ever you are, I don’t have to put on your records to listen to them. They are memorized in my head.”

https://www.instagram.com/p/BZBCjl7j1Ey/?hl=en&taken-by=billiejoearmstrong

Hart specifically will be remembered for his melodic vocals and his varied lyrics, which ranged from delightfully silly to dark and depressing. In terms of his singing, he perfectly complimented Mould, who had a more rough delivery.

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