Cinderella Bandmates Remember Jeff LaBar
Thursday, July 15, 2021 at 08:06AM
"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."
Still no word on the cause of death. I'll be spinning Cinderella today for sure!
Cinderella pay tribute to late guitarist Jeff LaBar https://t.co/w8xD2TXh52
— Classic Rock Magazine (@ClassicRockMag) July 15, 2021
Here's a classic intro to MTV's Headbanger's Ball featuring all four members of Cinderella. Blast from the past!
Reader Comments (12)
RIP Jeff
Their performance, including Le Bar’s, is head and shoulders above Mötley Crüe, Ozzy, Scorps, Bon Jovi AND Skid Row, who also performed there.
All joking aside, don’t disagree … they were on top of their game. But Scorps were also huge!
But fuck poignancy it’s only Rock n Roll people. Rock n Roll
I also read comments Le Bar made in The Sun (via The Drudge Report) where he blames himself for the break-up, citing how he was wasted on The Monsters of Rock Cruise and that’s what caused Kiefer to pull the plug, so to speak.
I remember reading those comments elsewhere but don’t recall the original article.
To me, that seems like a heavy burden to bear and he may have been an unspoken scapegoat for the whole tragic demise of the band. As I have said before, Le Bar’s legacy speaks for itself due to the fact Kiefer’s new incarnation falls flat compared to his original collaboration with the classic Cinderella line-up.
I surely hope Kiefer, along with Brittingham and Coury hold a tribute show with various artists who were Le Bar’s friends, such as John Corabi, Michael Sweet and Mark Slaughter. I have a feeling there would be a lot more than that taking the stage for this unsung hero of Glam Metal.
So what do you say, Tom? Jeff was there for you when you didn’t show up on The Monsters of Rock Cruise, when he, along with Corabi, threw together one of the best shows I’ve ever seen with the band, minus Kiefer, in what started out looking like a “make good” show with the adhoc band “Cinderella & Friends” covering for Kiefer not making the cruise.
Jacob Bunton of Adler’s Appetite and Lynam fame, as well as Paul Lidel supported the Corabi and the band joint in on their guitars for most of the show which featured a rotating cast of KILLER lead singers performing classic covers, interestingly featuring, if I recall correctly, more AC/DC than anything.
Kicking it all off, if what’s left of my memory serves me, Jeff Keith of TESLA opened the set with “Highway To Hell”, followed by Jason McMaster of DANGEROUS TOYS doing “You’ve Got Another Thing Coming” and Corabi, kind of the de facto master of ceremonies, leading the band in an incredible version of Free’s “Alright Now”, something he later told me he “pulled out of my a*s!”
This incredible show, done in support of the band but really in support of Tom, who purportedly was suffering from the Flu, and therefor, a last minute “no show” on the cruise, yet being one of the main reasons, I for one, along with many others, booked the cruise to begin with.
It’s time to return the favor, Tom, to the man who was there for you for the better part of 30 years.
p.s. You can see the Cinderella & Friends set on YouTube, as well. I need to watch it again, to remember better who sang what and when during the show because I’m not remembering it all and might have it a little mixed up. RIP Jeff Le Bar!
Jeffrey Philip La Bar of Nashville, Tennessee passed away peacefully at the age of 58 on July 14, 2021. He was born on March 18, 1963 in Darby, Pennsylvania to June and Bob La Bar. Jeff grew up in Upper Darby, Pennsylvania and went to Upper Darby High School. Inspired by his brother Jack to pick up the guitar, he joined the local rock band Cinderella, who rose to prominence in the late 1980s with a string of platinum selling albums. The group toured the world and had numerous charting songs and videos on MTV. Cinderella had an exceptionally strong fanbase in Japan, which was particularly special to Jeff as that’s where his mother June was born and raised. He would always take her and their family in Japan to the band’s shows there, a life highlight for both mother and son. As Jeff got older, a love of music shifted to a passion for the culinary arts, with his cooking inspired by June’s Japanese heritage. He would reinterpret dishes that were standards in the La Bar household and add a unique flair. Following a move to Nashville in 2004, Jeff quickly surrounded himself with a community of dear friends who he loved to host and cook for at his home there. He never forgot his Delco roots though and stayed close with all those he grew up with in the region. While he became a bit of a fan of the Tennessee Titans when he moved to Nashville, Jeff’s number one sports franchises were in his hometown, number one being the Philadelphia Eagles, as he never missed the team’s games and would always text his dad Bob during them. He would always make time to talk to his mom for hours every Sunday on the phone, reminiscing and listening to stories about June’s days growing up in Japan. He planned on moving back to Delco as his parents got older, and his mother was excited to have him return with his cooking. Jeff inspired many of his friends and family to get into music, notably his son and pride and joy, Sebastian. He was eternally proud of the man and musician his son became and looked forward to working on a music project with him. Sebastian visited his father in Nashville often and loved playing music with Jeff and hearing about adventures from the old days when he was on the road. An animal lover, Jeff rescued cats, spent time taking care of his fish and adored his cat Loki. In addition to Sebastian, Jeff is survived by his wife and best friend Debinique, with whom he created an internet radio show ‘Late Night with the La Bars,’ his parents Bob and June, brothers Jack (Alice) and David (Victoria), sister Diane (Jason), sister-in-law Lisa and many nieces and nephews. Jeff was like a second father to his siblings Diane and David growing up. Although he had many admirers, Jeff was an even bigger fan of his family and friends, seeing the absolute best in everyone he met. Rarely was there a picture of Jeff without a smile on his face. Jeff was an incredibly loving human being and will be missed beyond measure. Immediate arrangements are private and a Celebration of Jeff's Life is being planned for close friends and family. In lieu of flowers, please consider donating to the Grammy’s Musicares Financial and Addiction Recovery Assistance Program https://www.grammy.com/musicares/donations
Joe Perry was once quoted as saying "we are brothers by choice" about his bandmates in Aerosmith. That line has always resonated with me, especially during this week after hearing I lost one of mine.
"THAT WAS FUCKIN’ AWESOME”, Jeff LaBar enthusiastically cheered while doing his signature Italian-esque hand gesture at Kristine and I. We had just previewed a new Naked Beggars song for him, and he approved. I loved getting a reaction like that from him. A year earlier we had needed another guitarist for the project Eric Brittingham, Inga Rudin and I were working on. Eric made the call and then it happened. Four short weeks after Jeff arrived in Nashville, he apologized to me and thought he might have come into our project “too strong”. He added that sometimes he enters like “a bull in a China shop”. That memory just makes me laugh now because it is SO Jeff! At the time I was so introverted and chill almost to the point it was debilitating, and Jeff was obviously wired the complete opposite. I was not upset with him; I think I was more in awe. He was friendly, outgoing, boisterous, charming and fun. He was a tour de force and if you were lucky enough to play with him, he made the band better. He acted more Italian than any Italian I know and would just constantly make you laugh. He was the perfect guy for our band, and exactly the friend I needed during the time we toured and lived together.
Inga and I had somehow put together a teenage drummer (who didn’t own a drum set), a teenage guitar tech Bryan Jones (whose experience was moving pianos I think), a Midwesterner keyboardist (who was a RN), one half of Cinderella and headed out on the road in an RV. I just re-read that last sentence back to myself and it sounds just as crazy as it was. It was the most eclectic group of individuals you could shove into a moving living room. We had a blast. It was like summer camp for adults. Some of the greatest collective memories for all of us happened during that time. We were a family.
On the road in Iowa Jeff met Debinique Salazar, who joined our caravan to take on the helm of selling our merchandise. They began dating and about a year later got married. It was a spontaneous wedding in Pennsylvania during an off day while we were traveling as a band. The wedding was great, although I would have preferred “more cowbell”.
Jeff was such a great storyteller. So many stories. He could entertain on and off the stage. I don’t know if he realized the scope of how he was perceived by others around him. He was accessible, approachable and friendly to fans. Many of which quickly became friends. His friends, family and fans all adored and loved him. I did too. One of the things I’ll miss most about him is the times we talked music. Conversations about music and artists that inspired and influenced us, or what we both loved about music. The last message I received from him was in response to a YouTube video I shared with him. It was a cover of Queen’s “Under Pressure”, and his response was “Fuckin’ wow!!! That was fantastic”
My heart goes out to his family, his son Sebastian LaBar, his wife Debby, his bandmates and all of his extended musical family.