Remembering Freddie Mercury and Eric Carr

It was a very sad day for rock n roll 33 years ago (Nov. 24, 1991) as we lost two beloved rockers: Queen’s Freddie Mercury and Kiss drummer Eric Carr.

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Freddie Mercury died from AIDS complications at the age of 45. Freddie Mercury was one of a kind, and one of the greatest frontmen in rock n roll history. Freddie was very successful with Queen, as the band became one of the best-selling music artist’s of all time, with record sale estimates between 150 and 300 million worldwide. The band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2001.

We lost Carr at the age of 41 after a battle with cancer. Eric Carr's passing was sadly overlooked by some, including Rolling Stone, due to the passing of Queen's Freddie Mercury (Mercury died the same day from AIDS complications at the age of 45). Eric Carr was the drummer for Kiss from 1980-1991 and had close ties to the Hudson Valley NY area. He took up the persona of ‘The Fox’ in the band during the makeup era as the replacement for ‘Catman’ Peter Criss.

While Carr was a Brooklyn boy, his parents, Albert and Connie Caravello eventually settled in the Sullivan County area where they lived for years. I remember as a young kid going to the old Dutchess Mall in Fishkill and his parents had a little store dedicated to all things Eric Carr. I remember thinking how cool it was. All sorts of memorabilia were on display, including Carr's chrome Chikara drum set which the drummer used on the Kiss 1988 Crazy Nights tour. They also had video footage showing on a small tv of Carr playing with Kiss on the tour. Carr is interred in Cedar Hill Cemetery in Newburgh, NY.

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We remember these two great rockers today. R.I.P.