Band Husker Du drummer, vocalist
MINNEAPOLIS — Grant Hart, the drummer and vocalist for pioneering indie rock band Husker Du, which was seen as a major influence on Nirvana, the Pixies and other genredefining bands, has died at age 56.
Hart, who had been diagnosed with cancer, died Wednesday in Minnesota, according to Ken Shipley, who runs the band’s record label, Numero Group.
Hart formed Husker Du with bassist Greg Norton and guitarist Bob Mould, with whom he shared singing duties, in St. Paul in 1978. The band began as a punk outfit before moving into alternative rock. The trio broke up in 1987, and Hart launched his solo career.
While Husker Du was never a huge commercial success, it was seen as a major influence on Nirvana, Green Day, the Pixies, the Foo Fighters and other bands.
Singer-songwriter Ryan Adams was among the artists tweeting condolences Thursday, writing: “Your music saved my life. It was with me the day I left home. It’s with me now. Travel safely to the summerlands.”
Mould wrote on his Facebook page Thursday that Hart “was a gifted visual artist, a wonderful story teller, and a frighteningly talented musician.” He recalled how they met in the fall of 1978, at a nearly empty St. Paul record store where Hart was clerking and the PA system was blaring punk rock.
“The next nine years of my life was spent side-byside with Grant,” Mould wrote. “We made amazing music together. We (almost) always agreed on how to present our collective work to the world. When we fought about the details, it was because we both cared. The band was our life. It was an amazing decade.”