Richard Burton “Rich” Cronin, singer of the 90’s Toy band ‘LFO’, died Tuesday after a battle with leukaemia, he just turned 35-years-old. Cronin and his group had a number of hits in the late 1990’s, particularly ‘Summer Girls’ which reached #3 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #1 on the Billboard 100 Single Sales chart. The track went on to become platinum in the US, with sales of over 1 million. After the band broke up in 2002, Cronin initially became a cast member on the VH1 reality show ‘Man Band’. The series also starred CHRIS KIRKPATRICK of ‘N SYNC’, JEFF TIMMONS of ’98 DEGREES’, and BRYAN ABRAMS of the band ‘COLOR ME BADD’, and followed the group as they pitched their newly recorded music to major labels.
In 2008, Cronin released his first solo album, entitled, ‘Billion Dollar Sound’, and later made a live appearance on the ‘Howard Stern Show’. After briefly forming a rap outfit named ‘LOOSE CANNONS’, Cronin reformed LFO and the band performed a reunion tour in July 2009, however, in September of the same year the band once again split up.
In March 2005, Cronin was admitted to hospital after complaining of headaches – he was soon diagnosed with leukaemia and began a course of chemotherapy. During the summer of 2010, his condition dramatically worsened and Cronin died in the Spalding Rehabilitation Hospital on Tuesday September 8th after suffering a stroke.
Cronin was first diagnosed with acute myelogenous leukemia in 2005. He started the Rich Cronin Hope Foundation to raise awareness about the disease and educate the public about donating blood and bone marrow.
My condolences to his family and friends, he was one of the chillest guys I ever met, so sad to see another one go but now at least he’s free of the beast. Rest In Peace.
FRIDAE TV 