Founding Beastie Boys Member John Berry Has Passed Away At Age 52

Best known as a hip hop trio, The Beastie Boys actually got their start as a four-piece punk rock outfit in New York City. Along with renowned members Michael “Mike D” Diamond and Adam “MCA” Yauch, the band featured Kate Schellenbach and guitarist John Berry. Today, we are sad to report that this founding member of the Beastie Boys has passed away in hospice care, at the age of 52.

Though Berry and Schellenbach both left shortly after the release of the band’s first EP, Polly Wog Stew, the band has credited Berry with coining the name Beastie Boys. Berry’s Upper West Side apartment was also host to some of the group’s first performances. As the group transitioned from punk to hip hop, Berry would leave the band and go on to perform with other groups throughout his career.

When the band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, they actually gave Berry a thank you, saying: “to John Berry [and] to John Berry’s loft on 100th Street and Broadway, where John’s dad would come busting in during our first practices screaming, ‘Would you turn that fucking shit off already?’”

Berry was suffering from frontal lobe dementia, which had gotten worse in recent years. Berry’s father confirmed his son’s passing to Rolling Stone. RIP John Berry.