Greg Brown, who wrote CAKE’s successful 1996 hit “The Distance”, has died at 56. The band shared the news on February 7, stating that the founding guitarist passed after a “brief illness.”
“It is with heavy hearts that we share the news of Greg Brown’s passing after a brief illness,” the band wrote on Instagram. “Greg was an integral part of CAKE’s early sound and development. His creative contributions were immense, and his presence—both musical and personal—will be deeply missed. Godspeed, Greg.”
Fans took to the comments of the post to share their condolences. “He invented a guitar sound and style like no other. His riffs still blow my mind,” one person wrote. Another commented, “One of the greatest guitar players in my personal opinion. He will live on in the history he’s made and the musicians he’s inspired. Rest in peace brother.”
Greg Brown’s Breakout Hit for CAKE Tackles the Failure of Success
Greg Brown was the founding guitarist of Sacramento alt-funk band CAKE, forming the band alongside John McCrea, Vince DiFiore, and Frank French in 1991, with Gabe Nelson joining in 1992. Brown played distinctive guitar on the band’s first two albums, Motorcade of Generosity in 1994 and Fashion Nugget in 1996.
Brown left CAKE before the band’s third album, Prolonging the Magic, dropped in 1998. However, he returned to contribute a song to the album Showroom of Compassion in 2011. In the meantime, he formed the band Deathray and released an album in 2000. He also released a solo EP in 2023.
Before penning “The Distance”, Brown co-wrote several songs with McCrea. On Motorcade of Generosity, he contributed to “Jolene”, “Is This Love?”, and “Mr. Mastodon Farm”. On Fashion Nugget, he also co-wrote “Open Book”. But it was “The Distance” where he really took the lead.
Brown was the sole writer on “The Distance”, crafting an incessant, ever-present throbbing of sound and compulsion. Like the imagery centered on an endless, circling race, the instrumentation chugs ever forward, growing and receding, but never ending.
“It is a song about success and failure, and failure of success, really,” John McCrea said in an interview with Adam Reader’s Professor of Rock YouTube channel. “It’s a sad song, because there is no success,” he added. Essentially, no matter how much you “explode into the world with great magnificence,” there’s still more work to do. It never ends, but it does usually get more difficult.
Photo by John Atashian/Getty Images
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