Gary Cherone Biography

Gary Francis Caine Cherone is an American rock singer and songwriter. Cherone is known for his work as the lead vocalist of the Boston rock group Extreme

and for his short stint as the lead vocalist for Van Halen. He has also released solo recordings. In 2007, he reunited with Extreme.

10 Quick Facts About Gary Cherone

1. Name: Gary Cherone
2. Age: 61 years
3. Birthday: July 26
4. Zodiac Sign: Leo
5. Height: 6 feet 1 inch
6. Nationality: American
7. Occupation: Rock Singer and Songwriter
8. Marital Status: Married
9. Salary: Under Review
10. Net worth: $5 million

Gary Cherone Age

Gary Francis Caine Cherone an American rock singer and songwriter was born on July 26, 1961.

Gary Cherone Height

Cherone an American rock singer and songwriter has a standing height of 6 feet 1 inch tall.

Gary Cherone Family

Born Gary Francis Caine Cherone, he grew up in Malden, Massachusetts and attended Malden High School, the third of five brothers and the younger of fraternal twin Greg Cherone. In his teenage years, Cherone turned to sing in local bands and was heavily influenced by the reigning rock frontmen of the day, most notably Roger Daltrey of The Who, Steven Tyler of Aerosmith, and Queen’s Freddie Mercury. In 1979 Cherone and drummer friend Paul Geary along with guitarist Matt McKay formed a hard-rock band called Adrenalin, which performed locally. In 1981, they changed the band’s name to The Dream and recorded a six-song independent vinyl EP.

Gary Cherone Photo

A few years later, Cherone and The Dream appeared in a music video produced by David Horgan, on the early MTV program, Basement Tapes, a show in which the viewing audience “voted” (via a toll-free telephone number) for one of two competing amateur music videos submitted by unsigned artists. The Dream’s video for “Mutha, Don’t Wanna Go to School Today,” won their contest, beating a then-unknown Henry Lee Summer by just 1% of the total vote.[1] Incidentally, both Cherone and Summer had once had aspirations of playing basketball as a career.

Gary Cherone Education

Talking about his education, he grew up in Malden, Massachusetts and attended Malden High School, the third of five brothers and the younger of fraternal twin Greg Cherone.

Gary Cherone Career

In 1985, Cherone and Geary met guitarist Nuno Bettencourt and bassist Pat Badger in an altercation over a dressing room, but the rivals soon became collaborators and shortly after the combined foursome took the name Extreme, and began writing their own material. The name Extreme came from a play on the words “Ex-Dream”. By the late 1980s, the group had attracted a large regional following; in 1987, the band signed with A&M Records, which released their self-titled debut album in 1989. Selling over 250,000 copies, the band’s debut album justified a second, and in 1990 the band recorded the critically acclaimed Extreme II: Pornograffiti, a mix of hard rock, funk, and pop propelled by Bettencourt’s guitar playing.

The album’s lyrical content, mostly written by Cherone, was loosely based on the concept of a fictional young boy named “Francis” and his observations of a decadent, corrupt, and misogynistic society. Although well received by the rock world in the press, initial sales and chart success for the album were sluggish until A&M released the acoustic ballad “More Than Words” in the early spring of 1991. The song was picked up by mainstream radio and became a huge smash, reaching #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 that summer. Extreme II: Pornograffiti was eventually certified double platinum. Also in 1991, Extreme toured in support of David Lee Roth. His career came full circle in April 1992 when he performed “Hammer to Fall” onstage with the three surviving members of Queen at The Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert at Wembley Stadium.

Extreme also performed a medley of Queen hits during the first half of the concert. Later that year, Extreme released III Sides To Every Story, a concept album. As the decade progressed, the sudden popularity of grunge brought about a sea of change in the pop music industry, causing 80’s rock and glam to gain less commercial support from labels. In response, Extreme’s 1995 recording, Waiting for the Punchline, was a stripped-down affair that was only modestly successful. After the supporting tour, Bettencourt became dissatisfied and left the group to launch a solo career. Extreme officially folded almost immediately afterward.

Gary Cherone Net Worth

He is an American singer and songwriter who has a net worth of $5 million. Gary Cherone was born in Malden, Massachusetts in July 1961. He is best known for being the lead vocalist of the rock band Extreme and for his brief stint as the lead vocalist for the rock band Van Halen.

Flashback: Gary Cherone Sings ‘Jump’ With Van Halen in 1998

Extreme frontman’s brief tenure with Van Halen wasn’t quite the fiasco everyone imagines

By

ANDY GREENE

Gary Cherone’s brief tenure as Van Halen‘s frontman is often dismissed as a complete fiasco, a gross violation of the natural order of rock that required back-to-back reunions with Sammy Hagar and David Lee Roth to set the world back on its axis. The truth is much more complicated. The Extreme singer had an undeniably powerful voice and Van Halen III has some very fine moments, especially the leadoff single “Without You.” If Sammy Hagar had been singing those songs it would have gotten a much better reception. If you need any more proof the Cherone period wasn’t a complete bust, check out this live video of “Jump” taped May 29th, 1998 at the Rock I’m Park Festival in Nürnberg, Germany.

Would the people in that crowd probably prefer to hear David Lee Roth or even Sammy Hagar sing that song? There’s almost no question. But they’re still jumping up and down like maniacs and yelling along to every word of the 1984 pop classic. To them, 3/4th of original Van Halen was much better than no Van Halen at all. When the group finally did reunite with the original “Jump” singer nine years later they were still at 75 percent capacity, since bassist Michael Anthony wasn’t invited back. In his place was Eddie’s teenage son, Wolfgang Van Halen. It’s a situation that has frustrated not only the group’s fans, but David Lee Roth himself.

“In our tiny little corner of the universe, [Michael Antony’s] voice is as identifiable as the high voice in Earth, Wind & Fire; as identifiable as the high voice in the Beach Boys,” he told Rolling Stone in 2013. “Van Halen is an indelicate house blend of both – that’s intentional. So I would always look forward to that reunion.”The group hasn’t toured since 2015 and there’s no word about any future activity. Sammy Hagar recently told us he’d be down for a tour in which he and Roth take turns fronting the group, but he’d only do it if Michael Anthony were invited back. Such a tour would require Eddie to fire his own son and make peace with Anthony and Hagar about thirteen years of bitter estrangement.

It would also require Roth to share his stage. It’s very, very hard to imagine. There’s no room in this fantasy tour for Gary Cherone, but he’s content with occupying his tiny space of Van Halen history. “I’m from a previous generation,” he told Rolling Stone in 2012. “I grew up on Aerosmith, Queen, Led Zeppelin and Van Halen. So at the end of the day, I’m gonna say, ‘Hey, I was one of the three singers in the mighty Van Halen.’ You can’t take that away from me.”

Gary Cherone Contacts

• Instagram
• Twitter
• Facebook
• Youtube
• Tiktok
• Website

Related Biographies

You may also like to read the Bio, Career, Family, Relationship, Body measurements, Net worth, Achievements, and more about:

• Alex Van Halen
• Eddie Van Halen
• Axl Rose
• Dave Abbruzzese
• Gary LeVox
• Gary Chaw
• Gary Rossington
• Gary Walker