| Post by (Louis Vuitton Taschen) September 2010 | | | | touch. The single "I Don't Wanna Kiss You Goodnight" |
| It was a sad day in the pop world on Wednesday, as | | | | should have been a much bigger smash, and the |
| the news spread around the Rich Cronin, singer for | | | | group's 2001 sophomore effort Life Is Good was full |
| LFO and songwriter of once-ubiquitous 1999 pop | | | | of similarly catchy, bubbly and, yes, funky pop |
| smash "Summer Girls," passed away after a long | | | | smashes, including "Every Other Time" (which was a |
| battle with leukemia. He was only 35 years old, and | | | | minor hit) and "6 Minutes" (which should have been a |
| left behind a legacy of woefully underrated pop tunes | | | | smash but is probably better known from its Jonas |
| that were unfortunately saddled with the group's | | | | Brothers cover, which appeared on the band's 2006 |
| gimmicky name (the letters stood for "Lyte Funky | | | | album It's About Time). |
| Ones") and the too-clever lyrics to their biggest hit | | | | Once LFO separated in 2003, Cronin never managed |
| ("New Kids on the Block had a bunch of hits/ Chinese | | | | to establish himself as the killer songwriter that he is |
| food makes me sick"). | | | | (he could have easily become a pop doctor in the |
| Born and raised outside of Boston, Cronin formed | | | | Linda Perry or Butch Walker mold), though he did |
| LFO in the late '90s with friends Brad Fischetti and | | | | have some success with the LFO reunion in 2009. |
| Devin Lima. Their self-titled debut made an immediate | | | | Though "Summer Girls" might be the most polarizing |
| impact, turning "Summer Girls" into a massive hit (it | | | | single of the boy band era (it's neck-and-neck with |
| peaked at number three on the Billboard Hot 100) | | | | Everything's "Hooch"), Cronin was one of the sharper |
| and moving over two million copies. They also scored | | | | songwriters to emerge from that scene. "I Don't |
| a big hit with "Girl on TV," which was about Jennifer | | | | Wanna Kiss You Goodbye" remains a great song and |
| Love Hewitt (who also starred in the video). | | | | deserved to be a hit. Consider this the start of its |
| After those two hits, LFO faded into the | | | | belated campaign. |
| background, but Cronin never did lose the writing | | | | |